REMEMBER BACK BEFORE the pandemic? Your clients could come in and just sit and talk, see how you were doing, hang out. They were very comfortable. Now they’re masked up, stay a shorter amount of time, and fewer are coming in.
But never fear! Technology allows you to stay ahead of the curve. This holiday season, I want you to have a Zoom diamond event. It needs to be at least one week long. Make sure you have up to 5 carats in size or even larger available, as big diamonds are selling at a historic rate.
Here are the steps to take to make a Zoom diamond event successful.
Get a Zoom account set up if you don’t have one. (Some clients may prefer FaceTime, so you can make an exception in those cases.)
Use email, texts, social media, calling and direct mail to let your clients know that they can shop for Christmas from home. Tell them that the experience is more personal because there are no masks. You can see the expression on someone’s face. No one is in a hurry, and it’s more comfortable.
Find out if they want a morning or afternoon appointment and set it up. Text them a day before and remind them of their Zoom appointment.
Have an area ready that is pleasing to the eye. A bridal area works very well. Let others in the store know about your appointment so they don’t interrupt. Dress professionally. NO PHONES IN THE ROOM.
Know what they want to see in advance. Ask them to sit down at home with a glass of wine. Let them know they can record your presentation to show others after they open the gift to show how much fun they had. Have all the tools that you need ready. If the diamond has a lab report, you can take a picture of it and send it ahead of time.
When showing diamonds, be able to magnify the diamond, take a photo and show them the internal characteristics. Have matching items ready for possible add-on sales. Don’t just sell one item. Be ready to take tour around the store and show them other merchandise for add-on sales or alternatives to what you’ve already shown.
Let them know that if they live close, you will deliver their package on your way home – they don’t even have to come in to pick it up. They can pay when you drop it off or by phone.
Lastly, this is going to be the first Zoom diamond event you’ve ever had, so let them know they’ll have a nice gift coming to show your appreciation, like a bottle of wine or a gift certificate to a local restaurant.
Every sales associate should try to have four or five Zoom appointments a day during this week. Zoom closing ratios are higher than when clients come into the store. This kind of appointment makes it all about them, it’s very personal, and they’ll start talking about you and their family again.
You can make this the biggest diamond event you’ve ever had, but it’s going to take a lot of time and clienteling. You have to plan the time for your salespeople to do proper contacting to set up the appointments. This is not a sale; there’s no discounting. It’s an event that allows your client in their home to have the best holiday buying experience they’ve ever had.
Merry Christmas, happy Zoom selling, have fun and sell a lot of diamonds!