Texts, notes and calls can boost sales by 18%.

This article originally appeared in the June 2016 edition of INSTORE.

FOR MOST STORES, the weakest area in selling happens after the sale is closed. What do you do for your client after he or she leaves the store?

Nothing is more important to your daily success than your attitude.

This article originally appeared in the July 2016 edition of INSTORE.

What’s the most important thing you bring to work every day?

Slow down your pace, create an experience, and romance the event in order to close the experienced client

This article originally appeared in the September 2016 edition of INSTORE.

Lately, the topic on everyone’s lips is how to sell to millennials. That’s certainly important, but let’s not forget the 40- to 70-year-olds, who also get married. Furthermore, there are a lot more anniversaries than there are weddings. Gen X-ers are just reaching their jewelry-buying potential, and baby boomers control most of the instant cash in the United States. They are the ones buying the 2-, 3- and 4-carat diamonds — not the millennials, whose average purchase is still 1 to 1.5 carats.

When you’re talking to the male client, always ask, “Would you like to know more about the diamond?” Often, the older he is, the less he’ll care about knowing more. Sometimes, he might want to know the color and the clarity, but ultimately, he’s there because he trusts you. A lot of these sales are lost because salespeople get too technical. Remember: They buy you and the experience, so she wants to have plenty of time to try on all the mountings she wants. What’s interesting is that usually, she picks the mounting and he picks the diamond. So you have to sell them both at the same time; they both need to feel included. Keep in mind that older couples might want to know that the diamond comes with a GIA lab report or in-house appraisal for their insurance.

When selling to older clients, the following are also important to remember:

1. They’re not in a hurry; they planned to come in and take their time.

2. Ask relationship-building questions and selling-specific questions.

3. They want to tell stories about their lives.

4. The more you get them to talk about themselves, the higher your closing ratio will be.

5. Seat these clients in comfortable chairs. The longer they stay, the better.

6. Have a mirror on the counter so she can see how the ring looks on her hand.

7. Clean and polish the jewelry she’s wearing.

8. Offer them something to drink.

9. Offer to turn her old mounting and diamonds into a new piece she can wear against her heart.

10. Show him new bands with diamonds. Chances are, his current ring is worn out.

11. She buys style, fashion, and sentiment. This generation still buys yellow gold and it’s coming back strong.

12. Because this is a special day, be patient. (If you can’t be patient, T.O. the clients.)

Learn to romance the reason the clients came in. Special anniversaries only happen once. Make it a bigger deal than they even thought it was. This makes the price become insignificant, and they may even upsell themselves!

Showing clients impressive jewelry just above their budget leads to referrals and repeat business.

This article originally appeared in the October 2016 edition of INSTORE.

Never pre-judge, but be smart in your judgment when you “wow” a client.

When I was a young man and we went to a nice restaurant, if the experience was very good, we might have told one person or maybe two. Same if it was bad — we may have told one or two. Today, a young person can Yelp his experience and tell thousands how good or bad it was in a millisecond.

What gets referrals today is not your product; it’s the experience. It’s about you making every client think they’re the most important person who came in all day — even if you’ve already waited on 50 clients yourself.

So what does being smart in your judgment really mean?

First, you never want to intimidate customers by showing them something so expensive they could never buy it. They’ll think only the very wealthy shop in your store and they’re not worthy to come in. So when you wow someone, the timing — and wowing with the right product — is critical.

“Wowing” means showing the client something that she did not come in for. It is unexpected but not intimidating. When you show the client a “wow” piece of jewelry, it tells her that you’re willing to spend a little extra time with her. It’s a compliment; it makes her feel important.

So show smart. What does that mean? If the client is wearing a half-carat, show her something a little over a carat. If she’s wearing a carat, obviously, a 1-carat won’t wow her, but maybe a yellow 2-carat would. When you are unsure of her budget, show a carat not over $6,950. This is kind of a magic number for the price of a 1-carat today in jewelry stores; it’s easy to sell and it’s affordable. Or, run a “magic number” report in your store and find out what is the most popular price that your clients pay for a 1-carat diamond. Some magic numbers change across the country depending on the store’s inventory and the income bracket of the clients who come into the store.

Wowing clients is very easy. I have sold hundreds of carat-plus diamonds per year by doing this. We have a bad habit of overthinking things that are very simple and making them very hard.

While the client is waiting on a battery or picking up a repair, or you just sold her a $50 bead, right before she’s ready to leave, use a lead-in line. A lead-in line is something you say that creates interest. Never say, “Can I?”, “May I?”, “Would you let me?” or “Is there anything else?” because the client can always say no. Say, “Guess what’s in the vault?” or “Gotta show you my favorite” or “Wait until you see this.” Have a little energy in your voice. Excitement sells. Clients buy on impulse all the time.

We have to start exceeding clients’ expectations. Millennials say that the reason they shop on the Internet is because of how they are treated when they go into jewelry stores. They do not like snooty salespeople. You win by going out of your way to give them and all clients an experience they’ll never forget. They will send in more referrals than any other age group — and wowing them will send more referrals your way than anything else you do.

It costs a lot of money to bring the client in. So let’s raise the bar on their experience in our stores. Wow everyone.

Those first 30 seconds are crucial. Here's how to use them right.

This article originally appeared in the November 2016 edition of INSTORE.

Most salespeople think that when clients say they’re “just looking,” it’s an objection. It isn’t. What it really means is, “When I find it, I’m going to buy it.” Or, “I’ll know it when I see it.”

Taking care of the tiniest details during your busy season can yield big results.

This article originally appeared in the December 2016 edition of INSTORE.

During the holiday season, you need to stay aware of what’s happening on the showroom floor. Who’s waiting on whom? What’s happening with each client? Does a salesperson need an assist? And so on. Remember, the experience delivered is more important than the product purchased. Here’s a checklist of things to remember during the busiest of times: