INTRODUCTION: Many sales trainers suggest holding sales meetings on Tuesdays or Fridays, but your store’s reality will obviously determine the best time for your meetings. Your weekly meeting can last 30 minutes, 45 minutes or 60 minutes.
Week 10 (Mar 9-15): 15 “Sale Killers” You’re Doing Right Now
OPENING SEQUENCE (5-7 minutes)
Minutes 1-2: Recognition & Praise
- Start with specific wins from yesterday/this week
- Point out behaviors you want repeated
- Examples: “Sarah’s perfect use of the T.O. technique” or “Mike’s follow-up that brought a $5,000 sale”
- Make it sincere and specific
Minutes 3-4: Numbers Check & Store Updates
- Yesterday’s sales highlights (what sold, who sold it)
- Today’s appointments and special situations
- Rush repairs ready for pickup
- Items no longer in cases
- Quick progress check on weekly/monthly goals
- This week’s spiff: “First In, First Out”
Minutes 5-7: Team Connection
- Inspirational quote (rotate who selects)
- Check current gold prices (market awareness)
- Any personal celebrations to acknowledge
- Set positive energy for the day
CORE TRAINING SECTION (20-45 minutes)
FEATURED SUBJECT
15 “Sale Killers” You’re Doing Right Now
Training resources for this lesson — Shane Decker’s columns in July 2018, March 2012, and March 2009.
The Big Idea
Here’s a tough truth: the average closing ratio in independent jewelry stores is only 23 percent. That means 77 out of every 100 clients leave without buying — and most of them came in intending to buy. The sale isn’t being lost to a competitor’s price. It’s being killed by something the salesperson is doing — or failing to do — right there on the floor.
Shane calls these “sale killers,” and after visiting over 3,000 stores, he’s found the same ones happening everywhere. The dangerous part? Most salespeople don’t realize they’re doing them. Today’s meeting is an honest self-assessment. We’re walking through 15 of the most common sale killers — some you’ve trained on before, some that are brand new — and talking about how to eliminate them for good.
The 15 Sale Killers
1. Not asking the client to buy. The number-one sale killer in the jewelry industry. The salesperson gives a beautiful presentation, the client is interested, and then … nobody closes. Clients want you to close — they came in to buy. When you don’t ask, they leave, and over 60 percent buy from someone else soon after. Asking someone to help you close doesn’t make you pushy — it makes you a professional. Managers should always have permission to step in when a salesperson is struggling, because when they do, closing odds nearly double.
2. Leaving the client during the presentation. When you walk away to grab a tool or a report, your closing odds drop by 50 percent — instantly. If you take the jewelry with you, the client feels you don’t trust them. If you leave it, they feel nervous guarding it. Either way, their mind wanders and you have to restart your momentum from scratch. This is why team assists exist — someone should always be available to grab what you need so you never leave.
3. Interruptions. A coworker walks up mid-presentation and asks, “Do you have Mrs. Jones’ appraisal ready?” The client’s thought process is shattered — and they feel that whatever your coworker needed was more important than they are. You may have been in the 30-second window, about to close, and now that opportunity is gone. Cell phones are just as deadly — even on vibrate, the buzz distracts everyone. The rule: no one walks in on a presentation except the manager, and only to assist. Everything else waits.
4. Doing a price presentation. When the first thing out of your mouth is the price — or worse, when you ask “What’s your budget?” — you’ve put the client in a box. If his wife is there, he doesn’t want to look cheap. If he’s alone, he resents being defined by a number. You’ve also signaled that you’re pre-judging his buying power. Sell the quality, the story, and the reason for the purchase. Let value come before price every time.
5. Pre-judging your customers. If #1 is the most common sale killer, this one might be the most insidious. When a customer doesn’t “look like” a buyer, salespeople dial back their effort — they don’t bother to “wow” them, don’t show premium items, don’t invest the time. The result? A self-fulfilling prophecy. Shane tells a story about a store owner’s 14-year-old daughter who wowed a scruffy-looking 30th-anniversary shopper into a $21,950 diamond ring — simply because she didn’t pre-judge. The 20-year veteran salesperson had shown him a $69 bracelet. The rule: assume every client can afford whatever they want. Never sell out of your own pocketbook.
