SellingPrice First,Features Second
When asked, “How much?”, the first digit of a number should always be the first sound out of your mouth. That’s the advice of sales pro Gene Chamberlain. If you start with a sales line like, “Sir, you have excellent taste in diamonds,” followed by a list of the features, then the person stops listening. Start with the price, followed — without pause — by the features, and all those things you list make the price seem cheaper and cheaper.
MARKETINGMark the Milestones
For the last few years, the “Wizard of Ads” Roy H. Williams has been urging jewelers to invest more time, effort and marketing dollars in “anniversary diamonds.” The logic is compelling: There are only slightly more than 2 million weddings in the U.S. each year versus 62 million married couples who will celebrate some sort of anniversary. Couples are usually in a better financial position to mark such milestones as they grow older, and so it’s a chance for the ring-buying partner to say “I love you” twice, three times, six times as much as when they were married with a diamond six times as large, says Williams, who has even thrown in a radio segment that jewelers can use for free. It can be found here: mondaymorningmemo.com/newsletters/a-note-to-jewelers-worldwide.
salesTime to Tune In
Talk less, listen more. We know you’ve heard it before. But professionals who are smart and know what they are talking about are often the worst listeners — even those who write about communication for a living! Best-selling business author Tom Peters, for example, calls listening “the bedrock of leadership excellence,” but at the same time admits he’s a terrible listener and “a serial interrupter.” So, to help him stay focused on the other person, he writes the word “listen” on the palm of his hand before walking into meetings. “The focus must be on what the other person is saying, not on formulating your response. That kind of listening shows respect for the other person, and they notice it,” he says. Keep it in mind — or on your palm — the next time a young couple is trying to tell you what sort of ring they want.
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STORE DESIGNBrighten Up Your Office Space
Beige and gray are great colors to allow diamonds to shine, but they don’t make for the most invigorating mental environment for a meeting room, employee back room or your office. As John Brandon explains in INC, colors can affect how you feel and think. Blue stimulates your brain, yellow your emotions, red your body, and green your balance. “Ditch the gray. Add a poster or a splash of paint to brighten up the space and your ideas,” he says.
MARKETINGPerception Trumps Reality
Who should be paid more? A jeweler who takes 10 minutes to fix a bent prong, or one who takes two hours? Clearly, one is experienced and the other is not particularly skillful. But in such situations, consumers show over and over again that when it comes to paying for services, they tie value to effort. Capitalize by providing regular updates on the effort a job is requiring and using language that implies effort in the creation and sourcing of the jewelry. It’s why words like “artisanal,” “handcrafted” and “fair trade organic” resonate with customers.
HIRINGAsk What They Admire
In the sci-fi novel Engines of God, the codebreaker Maggie Tufu says, “Tell me what a person admires, and I’ll tell you everything about them that matters.” It’s profound and true, and a great interview question the next time you’re hiring.
