Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Spreaker | Castbox | Deezer | Podchaser
Or listen on your favorite podcasting platform with our RSS link.
IF TODAY’S JEWELER has an arch-nemesis, it has to be the Internet.
It’s an imposing opponent, a protean, seemingly omnipresent foe offering unparalleled convenience, massive selection, and hard (but not impossible) to beat prices.
In this month’s episode of Over the Counter, Kyle Bullock, who typically shares stories of other jewelers’ most memorable sales, tells the story of one of his own memorable recent sales. In this transaction, Kyle faces off against the Internet … and wins.
Trying to serve a long-time acquaintance, Kyle finds himself unable to match the far lower prices available online, even at a loss. The customer’s hesitancy to buy from him, despite their existing relationship, shakes Kyle … and even plants a seed of doubt about his own future in the jewelry business. But once he learns more about the customer’s backstory, Kyle is able to do something — and provide a service — that the Internet never could.
You’ll learn an important lesson in Kyle’s latest podcast, “How the Internet Almost Won”.
Honoring a Legacy: How Smith & Son Jewelers Exceeded Every Goal With Wilkerson
When Andrew Smith decided to close the Springfield, Massachusetts location of Smith & Son Jewelers, the decision came down to family. His father was retiring after 72 years in the business, and Andrew wanted to spend more time with his children and soon-to-arrive grandchildren.
For this fourth-generation jeweler whose great-grandfather founded the company in 1918, closing the 107-year-old Springfield location required the right partner. Smith chose Wilkerson, and the experience exceeded expectations from start to finish.
"Everything they told me was 100% true," Smith says. "The ease and use of all their tools was wonderful."
The consultants' knowledge and expertise proved invaluable. Smith and his father set their own financial goal, but Wilkerson proposed three more ambitious targets. "We thought we would never make it," Smith explains. "We were dead wrong. We hit our first goal, second goal and third goal. It was amazing."
Smith's recommendation is emphatic: "I would never be able to do what they did by myself."
