Sales Truths: Know Your Customer To Grow Your Business

Published

16 years ago

September 8, 2008

Dave Richardson

WHY IT’S TRUE
Selling used to be about transactions; now it’s about relationships. People come to your store for jewelry, but they come back only if you care. The information that you have in your database about their occupation, family, and hobbies, and their jewelry wish list, will take you a long way in developing and maintaining a strong relationship.

PLAN OF ACTION
How many customers do you have in your database, and what do you really know about them? Conduct this exercise with your sales staff. On a sheet of paper, ask people to write the names of your top 50 customers. Then ask them to write something they know about that customer — spouse, hobbies, etc. You will be amazed at how little your people, and perhaps you, really know about the customers who come into your store. Customers don’t care what you know until they know that you care.

Windsor Jewelers: Building for Tomorrow with Wilkerson

After 43 years in the jewelry industry, Windsor Jewelers' President Rob Simon knows the value of trusted partnerships. When planning a store expansion in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he turned to Wilkerson to transform existing inventory into construction capital. "There have been very few companies I've dealt with that I totally trust," Simon shares. "Wilkerson understands their success is 100% based on your success." The partnership enabled Windsor to fund new showcases and construction while maintaining their position as their community's premier jeweler. For Simon, the choice was clear: "Over the years, I've been abused in every direction there is by different people in this industry, so I know what to avoid. One company not to avoid is Wilkerson."