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The same is the case for selling fine jewelry at retail. You are “in the game’ from the start to the finish of your day. So always ask yourself, how am I going to make a sales difference today?
The OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2022 issue of MISSION: SALES is all about making a difference as we move quickly toward the holiday season. Check out our engaging articles and enjoy how they spark your sales creativity:
Warmest regards,
MERCURY RING…PAGE 35 POMPOS…PAGE 29 PRECISION SET…PAGE 9 SAMUEL B….PAGE 33 SDC CREATIONS…PAGES 22-23 SMILING ROCKS…PAGES 26-27 SYNA…PAGES 14-15 UNEEK…PAGES 2-3 VALANI…PAGE 31 WILLOW DIAMONDS…PAGE 37
Austin, TX--Word-of-mouth marketing effectively gets more people to visit your retail store. It does not cost anything, and the results are often great.
Studies have shown that wordof-mouth, on average, drives $6 trillion in annual global customer spending, which is responsible for 13% of all sales. It performs better than paid ads and results in five times more sales.
So how do you get more customers to talk about your store? A BigCommerce article highlights some ideas for retailers that can help them strengthen their word-of-mouth approach to marketing.
The first step? You might have guessed it already. An essential factor towards establishing enough credibility to get more people talking is offering them a great first experience. A simple way to do that is to leave thank you notes and gifts for their online purchases.
Another point that the article talks about is selling quality products and offering excellent customer service, thus strengthening the fundamentals of your retail operations. With your basics right, you can focus on other things, such as improving a customer’s in-store experience to get them talking about your store.
The article also highlights the importance of using visual triggers and gives the example of ‘Instagrammable’ restaurants. Visual triggers can engage people and surprise them in a way where they’d be eager to share it with their network.
Read the entire article. LINK: https://www.bigcommerce. com/articles/ecommerce/wordof-mouth-marketing/#buildingyour-word-of-mouthmarketing-strategy
Drawing inspiration from little things, Dharmesh & Namrata Kothari have created an extraordinary and refreshing collection of luxurious jewels. True believers of destiny, they always feel that the possibilities of design - and life - are limitless when people work together.
Each Syna piece has a little story, a little fragment of historical design and culture, all modernized to work timelessly for many wardrobes and occasions. Centurion
Auckland, New Zealand--Walk-ins are essential for your brick-and-mortar jewelry retail shop. Having more visitors walking into your store leads to increased purchases and potential for conducting business in the future.
A blog post from retail support company VEND written by the company’s Retail Expert Francesca Nicasio talks about ten ideas to drive walk-ins to retail stores. Here’s the list and some of Nicasio’s advice:
Keep up with seasons and pop culture
Nothing keeps people away more than a stale and outdated store, so if you’re looking to increase footfall, one of the first things you should do is freshen up your windows and in-store displays.
Give people new and relevant reasons to check out your store. You can do that by incorporating trendy and seasonal elements into your displays.
If people are gearing up for the back to school season, make sure your store visuals reflect that. Or, if a particular season is in full swing, come up with relevant themes to use in your displays.
Take Pink Pointes Dancewear, a UK-based dance shop. A while back, Laura Watkins, the owner of the store, decided to use autumn as inspiration for her store’s display.
“When I first took over running our shop the new Bloch Militare boot has just come out. It’s a split sole dance shoe but looks like a boot,” she recalled.
“It happened to be September and the leaves were beginning to change so I made a display with hundreds of leaves in beautiful autumnal colors and this pair of boots on top as they looked like Dr. Matens and great for stomping in piles of leaves.”
Depending on your products and customers, you could even incorporate pop culture into your displays.
The jewelry retailer Alex and Ani did this really well when the famous HBO series Game of Thrones was still on the air. During the final season, Alex and Ani launched a Game of Thrones jewelry line, and heavily promoted it in-store.
In addition to having a prominent in-store display, Alex and Ani dedicated its entire window to the Game of Thrones theme and even set up special signage to draw people in.
