Week 1 / FEB. 29-Mar. 5

Sales Add traceable codes to vouchers included with your sales staff’s thank-you notes. That way you’ll encourage the cultivation of personal relationships between your customers and your associates. Count up the coupons at the end of the month or quarter and reward the associate who generates the most.

Buying Show season is on the way (The SMART Jewelry Show starts on April 17). Prepare a portfolio to present to prospective vendors. Inside should be a letter of introduction that contains information about your store’s history, the demographics of your market, other brands you carry and your business’s credit ratings. Also, include marketing campaigns you’ve carried out and copies of magazine articles that mention your store or staff. (Another reason to join the Brain Squad — hint, hint). That should let anyone know you’re serious.

Week 2 / MAR. 7-12

Sales Does your after-hours phone message simply state, “Sorry, we’re closed”? That’s what sales trainer Jeffrey Gitomer calls “Doh” service. If so, re-record it to direct customers to your website, or even another number they can contact you on

Management Bring a chair along to your next store meeting and tell staff it represents the missing element from your conversations: the customer. Amazon supremo Jeff Bezos swears that the “presence” of a customer gives Amazon the confidence to innovate in a more responsive way.

Marketing Study April’s birthstone, diamond, and the best ways to work price and value perceptions. Begin planning a diamond event that can be run in April.

Week 3 / MAR. 14-19

Personal Adjust your will to appoint a “digital executor.” You don’t want to be paying automatic eBay fees or sending out Facebook friend requests long after you’re dead. Authorize the person to access your log-in information and spell out what you want done with each account.

Customer Relations List all the people who referred customers over the past three months: Thank them with flowers. If it’s a big sale, perhaps a gift certificate to a local restaurant.

Collateral Reorganize your store training library by subject. Find books and magazine articles for staff to read. Need some material for yourself? Go back through your old gemological course papers.

Week 4 / MAR. 21-26

Inventory It’s time to get on top of all those loose diamonds you’ve accumulated in the last few years: Sort, weigh and grade them according to your own sense of what will make a great center stone.

Buying Get specific about your show preparations. Drill down into your reports to find what metals, diamond shapes and price point range are selling best or are missing from your lineup. Recalculate your open-to-buy, based on sales and whether your dollars may have gone up or down.

Week 5 / MAR. 28-APR. 2

Marketing Yellow gold is back. Look into what promotions the World Gold Council may be planning for Gold Month in May.

Operations Schedule a technician to do a tune-up of your A/C. Once it starts warming up, it can be hard to find a tradesman.

This article originally appeared in the March 2016 edition of INSTORE.