GETTING INSIDE a customer’s head may seem like a scary prospect. Perhaps the ?just-looking? guy whose response to your opening line was halfway between a grunt and growl is really just a great big pussycat under that gruff exterior. Or perhaps he truly is a man-eating tiger, with a particular preference for a jeweler’s tasty flesh. Regardless of the risks of venturing into such cranial frontiers, if you want to get diamond earrings on the ear lobes of his wife, you will have to address matters with the frontal lobe of the husband’s brain.
With the Christmas selling season coming soon now is a good time to turn yourself and your sales team into brain explorers. Yes, just like those intrepid souls from that classic science fiction movie, Fantastic Voyage. But instead of going to all the effort of miniaturizing your staff and constructing a teeny-tiny ship capable of traveling through the human body, why not just have a look at this month’s lead story on customers?
In this month’s lead, we examine the customer psyche from many different angles, telling you what they’re thinking, what to do and what not to do, to make the most of your interaction with them. Retailers from across the country identify their toughest customer types, from those number-crazy ?engineer? types who thrive on technical presentations to the emotionally-driven customer who desperately wants to be romanced by a jeweler. (Not all of us do well with such customers ? which is probably why God invented the ?turnover?.) We also offer methods you can use to establish yourself as a customer’s trusted style advisor ? a great way for you to influence their purchase decisions. Plus, as an extra bonus for the style-challenged, we’ve even got a grid of celebrities along with suggestions from retailers and designers as to the jewelry that would suit them best.) Finally, we show you how to make the most of that much-maligned, but thoroughly golden opportunity ? the customer who just wants to try stuff on. Hey, don’t sigh ? sell!
Hope you enjoy this month’s issue.
Wishing you the very best business …
David Squires
Executive Editor and Associate Publisher
(Click here)
Family Legacy, New Chapter: How Wilkerson Turns 89 Years of History Into Future Success
After 89 years of serving the Albany community, Harold Finkle Your Jeweler faced a pivotal decision. For third-generation owner Justin Finkle, the demanding hours of running a small business were taking precious time away from his young family. "After 23 years, I decided this was the time for me," Finkle explains. But closing a business with nearly nine decades of inventory and customer relationships isn't something easily managed alone.
Wilkerson's comprehensive approach transformed this challenging transition into a remarkable success story. Their strategic planning handled everything from advertising and social media to inventory management and staffing — elements that would overwhelm most jewelers attempting to navigate a closing sale independently.
The results speak volumes. "Wilkerson gave us three different tiers of potential goals," Finkle notes. "We've reached that third tier, that highest goal already, and we still have two weeks left of the sale." The partnership didn't just meet financial objectives—it exceeded them ahead of schedule.
