SALES PEOPLE LIVE and die professionally by their ability to tell a compelling story and engage their customers emotionally. Managers must be able to communicate clearly what they want their staff to do, and owners to articulate the vision they have for their business.
So, in this year’s Big Survey we asked America’s jewelers about the tired phrasings, clutch words and jargon that they felt let them down or allowed a customer to escape engaging staff.
Here are the words jewelers felt they overused:
- How can I help you?
- Sure! We can do that
- It’s beautiful
- It is what it is
- How ya doing today?
- Awesome!
- Have a great day
- No problem
- Stone
- Absolutely
- In all honesty …
- Price point
- Millennials
- Plethora
- GIA reports
Our jewelers also listed other phrases that weren’t tired or poor choices for a sales setting, but which they still regretted using so often, such as those that suggest something is less than optimum in the store, like “Just kill me now,” or “Business is slow” or that point to trouble ahead as in “It will be ready in an hour,” “Let me check with my goldsmith”, or even just “Yes” when “No” was probably the better answer.
And then there were the words said too often that as one jeweler noted correctly, “You probably can’t post here.”
The 2019 Big Survey was conducted in September and October and attracted responses from more than 800 American jewelers. Look out for all the results in the November issue of INSTORE.
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