On customer service: All Set

Boost your bridal sales with one simple strategy.

BY PETER CANNELLA

Published in the November 2012 issue.

Show a wedding band along with the engagement ring, and do so every time.

I’ve been using this technique for 25 years, and I can tell you that about 35 percent of the time the customer leaves with both items. The most common statement I hear from the customer is, “I was looking just for the engagement ring.” Why? Because almost no one shows the wedding band with the engagement ring.

My response to the customer is, “For 10 percent of the time you and your future wife are together, you will see just the engagement ring on her hand. But, for the remaining 90 percent, you will see the two bands together.”

Let’s perform some quick math. Say the engagement ring is $5,000, and the wedding band is another $1,000.

If you sell the wedding band my average 3.5 times out of 10, you have added $3,500 in sales.

This strategy allows you to make a choice close: “Do you want to take both rings today or just the engagement ring?”

If your client says he is sure about the engagement ring but is uncertain about the wedding band, politely inform him he is free to change out the wedding band if his fiancée wants something different. If your customer decides that they are going to purchase just the engagement ring now, great! Wrap it up.

Why would you allow a competitor to sell them additional bridal items you can capitalize on?

Ask his permission to follow up with a thank-you note and a personal phone call but make sure you do so only after the engagement is official. If he wants both rings, use a double ring box and follow up just the same.

When he comes back into the store with his fiancée for sizing or to exchange, this is another opportunity to solidify confidence. He is giving you the privilege to meet his fiancée and this opens up additional sales possibilities. You can discuss bridesmaids’ and groomsmen’s gifts along with the man’s wedding band. Since they both now have confidence in you, why would you allow a competitor to sell them additional bridal items you easily can capitalize on?

You can continue to grow the business relationship you have been developing. Close to the wedding date, send them a wedding card congratulating them on their happiness. In this card, do not try to sell anything. You may have by now even been invited to attend to their wedding. I average three weddings a year through my customers’ invitations.

Then when your clients’ birthdays and anniversaries arrive, you are needed once again. Because you have thought outside the proverbial box and advanced with them to a new business level, they won’t buy from anyone else but you. They likely will refer their friends and relatives to see you. I have found no easier and effective way than this to maximize bridal sales and it’s really simple to do. Just be consistent and watch your sales grow.

Peter Cannella is a 27-year veteran in the jewelry industry having held positions in sales, store and district management. He is currently the fine jewelry manager at Belk’s in Atlanta, GA.