Smart Managers: Kendra Logan

KENDRA LOGAN enjoys motivating staff as much as she loves selling and wearing diamonds. In 2010, she logged $1 million in personal sales in a store that offers price points from $99 to “sky’s the limit.” Her passion for jewelry is so obvious, she says, that any time she walked into a jewelry store, even in high school, someone invariably offered her a job. “It was fate,” she says. — Eileen McClelland[/dropcap]

THE KEY TO MOTIVATION is to lead by example. Truly enjoy others’ successes as much as your own. Lifting each other up, supporting them, if they need something done, helping each other out.

I’M A HUGE BELIEVER in the handwritten note and thanking clients without saying “Come back and see me,” or anything else about sales.

I LOVE TO SELL Hearts On Fire. I love the packaging, the gift bags, ribbons, the neat certificates of authenticity.

I LOVE TO WEAR diamonds because they match anything.

NEVER PREJUDGE a farmer with a pocket full of cash. A woman wearing an Iowa Hawkeye sweatshirt and a Timex led to a $50,000 sale on New Year’s Eve. They had been married for decades and it was for a new wedding ring. I just started showing the biggest thing possible, and I’ll be darned if I didn’t sell it. Two hours before close, the last day of the year — what a good way to end 2010.

CONSTANTLY BE LEARNING. Don’t wait for someone to train you. Find someone on staff who can be your mentor and constantly ask them questions. You will get up to speed much faster.

MY FAVORITE responsibility is sales training. There’s a binder on my desk that says “training and education.” Most of it is INSTORE daily bulletins that we print out. In between customers, you can grab that binder.

Don’t BE ARAID TO ASK for the sale. Then stop talking! Let the question marinate. You’ll be surprised how many times the client will just say “OK.”

CLOSING IS HUGE, but how you do it depends on who you are working with. Over time you get a feel for what you can get away with. You ask yourself, can I just get out the receipt pad and start writing it up, or do I need to keep closing every step of the way? My favorite close is “When would you like to pick this up?” Assume the sale.

[span class=note]This story is from the May 2010 edition of INSTORE[/span]