Calendar for Jewelers: October 2015

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Facebook has made it increasingly harder to reach all your fans without generating high levels of engagement. Images score highly in this regard. And an easy way to get more images on your homepage is to post graphic quotes: On October 2, the 125th anniversary of Groucho Marx’s birthday consider something like this from the comic genius: “Man does not control his own fate … The women in his life do that for him.” For a young man choosing to devote his life to one person, it’s surprisingly profound.

This article originally appeared in the September 2015 edition of INSTORE.

6 Mark the debut of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 15 years ago by holding your own forensic investigation of a recent engagement-ring sale that went bad. Discuss what went wrong, what the warning signals were, and what other approaches could have been tried. Nail that sales killer.

11 Need a break? Five minutes of goofing off on YouTube provides healthy mental relief, say studies. In line with our bridal theme this month, we urge you to mark the 40th anniversary of SNL’s premiere today with its take on men discussing marital bliss (See instr.us/8153; you may decide not to share it with clients).

12 Build Your Business With Business Card Week is held to highlight the power of those mini billboards. But sales trainer Dave Richardson says be careful you’re not using them in a way that hurts your bridal sales, specifically by writing down too much information on the back of the card. “The customer then uses that to gain leverage with a competitor,” he says. Richardson recommends you limit the information to the stock number of the item you’ve shown.

13 On National Face Your Fears Day, a simple exercise for you. Think of something you can’t take action on because of fear. Not sure whether to invest in your own diamond brand, try a guerilla marketing campaign, fire that nice but unproductive associate … Now imagine the absolute worst that could happen as a result of making that decision. Then ask yourself, can you deal with that? Often the idea of the pain is worse than the pain itself. Don’t put off that decision one more day.

16 It might not surprise you to learn National Boss Day, held to give workers the chance to show their admiration for their employers, was not invented by an employee (but rather the daughter of the CEO of the State Farm Insurance Co., who wanted workers to know how hard her dad worked). Nevertheless, it’s a good chance to build bonds with staff and show you’re actually a pretty regular guy or gal. Set a big bridal season target for your team and offer to shave your hair off if they achieve it. Sometimes non-financial awards work fine.

25 With exactly two months to go until Christmas and probably 40 percent of both your engagement rings sales and your total jewelry sales to be done for the year, are your troops suitably fired up for the challenge? Have you given them the freedom to “make the deal”? Have you built team spirit so turning over is fun and easy? If you need help, you could do worse than channel Kenneth Branagh in Henry V (instr.us/8154). That today also happens to be St. Crispin’s Day and the 600th anniversary of Henry’s victory at Agincourt makes for a nice coincidence. “He that outlives this day …”

31 If threshold resistance is an issue at your store, especially with nervous young men, Halloween is the date for you. How hard can it be to discuss buying a diamond ring with someone dressed like Khal Drogo?

S T O R E    A N N I V E R S A R I E S

105 Years: Tivol

Kansas City, MO

➤ Over its 105 years in business. Kansas City-based Tivol has done it all: provided jewelry to presidents and royalty and collaborated on jewelry designs with Hollywood A-listers. It nevertheless still has a soft spot for young men looking for a humble ring. “I know that young guys usually aren’t comfortable in a jewelry store. So when I see them come in — and they’re obviously shopping for an engagement ring — I approach them on common ground, saying something like, ‘I know some of this stuff is expensive. It’s kind of unfair that we’re young and haven’t got much money,’ says Hunter Tivol McGrath, the son of CEO Cathy Tivol and the fourth generation Tivol to work in the store. “Being understanding of their situation puts them at ease and, ultimately, that selling style works best,” he says.

B I R T H S T O N E S

Opal

Opal stands almost alone among gemstones for its noncrystalline nature. The multi-colored stones have a rich history, and were collected by ancients around the world. In Europe, the stone fell from favor in the 19th century due to a literary trend in which the opal-wearing heroine invariably came to a sticky end. They have since bounced back, and some black opals now cost more per carat than diamonds. Opals are given to mark the 14th wedding anniversary.