Three Keys to Selling Fine Jewelry

This is one of a series of articles by Mónica Arias of Excellence Consulting, a luxury sales and marketing consulting firm based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. These articles will focus on ways that sales and marketing professional in the jewelry and luxury industries can improve their techniques.

When it comes to offering true beauties such as fine jewelry, someone who is in the sales profession but not in this industry may think it relatively easy to succeed in closing deals. The truth is more often than not, even when the jewelry pieces are signed by renown designers or belong to famous traditional brands, deals are not that easy to close.

Whether person to person or as a group, there is a tendency to trust mainly in the brand without taking into account we are dealing with people who are literally attracted by the luxury object. Either because they are really fascinated by it, they have seen it online, they love to purchase jewelry as an investment, want to have the “last” version of a collection, or simply because they just love jewelry.

This distinction of placing desire into the customer´s momentum helps salespeople identify what pieces we believe will make the “click” in their inner volition to purchase.

In order to understand this concept more clearly, if you own a jewelry store or you are a sales person in the jewelry market and you have been having difficulties in closing more sales lately, attracting more clients, or making your customers come back to you, it is necessary for you to stay open minded. Forget for a moment all you have learned so far, and get ready to apply these three keys that will help you close more deals.

Make your client your priority

Now, this may sound obvious, but be true to yourself and think for a moment: how many times have you really considered your client’s priority when in a sales process? Frankly, from my own experience, I just wanted to sell, partially because that is what I love to do, and partially because I focused the process in my expertise of making extraordinary demonstrations and being very good at closing, You know what I am talking about: we have the beautiful product many times backed by an excellent brand, we have learned to offer it by heart, we are experts in overcoming objections and we generally arrive to lovely deals. However, there are other times in which we know things did not go very well in the process. Something was missing, and we cannot understand what it was. Things gradually change when you make your customer your priority. You achieve this by taking advantage of some of the strategies I have used, such as: letting go of your objectives and eagerness to sell; going into the depths of the communication process you’ve established with the client; and using words of appreciation to show that it is the customer that you care the most about. It is in your true interest to you make the person feel fantastic about their purchase.

Prepare a list of special words and questions

If you have a list of words and questions that could help you describe your products more confidently and connect with your customers in a more natural way, you have a treasure-like tool that you will rely upon. It takes only ten minutes a day to craft the list and by the end of the month you should have a diary of strategic beautiful phrases, words and questions in order to study and use every time you are in the sales arena. Trust me, having this list handy is priceless because it can help you start a more meaningful, trustworthy relationship with your customers.

Stay in touch

Use your customer’s personal or professional information to stay in touch. It is your duty to continue to be present once they’ve left and returned to their hectic lives or have started to forget you. This is normal for all of us. We usually do not remember the salespeople we meet in a store, unless we have experienced such a great moment by purchasing something lovely from them. In any case, this may only last a couple of days. 

Resort to your special list and, whether the customer purchased from you or not, do your job and ask for their information for future reference. If you find resistance, you could explain to them (using your list of words) that you wish to stay in touch even from a distance because you want them to be informed of the latest versions of the collection, new launches, and, most importantly, you would love to learn if you could be of future assistance because you value them the most.

More sales will follow once you have internalized these three keys as part of your performance and at the same time you will have set the foundations for providing excellent service.
    
Mónica M. Arias
Excellence Consultant: Helping you discover how to reach your next level through excellence.
contacto@monicaarias.com.ar

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Emotional Marketing: Three Ways to Surprise Your Clients

This is one of a series of articles by Mónica Arias of Excellence Consulting, a luxury sales and marketing consulting firm based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. These articles will focus on ways that sales and marketing professional in the jewelry and luxury industries can improve their techniques.

We are slowly leaving the age of knowledge and information. Businesses are now being flooded by the age of transformation represented by emotions and well being. This process applies to all of us. You can transform yourself and benefit greatly by assisting your clients with high value service.

For you to be tuned into this new paradigm, you need to focus on crafting ways to surprise them emotionally. Here are three steps you can easily put into practice at practically no cost.

Write a “Thank You” email
“Thank You” emails have the effect to make a great emotional impact on clients (although some of them would hardly recognize it) specially if the text not only includes a “Thank You phrase.” Try being kind but involve yourself a little bit through your message: An example would be:

Dear Ms XX,
Thank you so much for your purchase of XXX…in our store at ZZZ. It has been a real pleasure to meet you and assist you in acquiring the magnificent… (description of pieces, name of collection, materials, etc). Let me also say that having the chance to learn through you about XXX (here you may recall parts of the conversation, or a special topic you both talked about) was really interesting and I appreciate very much the time you spent talking about it with me.
I would also like to express my gratitude for having chosen our company on this occasion and look forward to staying in touch so I can assist you shop further in the near future.
Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
ZZ

Leave a short voice message 
Once you sent the “thank you” email, wait for two or three weeks and leave a short message either in the client´s answering machine or cell phone, saying something like this:

Hello Ms XX…this is XXX from … Hope you are doing great. Just a brief message to learn how are you enjoying your new… (repeat description of the jewel  here). Please feel free to call me at XXX or email me at XXX and tell me how you feel wearing it (them) as I will be delighted to hear from you. Look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you very much … bye bye.