If your shop is in a busy location filled with distracted shoppers or if people aren’t stopping to look at your windows, try adding additional elements to grab their attention.
Our suggestion? Use signage. It’s simple, affordable, and effective. The key is to choose signs that pop. To do that, you need to go beyond just sticking a “SALE” poster on your door or window.
Like Alex and Ani, you could set up a sign right outside your door to advertise your latest products. Another option is to use signs to spotlight any promotions or offers that you’re running.
Driving foot traffic isn’t easy and sometimes you need to bring in outside reinforcements to draw in the crowds.
One way to do this is to invite influencers or experts to your store. Many independent bookstores have used this strategy to tremendous success. Take Vroman’s, Southern California’s oldest independent bookstore.
Vroman’s regularly hosts book signings and events featuring different authors, and these efforts attract more visitors to its location.
Vroman’s even found a clever way to drive book sales during these functions. While the author events are free, guests are required to purchase the author’s book from Vroman’s if they want a signed copy. And here are some additional suggestions from VEND’s Nicasio:
• Market the store to existing customers
• Re-engage shoppers with messages
• Look beyond selling products
• Make social interactions
• Encourage location tagging and social sharing
• Keep an eye on the online traffic
• Showcase store inventory
• Learn from metrics and improve
Read more on these points in the entire blog post.
https://www.vendhq.com/blog/ increase-walkins-retail-store/
Green Bay, WI--A great habit to get into, whatever CRM or Outreach software you have such as Clientbook, is to make notes in that customer’s profile of ideas for outreach. Any things that came up during the sales conversation are fair game. They DON’T have to be product related but they DO have to be customer specific.
For instance, if she likes cockapoos, if he likes Steely Dan, send them a YouTube video or physically mail something that will delight them.
Or, if you sold them an aquamarine from Madagascar and you have a video of David Artinian visiting the mine, send it to them. They’ll absolutely love it!
Your outreach can be product specific or not. In fact, I think it might even be more sincere and personal if it involves your conversation with them as you get to know them. And it’s SOO much better than sending them 10 percent off their next visit. That’s advertising. Don’t do that. Make it delightful.
So, after every customer, make notes to follow up with personal and relevant outreach that really lets them know that you listened and that you care. That’s a recipe for raving fans for life.
James (Jimmy) DeGroot is a professional jewelry sales and operations trainer from the jeweler’s side of the counter. Having been in management and the jewelry business for over 20 years, Jimmy offers weekly training to jewelers nationwide via the website JewelryStoreTraining.com. Jimmy is an AGS titleholder and specializes in training relevant and timely methods for jewelry teams. He can do a full training on making Bridal Presentations the best they can be, among many other regular training options. Contact Jimmy at jim@jewelrystoretraining. com or call 920-492-1191.
Waltham, MA--Emotion is a regular factor when making a purchase. Sales professionals must be aware of this factor to better utilize it in their sales pitch and maximize chances of conversion. According to a Business.com article, decisions to make a purchase may revolve around two categories: Fear of loss and the subject of motivation of gain.
Identifying these two drivers is an important component for sales professionals who are looking to engage with customers and drive them toward making the purchase. To do this, it is essential that salespersons identify the buying factor, or facts, influences, and circumstances that might contribute to the decision to buy or not buy a product.
It is also important to understand the three important factors to buying: the case for change, stakeholder dynamics, and the decision process.
Some biases come into play too. As per the article, some examples of unseen biases include regret aversion, sunk cost fallacy, choice overload, and status quo bias.
Sales professionals can only empower themselves by being aware of the above factors. These customer-centric buying strategies help better address the customers’ emotions to maximize purchase chances.
Follow the link below to read the entire article. https://www.business.com/articles/ understanding-customer-emotions/
New York, NY--TikTok has emerged as a popular social media platform and drives high engagement among different age groups. More people are flocking to this platform every day. TikTok was the most downloaded application of 2021, beating other giants such as Facebook and Instagram.
