COLORED GEMSTONES
Three Shows, Triple Sales
Stop halfway selling. Every customer deserves three presentations: what they came for, the add-on, and the “wow” piece. First takes five minutes — listen, match, deliver. Add-on takes 30 seconds: “Here’s what goes with that.” The wow? Something gorgeous, slightly above their range. You’re not pushing. You’re planting seeds for tomorrow. Maybe next anniversary or next birthday. They saw it, they felt something, and now they know where it lives. When you quit selling, customers quit buying. Keep showing.
SELF-IMPROVEMENT
Embarrassment Is Progress
Think your old designs, pitches, or marketing pieces look cringeworthy? Good. James Clear, author of “Atomic Habits”, says embarrassment is proof you’ve grown. If you don’t blush at what you made five years ago, you’ve been standing still. Progress leaves awkward footprints. Better to risk the wince than rot in place.
Advertisement
BENCH
The $28 Insurance Policy
Never check stones for free. Shop profitability authority David Geller insists on charging $28 to check and tighten 5-20 stones. It covers your liability when they fall out later. “You pay car insurance without accidents — this is jewelry insurance.” Those $28 charges add up to serious protection money.
SALES
Teach “Bomb Recovery” for When a Joke Fails
Michael Kerr, author of “The Humor Advantage”, says the trick is self-deprecation: “Wow, that joke died faster than a broken watch battery.” Then move on. Staff don’t need to be comedians — just quick enough to laugh at themselves. Nobody hates the humble. A graceful flop is weirdly charming.
STORE DESIGN
Turn Up the Color, Turn Up the Energy
Forget beige. Interior designer Noz Nozawa helped Fiat Lux in San Francisco embrace “joyful maximalism” with burgundy cases, painted wall displays, and even gold-dusted wallpaper. Owner Marie McCarthy wanted jewelry shopping to feel fun, not formal. Color is a shortcut to energy — and energy is contagious. When a store looks alive, customers feel alive in it.
Advertisement
COLORED GEMSTONES
Use Gem Lore as a Hook
Legends add life to colored gemstone jewelry presentations. “[Burmese warriors] used to insert rubies into their skin to make them invincible in battle,” says Valerie Peirano, owner of Peirano Jewelers in Pleasant Hill, CA. Tracy Gibson, manager of Studio D in Woodstock, IL, jokes that amethyst may claim to cure hangovers, “but I know from personal experience it doesn’t cure drunkenness.” Stories make color fun.
MOTIVATION
Give Them Skin in the Game
People resist change they feel has been forced on them. Alison Reynolds and David Lewis, authors of “What Philosophy Can Teach You About Being a Better Leader”, argue that buy-in comes when staff see their fingerprints on the plan. Tell employees when their input changed your mind. Suddenly it’s not “the boss’s scheme,” it’s our scheme. That little shift turns reluctant compliance into genuine commitment. And frankly, nobody fights against their own idea.
TRAINING
Use Video to Speed Up Training
Long commutes and slow onboarding pushed William Jones IV of Sissy’s Log Cabin to film short training modules. The result? “Now we can hire someone outside of industry and train them in six months instead of up to three years,” says Jones, who later founded Jewelry Sales Academy. Recording simple lessons on greeting customers or showing product can free managers and multiply efficiency.
Advertisement
