MANAGERS, AS YOU know, most stores see a client one time and they never come back. The most important part of salesmanship is giving clients a luxury experience that makes them want to return again and again for every important event in their lives. The best two ways to preserve a client’s loyalty are 1) to close the sale professionally, and 2) clienteling (or follow-up).
Salespeople tell me all the time, “We don’t have time to follow up.” Most stores don’t even send a thank-you card. The fact is, what you do after a client leaves is even more important than what you did when they were in the store.
As a manager, it’s your responsibility to make sure that every salesperson is following up with their clients. Always find out how they want to be followed up with: some want a phone call, some a text, some an email. Then, be sure to give each salesperson a scheduled time off the floor when they can get their follow-up done. The more they sell, the more time they’ll need.
Following up makes clients feel important to you and your company. And that’s super-important given that today’s biggest segment of bridal clients, millennials, feel like they’re treated as the least important customers in retail.
Your first follow-up with bridal clients should be a photo of the ring on her hand texted to her before they leave the store. She’ll look at the photo before she gets in the car to leave. She’ll show it to her friends — which sets you up for even more business down the road.
Then, send each client a thank-you card. Every client who makes a purchase should receive one, even if they just paid for a battery or a repair. I just bought an F-350 Ford truck. I did not receive a thank-you anything: no card, no text, no email, nothing. I went back the other day and no one even knew my name. Wow.
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In the first sentence of your thank-you card, tell the client how important they are to you and your company. Second, deliver a genuine “thank you.” Third, let them know that in six months, they’ll be contacted to set up a free appointment to check, clean and polish their new ring. This appointment (your third follow-up, if you’re keeping track) will allow you to check in as well as plant a seed with a “wow” for a future purchase. Such a future purchase has a closing ratio of 80-90% and is typically five times higher than the price of the bridal purchase.
Stores that don’t clientele lose 30-40% of their opportunities to keep a client. Right now, follow-up is the weakest part of jewelry salespeople’s repertoire. Managers, it’s up to you to change that.
