RETAIL ECONOMISTS ARE telling us that this 4th quarter and the first 24 days of December are going to break records. Impulse buys are going to be easier, faster and more fun. High-ticket luxury items will sell at a rate unheard of in past years.
So, let’s talk about those impulse buys. Have you ever gone shopping for someone else but then found something you wanted and bought it for yourself? You had no intention of purchasing anything for yourself, but that day you did. Impulse buys like that are returned less often than a planned purchase, they are more exciting, and the first thing you want to do is tell someone what you bought.
Selling the impulse buy takes practice, but it’s well worth it, because your clients never forget an awesome experience. Research shows that people retain about 40-50% of what they hear, about 50-60% of what they see, and 100% of how they’re treated. You remember awful experiences and you remember great experiences, and you tell your friends about both.
Like I’ve said before, the experience is even more important than the item purchased. You can buy jewelry anywhere, but you can’t get an awesome experience everywhere. Delivering that amazing experience is the most important part of your presentation with each client.
Timing is critical. Clients remember the first 30 seconds and the last 30 seconds of each presentation the most. What you deliver during those windows is what they’re going to talk about and remember. Always lead with something that nobody else is doing. People remember different.
Do not be afraid of price. Show high ticket. Don’t sell out of your own pocketbook — that’s a sale killer. Instead, let the client decide how much they want to spend. This Christmas, large diamond studs, pendants, and large in-line diamond bracelets are the wow items to show before a client leaves. It’s going to be a diamond Christmas.
Planting seeds for future sales is done with a tool called the lead-in line. This is something you say to create interest. Never say “Is there anything else?” or “Let me show you…” or “Can I show you something else?” These are all “no” answers from your client, another sale killer.
Instead, this is what you say (and remember the timing has to be right).
“Guess what’s in the vault?”
“Gotta show you my favorite.”
“Guess what just came in?”
“We have something that should be in the Smithsonian, but it’s in the back.”
When you say these lead-in lines, be sure the client can hear passion and excitement in your voice. Communicate through your body language that seeing this “wow” item is going to be a lot of fun.
Planting seeds means getting the client to think about future purchases — maybe next Valentine’s, their anniversary or another special event. And wowing creates impulse buys.
But it takes action on your part. I hear all the time, “They just came in for a battery. They didn’t want anything else.” How do you know that? When you do nothing, nothing happens.
This Christmas, wow everyone with diamonds, plant seeds, create impulse buys, and give your client an experience that no other jeweler in your town is giving. Clients will talk about it and send in their friends. Sell $10K, $20K, and $40K diamonds because you can. (If you think you can or you think you can’t … you’re right.) Merry Christmas and happy selling!