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When You Pre-Judge What’s in a Client’s Wallet, Everybody Loses

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When You Pre-Judge What’s in a Client’s Wallet, Everybody Loses

The credit card commercial asks, “What’s in your wallet?” But if you’re selling jewelry, the answer doesn’t matter. It’s what’s in the client’s wallet that matters.

Selling out of your own wallet can be unintentional, but it is a type of prejudging. Some sales associates don’t even realize they’re doing it. They’re presenting a product to the client that they can’t afford themselves, not realizing they’re underselling the client. A lot of sales are lost because what the client thought he was going to purchase was never presented. 

Selling out of your own wallet:

  • makes the client assume that you don’t think he can afford the item.
  • creates a slower turn on high ticket items.
  • makes store owners wonder if they are stocking the wrong  diamonds or price points.
  • drives your average ticket down.
  • lowers the closing ratio with clients wanting to purchase higher ticket items.
  • keeps higher ticket referrals from coming in. 
  • affects your salary or commission.
  • changes how diamonds, branded merchandise and high-end timepieces are sold in your store.

I hope you’re starting to see just how drastically this poverty-level mentality can affect your store. Now imagine these two scenarios:

The client comes in to buy a 2-carat diamond, but you show him a 1-carat instead. He leaves and buys the 2-carat somewhere else. Now when he wants to make a large purchase, he’s going to go to another store. He may come to you for beads, repairs and inexpensive items, but you’ve lost his big-ticket business forever.

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The client has previously discussed the purchase with his wife and she wants a 2-carat. But you actually sold him a 1-carat. When he gives it to his wife, she is disappointed and they wind up returning it. 

Today’s clients want higher quality, larger diamonds, as well as higher-priced timepieces. They’re buying luxury vehicles, luxury technology, luxury vacations. Why wouldn’t they want your luxury jewelry?

The more expensive the item, the less time it should take to sell it, because the client looking at that item can afford it. If you make $40,000 a year and the item is $150,000, don’t be afraid of it. 

A lack of gemological or product knowledge is a big reason sales associates screw up these sales. And if a salesperson is category smart (comfortable with one category but not others), a lack of knowledge can keep him from selling higher ticket items.

Always remember the integrity of the item is in the price. The price represents platinum, gold, AGS and GIA lab reports, brand equity, manufacturing skill, rarity, quality, style and more. There’s a lot of value in your product that’s not seen.

Always assume that the person in front of you is a millionaire. Believe that you’re closing the sale, you’re adding on and they’re going to be wowed. Most of all, believe that you and the client are going to have fun! You want the client walking out with the item purchased and saying, “Man, the guys in that store are awesome!” 

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People can buy jewelry anywhere. They’re happiest when they’re not undersold. 


Shane Decker has provided sales training for more than 3,000 stores worldwide. Contact him at ( 719) 488-4077 or at ex-sell-ence.com. 

This article originally appeared in the February 2017 edition of INSTORE.

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Retiring? Let Wilkerson Do the Heavy Lifting

Retirement can be a great part of life. As Nanji Singadia puts it, “I want to retire and enjoy my life. I’m 78 now and I just want to take a break.” That said, Nanji decided that the best way to move ahead was to contact the experts at Wilkerson. He chose them because he knew that closing a store is a heavy lift. To maximize sales and move on to the next, best chapter of his life, he called Wilkerson—but not before asking his industry friends for their opinion. He found that Wilkerson was the company most recommended and says their professionalism, experience and the homework they did before the launch all helped to make his going out of business sale a success. “Wilkerson were working on the sale a month it took place,” he says. “They did a great job.”

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Shane Decker

When You Pre-Judge What’s in a Client’s Wallet, Everybody Loses

mm

Published

on

When You Pre-Judge What’s in a Client’s Wallet, Everybody Loses

The credit card commercial asks, “What’s in your wallet?” But if you’re selling jewelry, the answer doesn’t matter. It’s what’s in the client’s wallet that matters.

Selling out of your own wallet can be unintentional, but it is a type of prejudging. Some sales associates don’t even realize they’re doing it. They’re presenting a product to the client that they can’t afford themselves, not realizing they’re underselling the client. A lot of sales are lost because what the client thought he was going to purchase was never presented. 

Selling out of your own wallet:

  • makes the client assume that you don’t think he can afford the item.
  • creates a slower turn on high ticket items.
  • makes store owners wonder if they are stocking the wrong  diamonds or price points.
  • drives your average ticket down.
  • lowers the closing ratio with clients wanting to purchase higher ticket items.
  • keeps higher ticket referrals from coming in. 
  • affects your salary or commission.
  • changes how diamonds, branded merchandise and high-end timepieces are sold in your store.

I hope you’re starting to see just how drastically this poverty-level mentality can affect your store. Now imagine these two scenarios:

The client comes in to buy a 2-carat diamond, but you show him a 1-carat instead. He leaves and buys the 2-carat somewhere else. Now when he wants to make a large purchase, he’s going to go to another store. He may come to you for beads, repairs and inexpensive items, but you’ve lost his big-ticket business forever.

Advertisement

The client has previously discussed the purchase with his wife and she wants a 2-carat. But you actually sold him a 1-carat. When he gives it to his wife, she is disappointed and they wind up returning it. 

Today’s clients want higher quality, larger diamonds, as well as higher-priced timepieces. They’re buying luxury vehicles, luxury technology, luxury vacations. Why wouldn’t they want your luxury jewelry?

The more expensive the item, the less time it should take to sell it, because the client looking at that item can afford it. If you make $40,000 a year and the item is $150,000, don’t be afraid of it. 

A lack of gemological or product knowledge is a big reason sales associates screw up these sales. And if a salesperson is category smart (comfortable with one category but not others), a lack of knowledge can keep him from selling higher ticket items.

Always remember the integrity of the item is in the price. The price represents platinum, gold, AGS and GIA lab reports, brand equity, manufacturing skill, rarity, quality, style and more. There’s a lot of value in your product that’s not seen.

Always assume that the person in front of you is a millionaire. Believe that you’re closing the sale, you’re adding on and they’re going to be wowed. Most of all, believe that you and the client are going to have fun! You want the client walking out with the item purchased and saying, “Man, the guys in that store are awesome!” 

Advertisement

People can buy jewelry anywhere. They’re happiest when they’re not undersold. 


Shane Decker has provided sales training for more than 3,000 stores worldwide. Contact him at ( 719) 488-4077 or at ex-sell-ence.com. 

This article originally appeared in the February 2017 edition of INSTORE.

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After 139 Years, A Family Legacy Finds Its Perfect Exit With Wilkerson.

When third-generation jeweler Sam Sipe and his wife Laura decided to close Indianapolis’ historic J.C. Sipe Jewelers, they turned to Wilkerson to handle their retirement sale. “The conditions were right,” Sam explains of their decision to close the 139-year-old business. Wilkerson managed the entire going-out-of-business sale process, from marketing strategy to sales floor operations. “Our goal was to convert our paid inventory into retirement funds,” notes Sam. “The results exceeded expectations.” The Sipes’ advice for jewelers considering retirement? “Contact Wilkerson,” Laura says. “They’ll help you transition into retirement with confidence and financial security.”

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