The bad news is many clients will never reply to your emails or voice messages. The good news is some of them definitely will, and they are the ones you will have to surprise with step number three:

Invite your client to come back 
If your client has answered you via email or phone, you need to be ready to invite them back to the arena in writing (even if you have talked only half a minute on the phone). Try something like this:

Dear Ms XX:
What a nice surprise it was to learn about you and have the chance to chat! Thank you so much for sharing a moment with me about how you are deeply enjoying your new (repeat description of pieces).
Since I promised to keep in touch, I am excited to tell you I have received some new pieces that can match perfectly well with your (repeat description of pieces and collection if applicable). Here are some pictures for you to enjoy (do not get stuck in trying to find the “perfect kind of photo” to be sent, any picture taken with your cell would do for the sake of emotional impact).
Aren´t they just lovely? Wish you could stop by and try them on since I truly think you will definitely adore them. How about having a drink (coffe, sip of champagne, whatever) in our store next week and give them a try? Is Wednesday afternoon for instance, a good time for you to set apart and share a new magical moment with me?
I can´t wait for your answer!
Warmly,
ZZ

Although there are plenty of situations in which these three steps will not apply, you can play with the patterns here and use other words from your own emotional vocabulary to adjust your pre and post sales processes and show expertise and concern. You can easily learn to connect not just speak to your clients, both verbally and in writing.

More strategies you commit to, the more you will connect, listen to and learn about your clients. Be patient and keep on learning as time is essential in the construction of trust.

In order to expand their highs and show their magnificence and beauty for us to appreciate, some trees take a long time to let their first shoots be seen. In the meantime, you could say “nothing” was “really going on” because you were not able to “see” the physical plant growing.

Excellenct service cannot be “seen” or “measured” either, at least, initially. However, it will be a gradual process that will give you and your clients enormous satisfactions, because even when you think nothing is going on, your clients will feel it, experience it and remember it, right from the very beginning.

Mónica M. Arias
Excellence Expert & Consultant: Helping you discover how to reach your next level through excellence.
contacto@monicaarias.com.ar
Copyright 2012

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Three Steps to Get Referrals from Your Clients

This is one of a series of articles by Mónica Arias, Excellence Expert specialized in Sales & Customer Service for luxury brands based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. These articles will focus on ways that sales and marketing professionals in the jewelry and luxury industries can improve their techniques.

Have you ever made an “all of a sudden,” unexpected sale just because you were referred to by one of your clients?

If you never experienced this exciting emotion, I highly recommend you take into account and put into practice these three simple steps that will add value to both your work and your income.

I cannot stress enough the importance of counting on a strategy like this in today’s business environment. It is crucial because there will always be moments when, for whatever reason, you just cannot reach your established sales goal. Yes, I have been through that, and I know how frustrating it can be: no matter how hard I tried, how much energy I devoted to my work and how connected I was with my clients, my efforts were sometimes not showing any results … or so it seemed.

So one day I decided I wanted to change that. I knew I loved what I did and was pretty good at it, I also knew my clients trusted me and the products and services I offered, so I concluded I needed to ask them for referrals.

But, how do you start doing this without sounding like it’s a burden for them or without making them feel obliged or uncomfortable?

You can do this by applying these three techniques:

1)    As soon as you have closed and cashed your next sale, invite your client for a brief informal conversation where you can talk about the great times he/she is going to enjoy with the piece/s they have just purchased from you. After the talk, ask them the following question: “I am so happy you are already enjoying your new XXX, and, as you know I really love to offer this beautiful pieces to as many people as possible, is there any person you can think of that I could send an invitation to come over for a drink? It would be lovely to receive them and of course you could also accompany them….”

2)    Call up your clients every so often and ask them for referrals (you can use a similar question as the one above). Hard as it seems, if you have worked out your relationship as I have shown you on my past articles, this will be a natural step to make and, more often than not, your clients will be delighted to give you some contacts. Be ready to get eight “No, I am sorry” answers out of 10 calls (on average). It doesn’t matter, thank your clients anyway and follow up with the two new contacts collected.

