Need a motto for 2023? How about “Inventory should not have anniversaries.” That’s from business coach Bob Negen, co-founder of WhizBang! Retail Training. An optimal inventory turn rate for a jeweler is above 1. Any products that have been sitting on your boards for close to a year are draining life from your business and probably driving away bored customers. Reduce the price, bundle it or do a stock balance … do whatever it takes to move it on. Turn and earn!
INVENTORY
Kill Two birds with Small Stones
David Blitt, owner of Troy Shoppe Jewellers in Calgary, AB, does something similar to get a jump on wedding season. “I try to prepare some of my loose melee in small bands that I can use at blow-out prices. Gets rid of small goods and reminds clients it is wedding band time,” he explains.
MARKETINGNew Year Preview
Give customers a sneak peek at what you have planned for this year. Are you introducing new products? Have you grown your staff or expanded your services? Send out an email recapping the past year and let people know what you have planned for the New Year, recommends Constant Contact in their monthly marketing newsletter.
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GOAL-SETTINGKnow when to Quit
A little negativity can be a good thing, argues Annie Duke in her new book, Quit: The Power Of Knowing When To Walk Away. “Optimism causes you to overestimate both the likelihood and magnitude of success and stick to things too long,” she says. “Unchecked by realism, it prevents you from quitting when you ought to walk away.”
SALESShow and Tell
Keep a gemstone with super interesting inclusions handy to show under magnification, urges GIA-accredited jewelry pro John Nicolosi, adding that it doesn’t have to be flawless or even a diamond. “Flawless doesn’t really exist,” he says. “Because clarity is graded at 10x mag. Zooming in beyond 10x can reveal extremely minute characteristics, even in flawless diamonds. Remember, Mother Nature—or humans, for lab-grown—made every diamond different,” which is a powerful attraction to a potential buyer.
MANAGEMENTFeed it forward
Providing feedback has long been considered an essential skill for leaders. But according to executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, there are two problems with it: It addresses something in the past and it makes the recipient defensive. In its place, he recommends “feedforward,” which is suggesting a couple of things that could help one of your workers improve their performance. “It can be very specific and still delivered in a positive way. The manager can cover the same points without feeling embarrassed and without making the subordinate feel even more humiliated,” he says.
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MARKETINGA New approach
You may not be enamored with Valentine’s Day as a selling date but set aside money for advertising for the last two weeks of January and the first two weeks of February regardless. “It gets your name in the minds of guys who don’t want to propose on cliche holidays but want to propose soon,” notes Jennifer Farnes, owner of Revolution Jewelry Works in Colorado Spring, CO. “Like it or not, everyone is pitching Valentine’s to them, so they are thinking about it anyway. Just advertise it differently.”