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Send Birthday Cards to Jewelry You Sold a Year Ago … and More Great December Tips

“Tell your mom Barbara hello!”

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BIRTHDAY WISHES

Send A Card

Here’s an idea from David Geller that you could be doing right now to get last year’s holiday customers into your store again this year. Send birthday cards to the jewelry you sold last year at this time. Write something like: “Happy Birthday, emerald ring. You’re one year old and were created at Smith’s Jewelers. Come in for a free bath and polish in honor of your first birthday. Tell your mom Barbara hello!”

FEELING SATISFIED

Pay For Happiness

There are many different ways to compensate your sales team. But one of the most innovative is the approach taken by the Walser Automotive Group in Hopkins, MN. Sales associates don’t receive straight salaries, and they don’t work on commission. Instead, their pay is based on measured levels of customer satisfaction. Could you work out a similar system for your jewelry store?

BE RIDICULOUS

Word That Works

If your ad copy is sounding old, dull and tired, we’ll give you one a one-word vitamin perscription. “Ridiculously.” Really. Just about everything sounds better when prefaced with the word “ridiculously.” Ridiculously low prices! Ridiculously cool products! Ridiculously great service! Try it. We think you’ll find it … ridiculously effective.

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OUT OF THE OFFICE

Interview Outside

Where do you conduct job interviews? You might get better results doing it outside of your office, says Harvey Mackay, author of the best-selling business book We Got Fired … And It’s the Best Thing That Ever Happened To Us. Says Mackay: “If they are golfers, I’ll play with them; if they are bowlers, I’ll go bowling. If they like the opera, I’ll take them to the opera. I want to see them in a different territory.”

TRANSER STUDENT

Send Staff Out

If you’re a young store and don’t yet have a standout salesperson on your team, a good way to help create one is by sending staff members to other stores to watch their great salespeople in action. Have a relationship a non-competing retailer with great salespeople in your state or region? Write a letter to them, starting with “Hey, I’d like to ask you for a really big favor …”

ACCIDENTS HAPPEN

Test Candidates

Another good job interview idea from Selling Power magazine is to have a little accident. Tip over a trash can, or spill a cup of coffee on your desk. If the job candidate immediately leaps up to help … well, then they have cleared another hurdle in the interview process.

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DISCOUNT CLOTHING

Your Logo Here

If you sell clothing with your store’s logo on it, why not give customers an incentive to wear it? A 10% discount on any purchase made while wearing your store’s shirt will do the trick, says Kelly Mooney, author of The Ten Demandments.

ONE-PERCENT SOLUTION

Know Who to Call

Want a formula for offering charity that will really impact the community in which you live? At Internet software provider Salesforce.com, the company uses the “one percent” formula — one percent of company profits, one percent of company equity, and one percent of employee hours all go to the communities it serves.

TRAIN OF THOUGHT

Don’t Stop Moving

As one year ends, and you start to plan for the next, here’s an inspirational little nugget to consider from Will Rogers: “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”

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SPONSORED VIDEO

This Third-Generation Jeweler Was Ready for Retirement. He Called Wilkerson

Retirement is never easy, especially when it means the end to a business that was founded in 1884. But for Laura and Sam Sipe, it was time to put their own needs first. They decided to close J.C. Sipe Jewelers, one of Indianapolis’ most trusted names in fine jewelry, and call Wilkerson. “Laura and I decided the conditions were right,” says Sam. Wilkerson handled every detail in their going-out-of-business sale, from marketing to manning the sales floor. “The main goal was to sell our existing inventory that’s all paid for and turn that into cash for our retirement,” says Sam. “It’s been very, very productive.” Would they recommend Wilkerson to other jewelers who want to enjoy their golden years? Absolutely! “Call Wilkerson,” says Laura. “They can help you achieve your goals so you’ll be able to move into retirement comfortably.”

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