I believe that the 20 – 30 minutes you spend setting up the store every morning is your most valuable time of day. You go into most jewelry stores while they are setting up and you will hear conversations about what happen on a date the night before, what plans people have for the weekend, where they eat dinner, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, etc. Those are all worthwhile conversations that build a team and create a fellowship amongst the staff. However, they can happen later in the day.
The 20 to 30 minutes that a store is being set-up should be devoted to mentally preparing for the day ahead. That time of day could potentially be the most important time of the day in setting the tone and energy level for the rest of the day. Talk about things like: new merchandise arrivals, success stories, what is scheduled to happen that day. Managers should be telling staff: What the goal is for the day, how the store did yesterday, how many additional sales were created, how many repairs were converted into sales, etc.
The most successful salespeople do a little bit of self-evaluation and ask themselves:
“What did I do to cause the customer to buy from me and/or what could I have done differently to have either made the sale or to have increased the quality and quantity of the sale?”
Now is the time to share those thoughts with your fellow staff members. Talk about success stories. Discuss how this strategy or this technique worked. Discuss how the seven key questions we reviewed previously caused the customer to open-up and reveal vital information. Discuss lost sales and how they may have been saved. Talk about ways to sell yourself and sell the store, how to handle certain objections that customers give, discuss add-on techniques that worked. Bring up any situations where a turnover was given and converted to a sale and the effect it had on total sales for the day. Maybe a turnover was not completed and how it should have been. Do mini role-plays on how to increase the perception of value that a customer has in the jewelry through expressive words. Do features, benefits, and agreement questions on pieces of jewelry as you put them into the showcases.
In addition, I would walk the entire store to be sure that everything is put back in the proper place. There isn’t a more ignorant reason to lose a sale than not being able to find the tools of the trade. Just because someone didn’t put something back where it belongs is not a reason, or an excuse, to lose a sale. Look to see what items may have been sold that are not where they were the day before, new arrivals, displays that need cleaning, mirrors that could use some work, lights that need to be adjusted etc. Do an attitude check to make sure that personal issues are left behind.
The minute you are face to face with a customer, you need to be enthusiastic and motivated. In general, people do not care about the personal issues of others – do not share them with you customers – share them only with friends and family. Remember, if a customer wants to share personal issues with you – that is OK – but do not try to out do them. You are there to listen and be empathetic to the customer. Besides, the personal issue they share may be the difference between making a friend with the customer – or just a buy/sell relationship.
You are in an emotionally driven industry. The more you can share in the emotional excitement, the higher quality relationships you will be able to build.
The little things will make the difference between success and mediocrity. Work on the little things constantly to improve your skills. Proper Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance or Proper Prior Preparation Promotes Positive Performance. Just as any professional takes extra effort, selling jewelry does as well.
Remember from a previous article that you cannot always have the best selection, prettiest displays, lowest prices, best location, the finest advertising etc. However, you can always sell right! Be the expert you want to be and that your customers expect you to be.
Author, trainer, consultant, and speaker Brad Huisken is President of IAS Training. Mr. Huisken has authored several books and training manuals on sales and produces a Weekly Sales Training Meeting video series along with Aptitude Tests and Proficiency Exams for new hires, current sales staff and sales managers. In addition, he publishes a free weekly newsletter called “Sales Insight” For a free subscription or more information contact IAS Training at 800-248-7703, info@iastraining.com visit his website at www.iastraining.com.
