Selling Design: Lauren Kulchinsky Levison

Published

12 years ago

April 2, 2012

INSTORE Staff

Selling Design: Lauren Kulchinsky Levison

BY INSTORE TEAM

Selling Design: Lauren Kulchinsky Levison

Published in the May2012 issue

I love me some Chanel, oh yes, I do. In any city in the world, you can find me drooling over some fantasy confection that Karl Lagerfield had in mind just for me to wear when he designed it (at least, that is what I think). Before I ever try a piece on, I e-mail my trusty Chanel sales associate and ask her if she has what I am coveting at the moment. I know she will not allow me to purchase something that will look dreadful or that just is not right. I also know she will send me a bunch of things to play with in my closet before I commit. Did I mention that my associate lives across the country? So … how is it that I owe allegiance to a woman who sells a brand that I love and that I can get in my home town? She is the brand behind the brand to me. She makes collecting my favorite brand more enjoyable and more personal, and she makes me feel connected to the bigger picture. Do you do this in your store? Don’t rely on only the brand itself to make the sale. If that worked, we’d all be out of business. Don’t be afraid to tell the client if a particular brand isn’t the right fit. Trust is everything. Do rely on the brand’s humanity and inspiration to inspire your customer. Do bring up wonderful stories of how you met the designer and why you feel that he or she is a good addition to the store. Smile. Touch. Man, you’d be surprised. Your clients should always feel while looking at your jewelry that you chose it just for them, and when they love a designer, they should feel that the designer created it just for them. They just want to look “oh so pretty!”

Lauren Kulchinsky Levison, Vice-President, Mayfair Rocks (Woodbury and East Hampton, NY)

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Looking for a Seamless Sale? Call Wilkerson

After almost 60 years in business, Breakiron Jewelers in Erie, Pennsylvania, was closing its doors. And the store’s owner, Linda Breakiron, was ready for it. She had run the store as its sole owner since the beginning of the millennium and was looking forward to a change. Of course, she called Wilkerson. Breakiron talked to other jewelers who had used Wilkerson and was satisfied with their response. “They always had positive feedback,” she recalls. With the sales, marketing and even additional inventory that Wilkerson provided, Breakiron insists she could never have accomplished her going-out-of-business sale without Wilkerson’s help. She’s now ready for the journey ahead, but looking back, she’d be sure to recommend Wilkerson. “They just made the whole process very seamless.”