TikTok’s growth makes it an ideal platform for marketers to invest in and jewelry brands and retailers have realized this and are heading to this platform to make it a sales weapon. Here are some of the methods suggested in a recent Chatdesk article:
Gifting influencers can be a great way to have them promote your product on their social channels. While established influencers might also want monetary compensation, newer and emerging ones will be glad to give you a shout-out, especially if you think your gift items are well desired.
Everybody seems to be participating in TikTok trends. As a jewelry brand, ensure that you have a video on these trends, so more people notice you. Keep an eye on what established brands are doing and see if you can provide a fresh take on the same.
Unboxing videos steal the day. A Google consumer insight even reveals that the amount of time people have spent watching unboxing videos on their phones is about the same as watching the holiday classic “Love Actually” more than 20 million times. Unboxing videos are fun, and designers should try to publish similar videos that reveal the unboxing process of a trending product. And make sure your packaging is fun!
4. Share your product’s unique features
In a saturated mess, you’d want to be sure that you are unique. Make sure you talk about what makes your product stand out while you advertise or market your product on TikTok. Many others would be doing the same, so it would help if the marketing information you provide on your TikTok channel differs from your competitors.
Interested in learning more? Read the full article on increasing sales through TikTok, which talks more about these points, from the link below:
https://www.chatdesk.com/blog/ tiktok-jewelry-trends-how-5-jewelrybrands-doubled-their-sales-on-tiktok
New York, NY--Influencer marketing is everywhere. More brands are trying to run influencer campaigns to promote themselves. A BigCommerce report states that 17% of companies spend about half their marketing budget on influencer campaigns.
Influencers help tell a story that people can relate to, and if rightly done, it can often be more convincing than flashy or expensive advertising campaigns.
A rightly planned influencer marketing program can help retailers in two ways. For established retailers, it can help grow their brand, and for smaller businesses, it can be an excellent way to spread the word.
An article by LTK on shoptk mentions specific ways retail influencers can help businesses grow:
• Make the most of traffic lulls in-store
• Build a trustworthy library of reviews and social proof
• Effectively promote sales, discounts, and offers
• Make consumers feel at ease about instore events
• Amplify the buzz around in-store events
• Encourage consumer engagement with your online store
• Build positive brand associations
• Produce reusable content for owned channels
Influencers, in turn, also have some expectations from your brand. The article also talks about the characteristics of a retail influencer — great identification points if you want to get started in influencer marketing.
To read the entire article, follow the link below:
https://company.shopltk.com/ultimateguide-influencer-marketing-retail-brands
Green Bay, WI--What are you spending your non-selling time doing? Are you acting like a salesclerk, waiting for the next customer to show up in front of you?
Or are you acting like a sales professional and fostering relationships and practicing quality outreach with your existing and future customers?
Look at your sales like a water pump like grandma and grandpa used to have on the farm. When you pump it, it must be primed but the water doesn’t come right away. It takes a bit for the water to flow,
but when it’s flowing, it’s a beautiful thing! Then, when we stop pumping, the water keeps flowing, but not for long. Soon it fizzles to a trickle. It’s at these times in our stores that we’re all looking around asking, “Where IS everybody? How come business is so slow?”
Well, we stopped pumping the water months ago. Now this analogy of course applies to advertising but even MORE so it applies to your outreach and training efforts. You’re sales professionals, not clerks.
Professionals take their careers seriously and are proactive every day, sharpening their craft and reaching out or clienteling. McKinsey and Company writes regularly on new trends in marketing and sales and recently published an article titled “The Consumer Decision Journey.” In this article they discuss how the NEW journey doesn’t end at the sale. It continues, if the customer had a great experience, round and round and round starting with the moment of purchase, to the post purchase experience and ongoing exposure. OUTREACH, then on to the next buying trigger, and then back to the purchase, like a flywheel.
They call it the Loyalty Loop and the key to the loyalty loop is ongoing outreach where the customer no longer considers other brands, because You’ve built the relationship with them.
Stay in that loyalty loop. You can’t stay there by being clerks. Clerks are for grocery stores. You’re a sales professional developing a lifelong pipeline of customers through daily outreach. You’re likely already experiencing a slowdown in business, but you can ensure that a slowdown never happens at your store.