6. Huddling. You trained on this in Week 2 — you know the drill. The client walks in, sees everyone clustered around the POS station, and immediately feels like an outsider. Be scattered across the floor and look busy.
7. Store floor vacancy. Also from Week 2. The five-second rule and covering the sweet spot aren’t suggestions — they’re non-negotiables. If no one’s there to greet, the sale is dead before it starts.
8. Lack of product and gemological knowledge. You covered this in depth in Week 3. The short version: today’s buyers research before they shop. If the client knows more than you do, trust evaporates and so does the sale.
9. Inability to handle objections. When a client raises a concern and the salesperson freezes, stumbles, or gets defensive, the sale is over. Objections are actually buying signals — they mean the client is seriously considering the purchase. You need to handle them with speed, accuracy, and confidence. We’ll spend all of a future session on this, so flag it now and come ready to practice.
10. Not using value-added statements. Covered previously, but worth repeating here: if you can’t explain why the price on the tag is justified, the client will assume it isn’t. Your store’s warranty, trade-up policy, and on-site jeweler are what give the client peace of mind. Use them.
11. Doing a “show and tell” instead of selling. There’s a critical difference between teaching a client about a product and actually selling it. Some salespeople pull out an item, rattle off specs, and wait. That’s a museum tour, not a presentation. Selling means romancing the item — connecting it to the client’s reason for buying, building the emotion behind the occasion, and guiding them toward a decision. If you’re describing the product instead of describing how it will make the client feel, you’re doing show and tell.
12. Doing busy work when clients are present. Week 2 territory again. Clients are always more important than inventory counts or display rearranging. Busy work happens before open or after close — never when a customer is on the floor.
13. Not spending enough time with the client. Rushing a presentation tells the client they aren’t worth your time. The longer a client stays, the higher the closing ratio — Shane has observed this across thousands of stores. Slow down. Get them seated. Offer a drink. Make them comfortable. And never, ever rush to the register the moment they say yes — that’s when add-on opportunities happen.
14. Ignoring the “just looking” client. When a client says “just looking” and you reply, “Okay, let us know if you need anything,” that client is almost certainly walking out. “Just looking” is a defense mechanism, not a dismissal. These clients need a warm, low-pressure re-approach — not abandonment. We’ll go deep on this technique in a future week, but the rule for today is simple: never leave a “just looking” client unattended.
15. A bad attitude. Shane puts it bluntly: “If your attitude sucks, stay home.” Clients read your energy from across the room. If you’re dragging through a bad day, you’re not just hurting your own sales — you’re dragging down the whole store. Leave your personal stuff at the door. The time you spend at work belongs to your clients.
How to Use This List
Don’t try to fix all 15 at once. Be honest about which sale killers show up most often in your store, then pick the top three that need work right now. Assign each team member an accountability partner who watches for those behaviors and gives a quiet heads-up when they happen.
Practice Exercise
Scenario 1: You’re mid-presentation with a couple looking at anniversary bands. A coworker walks up and asks where the Stuller book is. What do you do? What should your coworker have done differently? Role-play both the wrong way and the right way.
Scenario 2: A man walks in wearing a baseball cap and work boots. He’s here for a watch battery. What does your internal voice say — and what should you do instead? Practice the “wow” approach: get a high-ticket item in his hand before he leaves.
CLOSING SEQUENCE (5-8 minutes)
Option A – Team Member Presentation (twice monthly)
- 5-minute presentation by assigned staff
- Topics can include:
- Book Report: 5-10 key takeaways from a business book
- Customer Experience Report: What other retailers do well
- Mystery Shop Report: Insights from visiting competitors
- Learning Summary: Online course or training completed
Option B – Action Planning (alternate weeks)
- Review “wow” opportunities for the day
- Assign follow-up calls
- Preview upcoming store events
- Set individual daily goals
- Quick round: “What’s one thing you’ll implement today?”
FINAL MINUTE
- Restate the main learning point: “Every one of these sale killers is fixable. Pick three and start watching for them today.”
- Team energy boost (high-five, cheer, or affirmation)
- “Let’s make today count!”
- Open doors ready to excel
