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IT’S ONE THING to persuade a prospective customer that they need a diamond. It’s another thing entirely to convince them that they’re in the right place to buy it. For that, you must have strong company benefits. Company benefits are the added values, the extra things your store does for the customer, usually free of charge. When taken in total, they set you apart from every other competitor.
When your customers know what differentiates your store from the rest, you’ll have less people leaving to shop around, and more people returning to buy from you. Most jewelry stores offer from 50 to 120 company benefits to their customers. However, sometimes two or three very powerful ones can carry the day. Company benefits fall into three categories:
Services
The above-and-beyond actions you take for your customers, services are often worth far more to your customer than their cost to you in dollars. Examples include sizing rings while a customer waits, free gift-wrapping, interest-free financing, and free watch battery replacement.
Facts
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Those store attributes that encourage trust, facts about your company let the customer know that they can rest easy making a purchase from you. For example, being a third or fourth generation owner, belonging to reputable jewelry organizations, having graduate gemologists on staff, and having state-of-the-art technology available for viewing diamonds are all impressive facts.
Quality
The assurances you give the customer that guarantee an impeccable product, quality benefits alone can often close the sale for you. Examples include money-back or trade-in guarantees, brand name jewelry, high skill and expertise in jewelry repair and appraisal, and GIA certified diamonds.
How many company benefits do you offer your customers? And, have you trained your staff on selling them? When your customers know what differentiates your store from the rest, you’ll have less people leaving to shop around, and more people returning to buy from you. Likewise, the more compelling benefits you offer, the more customers will talk about you to their friends, and referral business will increase. Prospects brought in by referrals have the highest closing rate in the industry. Therefore, we can conclude that incredible company benefits can have a more powerful impact on sales than almost any other aspect of your business.
But how do you know which benefits to push to a given customer? Anything that has tangible value to the customer immediately and which is unique to your operation should be included in every sales presentation. By including this information, your salespeople can often head off integrity objections before they start. In other cases, your salespeople will offer company benefits to answer specific objections from the customer.
Clearly, having strong company benefits can make or break an operation. So ask yourself: what’s it worth to your business to load up on company benefits? $1 million? $5 million? Now can you afford to offer that amazing diamond guarantee, or that unbelievable financing? The possibilities are endless, but only if you invest in the benefits and train your people.
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