HIRINGDigital Natives Wanted
The modern sales funnel, which begins online, demands a tweaked approach to hiring, says Shane O’Neill, vice president of Fruchtman Marketing. Millennials begin turning 40 this year. Gen Z, who are digital natives, have entered their 20s. “That means if you’re hiring a salesperson, there’s a high probability he or she will come with the technical skills and digital savvy that you need,” he said at a recent INSTORE Live event. O’Neill recommends you search out those skills, such as photography, that bring added value, in the interview process. Then codify that online sales techniques are part of the job from the beginning.
MARKETINGCatch Those College Drop-Ins
It’s back-to-school season and a great time to be a jeweler in a university town. If that’s you, consider advertising in a high-end hotel or setting up a cross-promotion with a nearby restaurant to bring in that visiting parent traffic, recommends Theresa Peregoy, owner of Classic Facets, in Edgewater, CO.
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MANAGEMENT70% Is Good Enough
His recent transgressions aside, Louis C.K. provides wisdom in his humor, such as his take on what to do when you’re struggling to choose a new phone or cable service provider. To get past the analysis paralysis, Louis suggests a simple rule: if you’re 70 percent happy with your decision, just go for it. “That false perfectionism (of trying to make the correct choice) traps you in this painful ambivalence: but it also bleeds into big decisions,” he told GQ magazine. “So my rule is that if you have someone or something that gets 70 percent approval, you just do it. ‘Cause … who the *!#! do you think you are, a god?”
MANAGEMENTUnderstand Brand Incentives
No matter what brands you sell, make sure you know what incentives they offer, and then educate your team on what they are and how to take advantage. The payoff can be surprising, says Lucy Conklin, sales manager for Toner Jewelers in Overland Park, KS. “We have grown our Gabriel & Co. sales a lot this year, and I think a big contributor is that our sales associates are more engaged with the incentives they offer.”
SOFTWARESorry Not Sorry
A lack of assertiveness in your emails can have the effect of diluting an important message. The solution? Just Not Sorry, a free Gmail plug-in that identifies qualifying words and phrases like “I think,” “just,” “I’m no expert,” and “sorry” so you can rework them. Even doing this as a one-off exercise can be beneficial to test your tone so that you better understand the impact your writing has on people.
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MANAGEMENTBuild Yourself a Mental First-Aid Kit
To give yourself a mental boost when things get you down, Allen P. Haines and Bonnie St. John recommend an “emotional first aid kit” that can include old thank-you notes, family photos, and mementos from vacations. In their book, Micro-Resilience: Minor Shifts For Major Boosts In Focus, Drive, And Energy, they say the key is to keep the “kit” in a drawer or some other place where you can retrieve it when things aren’t going your way.
