
3 minute read
FIVE Contacts A Day!
By James (Jimmy) DeGroot, Jewelry Store Training Institute
Green Bay, WI--This year is different. There, the obvious has been stated. So now independent jewelers have an opportunity to capitalize on a major development over the past year, RELATIONSHIPS.
People are buying more than ever before to compensate for Covid blues. They haven’t taken their $10,000 vacations. They’ve been forced to work on relationships more now than ever. So we should be growing our relationships with them as well. Definitely keep doing advertising, but add one very important element, FIVE contacts per day.
In December, received a text from a jeweler. “Hi Jimmy this is Kenzie with Feldstein’s. Christmas is coming up. If you want to get something for Sharon, I’m here to help! Maybe a matching bracelet or necklace to the earrings you gave her last year?”
WOW! Now do you think that was a neat little text? A typical guy like me sees an opportunity to get something checked off my list and by a professional with a fashion sense that knows exactly what Sharon is wearing. have to believe a very high percentage of these texts ended in sales for Feldstein’s.
All you need to do is get your team to commit to 5 contacts per day. These can be emails, texts, good old fashioned hand written notes or direct messages. Yes we will be busy with who is coming through the door today. But if we eak out FIVE contacts per day per person, we could really make an impact on sales beginning immediately.
You can enjoy sales training videos through www.jewelrystoretraining.com. Visit https://news.centurionjewelry.com/videos/detail/what-jewelers-should-be-doingright-now to view a video about this topic.

FIVE-Carat Sales Tool!
Vicksburg, MS—Buying diamonds off the street is not only a good way to turn a profit for jewelers, it can also be a good way to stretch your marketing dollars, help your sales associates break the ice with customers, and potentially nudge them to a higher ticket purchase.
Matt Southerland, owner of Magnolia Jewelers in Mississippi, recently made local news with a five-carat diamond ring worth more than $100,000 that he’s keeping in the store for customers to come try on just for fun.
If it sounds like very expensive fun—or equally expensive marketing—never fear. Southerland ultimately does have a customer in mind for the ring, although he told the Vicksburg Post that customer is in no hurry to buy it. And he’s in no hurry to sell it, either, he told the article’s author, Terri Cowart Frazier.
“I can keep it in the store and show people and keep it as a talking point for me,” he told Frazier.
Although the ring came from an estate sale, the stone is a modern round brilliant mounted in wide yellow gold setting. From the style of mounting, Southerland guesses it was originally purchased in the early 1990s. The paper did not say how much he paid for it, but if the feature article is any indication, it looks like the expense was well-spent in name-exposure value. Image: Vicksburg Post.
Sales Blunders To Avoid!
Merrick, NY--As salespeople, as employees, we can all work smarter and harder. Many people find ways to sell better through experience. As a salesperson, don’t you wonder what you could be doing better? The good news is, there’s a list of blunders you can avoid.
Dave Mattson of Sandler Training has a list. From his Wall Street Journal bestseller, he actually has at least 49 of them in The Sandler Rules: 49 Timeless Selling Principles and How to Apply Them. Let's look at the top three blunders from a recent Forbes story by Kathy Caprino.
1. ‘Thinking that your sales “presentation” will seal the deal. You should always be helping the prospect discover the best reasons to buy from you – not telling them why they should. The prospect should know that they’ll be buying from you long before you present your final pitch or proposal.’
2. ‘Talking too much. One of the oldest Sandler philosophies is the 70/30 rule. So often and especially in the beginning of a relationship, salespeople think they need to be doing all the talking, when they should be listening and asking questions. Keep in mind, if a prospect wanted a rundown of your products or services, he or she could just visit your website. The sales process is a conversation, and an honest and open one at that.’
As the saying goes, humans have one mouth and two ears – possibly for just this reason. Remind yourself and your co-workers or your employees of this and let them practice their listening skills – often – and with each other, not on the customers.
And possibly the most important and most obvious one:
3. ‘Keeping your fingers crossed that a prospect doesn’t notice a problem. Sandler teaches that the only way to avoid a potential disaster is to address it before it erupts. Always come clean and be open and transparent if something problematic comes up along the selling cycle. The prospect will respect that you “came clean” and shared it, and together you can problem-solve, building a solidifying team approach to the issue.’
Actually this last one works well for almost any situation, especially with your boss as well as your client or prospect. Transparency is the way to live and keep your sales up and your reputation clean. We ALL make mistakes. The trick is to admit it when you can and own up to it. Fix it before it gets to be a deal breaker. Hard to do at first, but work on it. Again, practice, but not on the customers.