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Follow These 5 Tips to Sell More During the Holidays

From average sale to add-ons, managers need to push salespeople to peak performance.

Published

1 year ago

October 28, 2022

Bill Boyajian Instore October 2022 Issue

THE MOST IMPORTANT thing that goes on in a jewelry store is sales, and there is no more important time for selling than during the holiday season. But are you as prepared as you need to be to up your sales and management game in a year where many are feeling a slowdown in the economy?

Here are five practical tips that can help increase your store sales during the 2022 holiday season.

Have a Monthly Sales Goal for Every Salesperson

Often, there is a monthly goal for the store that everyone knows. But seldom is there a goal for each individual on the sales floor. Every salesperson needs a target to stretch to because that helps drive individual sales and store sales overall. The old adage, “What gets measured gets done,” applies here. Any salesperson who doesn’t want a monthly sales goal shouldn’t be selling.

The Best Salespeople Need to be First Up

This may go against the grain of your normal “up system,” but if store traffic is down like it has been for the last two years, you only have one chance to impress a customer and make a sale. You need to have your most experienced and capable people making the important sales. They have the confidence to handle even the most challenging customers, and they should be up first to do so.

Push Salespeople to Increase Their Average Retail Sales

The secret to growing a business is not to sell what you’ve always sold. This may get you consistent sales from year to year, but it won’t grow your business the way you need to grow it. Salespeople must learn to move customers up in size, if not always quality. Increasing average retail sale is vital all year long, but especially during the holidays.

The Best Time to Sell Is When Someone Is Buying

Most men have five problems every year: Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, birthdays and anniversaries. Selling a beautiful piece of jewelry during the holiday season is only the start. An add-on sale for Valentine’s Day and/or Mother’s Day solves two problems with one visit. Accompanying jewelry items in a jewelry collection — matching earrings, necklace, or bracelet — are sure-fire winners.

Clientele as Never Before

Salespeople can’t just wait for people to come in; they need to drive traffic by creating sales when none seem to exist. The holiday season is the most special time of the year for customers to spend money and for salespeople to sell their precious items. Employ your CRM system to nudge clients via text and phone. The information available to you today has never been greater, so use it to drive sales.

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”