Just keep pumping the pump and stay in the loyalty loop!
Your
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New York, NY—Post-sale strategies can be a great way to retain customers and leave a lasting impression on their minds.
A negative customer experience can have negative consequences, such as a bad customer review and recommendation, among others. These could hurt your brand’s reputation and even close doors to buyers belonging to the network of a purchaser who’s dissatisfied with their customer experience. So, what can retailers do to ensure that a customer’s postpurchase experience is great? In a blog post, Zendesk highlights three ideas to ensure that this process goes smoothly.
The first point is letting customers help themselves. Retailers can do this by providing links and information that can help resolve customer issues around a product. For jewelry retailers, there’s not much of an “issue” around a product, so support here could include information on ways to reach out to the store if they are dissatisfied with the sale and how to access post-sale servicing. Having an online chatbot in place could also help retailers answer customer questions and direct them to appropriate information outside business hours.
The second point talks about taking customer service to the next level. The post says that retailers can do this by employing empathetic agents who build trust and soothe frustrated customers. But how do retailers know that this process is working? Well, they can bundle the issue faced by the customer in an online ticket and collect post-service feedback.
The third point talks about providing accessible customer service to customers wherever they are. This can be achieved with an omnichannel strategy. The information collected about the customer — in-store or online — should be available at hand while addressing their issue so that they do not have to redress their customer. Retailers should also offer customers multiple options to reach out to them, such as email, chat, phone call, support tickets, or in-store visits.
To read the entire Zendesk post, follow the link below:
https://www.zendesk.co.uk/blog/3-post-purchasestrategies-improve-customer-experience/
Cambridge, MA--Promotional pricing strategy is a time-tested method to generate more returns for the business. The strategy usually involves having a promotion price and giving customers the impression that it will last for a limited time and that they’d miss out on the special offer if they do not purchase now.
An exciting thing about this strategy is that you can use it time and again to generate sales in the long term. When done effectively and not too frequently, a promotional pricing strategy can be an excellent way for jewelry retailers to get more customers.
There’s a rising demand in the market too. A Statista survey reveals that 62% of consumers try a new store whether online or bricks and mortar during holidays because of better prices. 44% say they try a new store because of the discounts and coupon codes they offer.
So, yes, promo pricing attracts new customers, but how do you go about it? A HubSpot article offers some key strategies that help with promotional pricing. It mentions and expands on the following points:
• Determine why you’d need promotional pricing
• Make the right plan
• Launch the strategy at the right time
• Prioritize existing customers over new ones
The article also mentions other tips, such as posting both new and old prices of the products and using percentages to talk about the new deal.
To read the entire HubSpot article, follow the link below:
https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/promotionalpricing
Benchmark’s new Tamascus and Tamascus + Collections may look like Damascus Steel, but they’re actually made with Tantalum. Tantalum is a much more durable metal making these look-alikes a much better alternative to Damascus. The Wood Grain is a best-selling Tamascus + style featuring a beautifully pat terned Tantalum design with an interior Rose Gold band for a subtle contrast.
MSRP $1,075 BENCHMARKRings.com
3 Stone Sapphire Ring with Trapezoid Diamonds. Sapphire is 5.55 carats, Trapezoid Diamonds is 0.87 carats, Ring Metal is Plati num, and the product is GRS certified. 17944
MSRP: $ 27,717 bleaunyllc@gmail.com
The Odessa is a new design in the Tantalum collection, featuring a Grey Tantalum Meteor ite pattern with 20 channel-set black diamonds in the center.
MSRP $2,050 BENCHMARKRings.com
3 Stone Emerald Ring With Trapezoid Diamonds. Emerald is 5.05 carats, Trapezoid Diamonds are 0.83 carats, Ring metal is 18k White Gold. 18063
MSRP: $ 15,343 bleaunyllc@gmail.com
“NUTMEG” Ring: 18K YELLOW GOLD WITH TWO PINK SAPPHIRES AND ROUND DIAMONDS.
