Tip Sheet: March 2005

Published

20 years ago

March 1, 2005

Four fresh ideas to better your business

[componentheading]MUST-SEE WEBSITE[/componentheading]

A9.com, the new search engine from the folks who brought you Amazon.com. The website includes a virtual “Yellow Pages” — including pictures of each business (taken automatically by vans equipped with cameras). Not all areas are available yet, but just give them time. Enter the search jewelry and then your zipcode to see if you’re online. You can then add comments about your business.

Source: Instore

[componentheading]NEGOTIATING TIP[/componentheading]

Negotiating tip: Forget the stone face. When a customer balks at your price or asks for a discount, go ahead and cringe visibly. The flinch will often put your opposite member on the defensive and force him or her to try to justify the request or offer a concession. Don’t overdo it, though: you’re not supposed to appear terrified, merely surprised.

Source: Selling Power Magazine

[componentheading]INSTRODUCING: YOUR BIGGEST SALE OF THE YEAR[/componentheading]

Your biggest sale of the year is here, and you want to make sure that you’re jam-packed with customers. You’ve spent big on advertising and done heavy direct mailing. What else can you do? On the day of the sale, hire people to wear sandwich boards promoting the sale in big red letters. (“50% Off! Today Only!”) Have them stand at major intersections within a one-mile radius of your store.

Source: IDEA SITE FOR BUSINESS

[componentheading]KEEP ADVERTISING FOCUSED[/componentheading]

Take Coca-Cola, for instance. The company owns nearly 80 different brands of soft drinks, but they’ve never run an advertisement for all of them with some catch-all claim like “Bubbly, sugar-based liquids in a variety of different tastes for all your thirst needs”. If you feel you have three important things that you absolutely have to say … well, then just buy three ads.

Source: Luke Sullivan, Hey Whipple, Squeeze This

[span class=note]This story is from the March 2005 edition of INSTORE[/span]

You Wouldn’t Cut Your Own Hair. Why Run Your Own Retirement Sale?

After being in business for over a quarter of a century, Wayne Reid, owner of Wayne Jewelers in Wayne, Pennsylvania, decided it was time for a little “me time.” He says, “I’ve reached a point in my life where it’s time to slow down, enjoy a lot of things outside of the jewelry industry. It just seemed to be the right time.” He chose Wilkerson to handle his retirement sale because of their reputation and results. With financial goals exceeded, Reid says he made the right choice selecting Wilkerson to handle the sale. “They made every effort to push our jewelry to the forefront of the showcases,” he says, lauding Wilkerson for their finesse and expertise. Would he recommend them to other jewelers who want to make room for new merchandise, expand their business or like him, decide to call it a day? Absolutely he says, equating trying to do this kind of sale with cutting your own hair. “The results are going to happen but not as well as if you have a professional like Wilkerson do the job for you.”