3)    Go out, mix and network. Ahá! If a bell is ringing, it means you never considered events (social or business) as an option for getting more clients. Trust me, it is a fantastic source of acquiring clients and therefore, future referrals. Check on your local chamber of commerce, chances are you will find an event or two where you could find some possible ideal clients to interact with.

Today´s world is evolving towards a new understanding of the nature of human communication. It is really a must to be able to do it frankly, adding value and offering help as much as you can. Your customers will be your best allies when you need them if you have planted the seeds of excellence in your relationship with them throughout the years.

Learn to develop this strategy and enjoy a stable forecast of your sales conversion, no matter how difficult or complicated the economy around you may be.

Mónica M. Arias
Excellence Expert: Helping you discover how to reach your next level through excellence.
contacto@monicaarias.com.ar
Copyright 2012

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Three Language Secrets to Improve Your Sales

This is one of a series of articles by Mónica Arias of Excellence Consulting, a luxury sales and marketing consulting firm based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. These articles will focus on ways that sales and marketing professional in the jewelry and luxury industries can improve their techniques.

Language is one of the most important means of communication. Words are vital components of language, and so are gestures, looks, movements, sounds, art, music, and of course, silence. (Many people feel uncomfortable with silence, yet, it is such a remarkable excellent tool both in life and in sales.)

As effective communicators, we sales people need to be aware of our messages: sometimes “unwanted” words and gestures come up, and fluid communication becomes somewhat difficult. That is why it is so important to think how we are going to use words with clients before actually being with them. Rehearsing some language secrets in advance will turn your communication into a more fluent, transient and empowering experience for your clients.

Secret Number One: Avoid Labeling
Broadly speaking, when we openly or mentally label a situation, a person, a feature of ourselves, it is always with a negative connotation which tends to limit possible different ways to keep on growing, especially in the sales arena. This is because labeling is a means to narrow our minds and has the effect to “filter in” only the information that will serve as consistent evidence that back-up the labels we created. You need to remember that our mind is sometimes tricky: you cannot trust it very much; it may lead you to make big mistakes.

So, in order to avoid labeling, every time you have a tendency to judge, simply act as a judge and instead, use language to reason, ask yourself: “What is the real evidence I count on to make such an assumption about this person, situation, myself, whatever?” “What questions could I make in order to learn more about this and check if I am making a sound conclusion or a stupid one?” “Why do I post this “identity label” to myself and keep it in my mind when it does not help me in my work—and life—at all? What is it I need to say or do differently in order to produce the outcomes I desire?

To help you with self-criticism, just refer to (the situation, the other person – whatever ) in a positive, inquiring manner: “I am such a great salesperson! Isn't it great I am able to improve my performance by learning new language strategies?” “She is a very reserved and quiet client, what could I say to her (or what words would I choose) to open up the dialogue without sounding pushy or invasive given her reluctance to speak?

Note that whenever I get you through this column, I reinforce the idea of making lots of open questions everyday, all day long. They are really helpful and have the advantage of erasing all psychological tricks to labeling.

Secret Number Two: Use Tag Questions
This is such a simple, wonderful and effective technique. You will find it very useful, especially when you have established good rapport with clients. Question Tags are known as “positive change facilitators” in Neurolinguistics because they reinforce “buy-in” behaviors. You can even apply them to reinforce the client´s “mood” of the moment: “You know Ms. XX, I truly believe you are going to enjoy this beautiful ring for many years to come and in plenty of occasions, don´t you agree?”

I am pretty sure once you start noticing how helpful this tool is in getting results, and once you feel comfort in expressing question tags,  you will feel encouraged to use it more in your daily working routine.
 
Secret Number Three: Neutralize objections with “And…”
Your clients will come up with thousands of diverse objections rather than price or payment. They will tell you even interesting things about family matters if they have in mind to get you up in their roller coaster of “not being sure” or “not being ready” to purchase. We know and expect that. After all, it is in the very core of human nature to struggle a bit before closing a deal, just because…

Therefore, when a client posts an objection and he/she says something like: “I am really scared to make this step,” take a few seconds and magnetize your suggestion: “I understand Mr XX…and that means you are someone conscious about your important choices. Plus, fear is part of human nature, isn´t it? Although I am sure you will agree that our best decisions come associated with a little bit of fear just because it is an ingredient of getting something is worth having. Don´t you think so?”

As professional salespeople in the luxury market however, we have today what I believe is an unprecedented historical opportunity to take advantage of the person-to-person interaction. You can harness language tools and use them purposefully in the direction of positive change, whether it is closing a sale or coming to an agreement.

Make the effort. Study these secrets further and apply them right away, they will help you go beyond your imagination and sales goals.

Mónica M. Arias
Excellence Expert & Consultant: Helping you discover how to reach your next level through excellence.
contacto@monicaarias.com.ar
Copyright 2011

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