MSRP: $ 10,000 GUMUCHIAN.com
“SECRET GARDEN” Earrings: 18K YELLOW GOLD WITH ROUND DIAMONDS.
MSRP: $ 10,000 GUMUCHIAN.com
RICH, RED RUBY AND DIAMOND RING
Exquisite 6.16ct EC Vivid Red Thai Ruby (H) surrounded by two EC diamonds 2.04cts. classically mounted in a three stone Plati num/18K and Diamond Ring
MSRP $320,000
JACKABRAHAM.com
Set your eyes upon this breathtaking 7.04 Carat Burma Ruby with a surround of glisten ing diamonds. Handcrafted in Platinum to optimize absolute perfection. Style# R7551-R1
MSRP: $240,000 JBJACOB.com
SCINTILLATING SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND RING
Superb 10.30ct Royal Blue Sapphire (H), mounted in a classic Platinum and Diamond Three stone ring, framed by two Diamond Shields 1.20cts
MSRP $180,000
JACKABRAHAM.com
A unique pair of Earrings, set with two vivid blue Cushion-Cut Sapphires. These breath taking 9.06 carat of Sapphires are compli mented by flawless Pear Shape Diamonds maximizing it’s utmost magnificence and providing that remarkable Wow factor. Style# E3000-S8 MSRP:120,000
MSRP: $549.00 JBJACOB.com
Item: 14KY8F/LCVTREES/A
An 8 mm wide flat profile 14K yellow gold band ring with a laser carved black cerakote inlay trees pattern.
MSRP: $2,478.00
LASHBROOKDesigns.com
Item: HWSLEEVEZ8FGE
An 8 mm wide flat profile Zirconium band ring with grooved edges featuring a spalted tamarind wood sleeve.
MSRP: $849.00
LASHBROOKDesigns.com
DERHT01XLRD-12.0RDA
Martin Flyer Classic three stone diamond halo ring in platinum featuring a round sap phire center & match pair bullet side stones. Sapphire 8.9ct AIGS Certified , Fancy Bullet 1.09ct H SI1 , Dia 1.75ct
MSRP: $77,000 MartinFlyer.com
Bridal in style
Our Platinum solitaire type diamond ring is a perfect engagement ring because it is a clas sic made with the finest craftsmanship and it allows a band to fit snug up against it.
POMPOSJEWELRY.com
DERMH83XLOV-10.9x8.2OVB
Martin Flyer Classic shared prong diamond halo ring in platinum featuring an oval ruby center. Ruby 3.07ct GIA CERTIFIED Dia 1.56cttw
MSRP $50,000 MartinFlyer.com
Snug Diamond Ring
This Platinum mounting has a beautiful pres ence and is very comfortable to wear. If you are looking for a non-halo design, this will be a great choice. Ideal for 3ct center or bigger.
POMPOSJEWELRY.com
Precision Set Fine Jewelry Works provides the craftsmanship to refine innovative designs of today. With 35 years of quality experience, we partner with retailers to accomplish the customer’s requests while providing design security. This ring is style 2950 pictured with a 3.5 carat cushion in 18k yellow gold.
MSRP: $1310 PrecisionSet.com
Our Modern Classic engagement ring pro vides a simplified porfile that fits the modern bride’s tastes. We have created variarions of diamonds gallery porfiles to keep up with costumer requests. Style 2247 with a 18ky shank and platinum head, G/VS diamonds, pictured with a 2.02ct oval.
MSRP: $ 2110
PrecisionSet.com
Following the hot Birthstone industry trend, our Eirini Birthstone Ring Set has been one of Samuel B.’s best sellers. The set includes
14 Sterling Silver & 18k Gold Emerald Cut Birthstone Rings available in all Birthstone Gemstone colors, with sizing bar on display as seen in picture.
MSRP: $2,366.00 Wholesale.samuelb.com
14K Asymmetrical Swiss Blue Topaz and Diamond Colore Oro Necklace
This modern-chic necklace features a tilted and elongated cushion-cut Swiss Blue Topaz gemstone (3.50 ct Gem) wrapped in a straight 14K yellow gold diamond strand (1/10 tdw), attached to a delicate chain.
