SALESPEOPLE ASK ME all the time, “How do you do a ‘wow,’ and why?” The “wow” or created sale is designed to create sales momentum in as little as three minutes or up to an hour. The longer it takes, the more interested the client is. Wowing clients takes passion, enthusiasm, excitement, energy and being motivated.
Salespeople also tell me, “I don’t want to be pushy.” Well, I don’t want you to be pushy either. I do want you to have fun and be professional. The “wow” creates enthusiasm and excitement in the client, and it creates a memory if nothing else. But most salespeople are not doing this.
Christmas is coming, and retail economists say that impulse buys go up at Christmastime by 100 percent. So, you should “wow” your clients all year long, but especially during Christmastime.
Step one is the lead-in line. It’s something you say that’s short and sweet to create curiosity, like “Guess what’s in the vault?” Or “There’s something in the back that should be in the Smithsonian but it’s here.” Or “Guess what just came in?” You want to deliver a lead-in line when everything else is done (whether a sale or repair) and the client is almost ready to turn and walk out the door. When you say a lead-in line with excitement, the client will be excited as well.
Step two includes two areas of romancing: value-added (proving the price is worth it) and beauty. Value-added romancing depends on your ability to build value in the product. That means delivering true information like, “The person who cut this had to apprentice 10 years before they were allowed to touch a diamond of this size.”
When romancing the beauty of jewelry, salespeople are often too generic in their descriptions. Remove the words “pretty,” “beautiful” and “sparkles” from your vocabulary. Use vivid descriptions like, “It inhales light and breathes fire” or “Mother Nature’s love affair with light” or “the epitome of nature with the craftsmanship of man” or “unparalleled, unmatched perfection” or “prehistoric artifacts stored in the womb of Mother Earth for millions of years.” There are always stories to tell about diamonds, like how the ancients used to believe they were splinters that fell from stars. Romancing beauty takes a lot of self-confidence and practice.
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Step three is the appraisal or lab report if necessary. But always ask, “Would you like to know more about it?” Don’t volunteer information but find out what they want to know. Some want to be gemologists when they walk out, and some don’t want you to mention any of it.
Step four is the price, and only now do you discuss it. If they ask you earlier in your presentation, say “It’s 6995 and let me tell you why.” Always make it about the client and the item, not the price. When you get to the price, make sure they’re holding the piece of jewelry. Look them squarely in the eye and tell them it’s sixty-nine ninety-five. (Don’t say thousands or hundreds; that makes it sound more expensive.)
Step five is close the sale. People buy on impulse all the time. Too many of you say, “They only wanted a battery” or “They just came in for a repair” or “They didn’t want anything else.” Quit making decisions for the client before you give them a chance.
People buy $5,000, $50,000 and $100,000 items all the time on impulse. But even if they don’t buy it, you’ve planted a seed. When you make a decision for a client, you’re not planting the seed forward, you’re killing a sale before it starts, and you’re making a financial decision for your store before you even give the client a chance.
The largest diamond purchase season in the history of the industry is coming. Make sure every client is wowed before they leave, because you’re doing something different that no one else is doing. Clients don’t remember that time they got a battery changed and were standing around doing nothing. But they do remember when they got the battery changed and saw something amazing while they were there. Wow with everyone right before they go. Create. Happy selling!
