Five Things I Know For Sure About Sales: Adam Jacobs

Published

9 years ago

January 10, 2016

Adam Jacobs

Toodie’s Fine Jewelry

This article originally appeared in the January 2016 edition of INSTORE.

Adam Jacobs, 27, started working for his dad, Howard Jacobs, when he was just 15 years old, at Toodie’s Fine Jewelry in Quincy, MA, which was named for his grandmother. Adam hit the $1 million mark in personal sales at age 22 — a goal he has hit every year since. What did his dad think of his son’s talent? “I guess he thought, like father, like son,” Adam says. “He’s a very, very smart businessman.” — Eileen McClelland

1
NEVER FORCE A SALE. I’m not pushy. I give my customers space, urging them to shop around, and then reminding them what I have to offer.

2
TREAT ’EM ALL THE SAME. As part of my training, I would go into a lot of jewelry stores, wearing jeans, work boots, hooded sweatshirt, and some people would help me and others would look down on me. I’ve made some of my biggest sales to customers covered in oil up to their elbows.

3
RESPECT THE BUDGET. Upselling makes clients feel very uncomfortable and gives this business a bad rap. I show them things from $100 to $20,000 but if they tell me they can only spend $3,500, I respect that.

4
FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT. Hiring? You should be able to read a natural-born salesperson with how they carry themselves. Are they slouched? Do they make eye contact? How’s their tone of voice? I’m not the most physically fit individual, but I carry myself well, I make direct eye contact, and I get very personal with the person I’m speaking with.

5
JEWELRY IS DEEPLY MEANINGFUL. Two years ago, around Christmas, a true friend of mine came in to look at an engagement ring for his girlfriend. I set it aside for him on Saturday, and he was going to pay for it on Monday, and propose on Christmas Eve. But he was hit by a car and killed that weekend. I still had the ring set aside in January when his parents came in and bought it for his girlfriend. They knew that was what he would have wanted. She still thanks me to this day.

Looking for a Seamless Sale? Call Wilkerson

After almost 60 years in business, Breakiron Jewelers in Erie, Pennsylvania, was closing its doors. And the store’s owner, Linda Breakiron, was ready for it. She had run the store as its sole owner since the beginning of the millennium and was looking forward to a change. Of course, she called Wilkerson. Breakiron talked to other jewelers who had used Wilkerson and was satisfied with their response. “They always had positive feedback,” she recalls. With the sales, marketing and even additional inventory that Wilkerson provided, Breakiron insists she could never have accomplished her going-out-of-business sale without Wilkerson’s help. She’s now ready for the journey ahead, but looking back, she’d be sure to recommend Wilkerson. “They just made the whole process very seamless.”