SKU: CGP781Y-DBT
MSRP: $1,150 SDCCreations.com
The Samuel B. Ubud Bracelet can be stacked with any of your other favorites, or worn as a statement piece on its own. This is why it’s one of our Best Sellers. A hand-crafted Ster ling Silver & 18K Gold 7.5” Bracelet, shown in Black Spinel Pave, but also available in many other genuine gemstones such as Amethyst, Peridot, Blue Topaz and more.
MSRP: $549.00 Wholesale.samuelb.com
14K WG Oval-Cut Chevron & Hidden Halo Valina Engagement Ring
A row of diamonds curves below the 1-1/2 ctw oval-cut head, forming a trendy chevron shaped shank. A larger pear-cut accent diamond highlights the ring’s chevron tip. For an extra touch of sparkle, the head features a unique chevron tipped hidden halo. 1/3 tdw.
Center Stone Not Included.
SKU: R2278W-SR
MSRP: $1,925 SDCCreations.com
Linking Love Necklace is studded in EFG lab grown diamonds in 14K Yellow Gold. Inspired by the trendy Links design, we have a 3.11ctw diamonds necklace for everyday wear.
MSRP: $7249 SMILINGROCKS.com
Newly launched Toi et Moi Engagement Ring studded in Pear and Oval lab grown diamond EF 14K gold, a total of 2cts. This stunning engagement ring is perfect for two persons starting a beautiful journey together.
MSRP: $5325 SMILINGROCKS.com
Sculptural and sparkling, these Geometrix Diamond Earrings seem to be suspended in space and time.
Warm 18K yellow gold spokes complement the graduated sizes of champagne diamonds wrapped in modern, hexagonal settings.
MSRP: $ 6250 SYNAJewels.com
Pendant in 18K White Gold set with 2 Emerald cut Emerald (3.29 cts), 8 round cut Emerald (1.21 cts), 8 marquise cut Diamond (1.58 cts) and 84 brilliant-cut round Diamond (0.32 cts) PDG0098
www.valaniatelier.com
These award-winning earrings are whimsi cal and elegant, capturing the beauty and wonder of the deep sea. Intricate coral shapes in oxidized sterling silver are studded with champagne diamonds and dangle from sculptural, 18K yellow gold pear-shaped studs.
MSRP: $ 6250 SYNAJewels.com
Ring in 18K white Gold set with an emerald cut Emerald (5.94 ct), 10 pear-shaped Dia mond (1.92 ct), and 198 brilliant cut round Diamond (0.74 ct) R1705 www.valaniatelier.com
Uneek Alexandria Bezel emerald Diamond Engagement Ring and Matching Wedding Bands.
This 18k yellow gold Engagement Matching Set absolutely stupefies and compliments the ‘in’ look today. With yellow gold becoming more desired, this set’s simple yet elevating and expensive look is the perfect match for that longed fashion forward appearance.
MSRP- $5,315 UNEEK.com
Uneek Timeless Straight Emerald Cut Diamond Engagement Ring and Matching Wedding Band
This astonishing 18k white gold Engagement Matching Set is an all-time classic set with its dazzling, diamond filled, solitaire band; not taking away from its emerald center, making this ring and matching set, the perfect time less pair for you and your timeless love.
*PORTIA MARQUESA FIREFLY* 18K Gold
+ Platinum + Pierced Natural Diamonds TDW:0.75 (USA)
MSRP: $3400 WILLOWDIAMONDS.com
*EMERALD CASCADE 3* 18k Yellow Gold + Platinum + Pierced Natural Diamonds TDW: 1.16 + Zambian Emerald AAA Pear (2) 1.27 CT (USA)
MSRP: $9760 WILLOWDIAMONDS.com
MSRP $50,000 UNEEK.com
Ask us how you can make 41.4% more profit with Lashbrook. Contact us at website@lashbrookdesigns.com or 888-252-7388.