These are the “Top 10” classic mistakes that jewelry salespeople make when trying to sell diamonds, according to various industry experts interviewed by JCK:
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Not establishing your store “brand” before trying to sell to the customer. “The first thing you need to do with any customer is to ‘sell’ them your integrity, knowledge, experience, willingness to serve them, and anything else you bring to the counter. You need to sell your store brand and show them why they should buy from you instead of someone else.” – Terry Chandler
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Not conveying energy and excitement to the customer during the sales presentation. “You can’t have an agenda; you need to be passionate about the job and the product, and truly happy for the customer. We get to sell to them during the happiest times of their lives. If you’re not excited for them, you’re in the wrong business.” – Barbara Hight-Randall
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Not listening to the customer. “A lot of salespeople are selling based on the reason they think the customer wants to buy, not on what’s important to the customer. Salespeople that do this often end up using overly technical information or industry jargon that just confuses the customer. If you’re not listening to the customer, you’ll lose the sale.” – Brad Huisken
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Making judgments about customers based on appearance. “Too many times, salespeople don’t pull out an expensive enough ring or ask enough questions because they look at someone and don’t think they can afford it.” – David Norman
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Assuming the price tag and physical features of a diamond are all you need to convey value to the customer. “The only value a diamond will have for most customers is in how it will satisfy their needs. It has little or nothing to do with the price or product itself.” – Kate Peterson
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Not paying attention to the customer’s body language. “So many times, I see salespeople looking at the diamond, not at the customer. You’ve seen this diamond in the case for months. You need to look at him, see if the color changes in his face, see if his eyes start to dilate, look at his facial expressions, see how he positions his body, see how he holds the jewelry, etc. These are all signs that will help direct your sales presentation.” – David Richardson
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Having a “the sky is falling” mentality. “In today’s challenging economic times, fewer customers are walking through your door. But the ones that come in are there to buy. Yet we see retailers huddled in the corner, scared because they sold all their hot sellers and didn’t replace them, scared because they don’t have enough inventory, scared because they’ve seen and heard nothing but bad news, scared of price competition, scared of the Internet. The customer comes in laughing and celebrating one of the best times of their life, but they find nothing but an atmosphere of negativity, so they don’t leave, they run for the door. This negativity becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.” – Glenn Rothman
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Immediately defaulting to a price presentation. “When someone walks in with a price from a competitor or the Internet and the first thing you do is try to compete with the price, it’s a terrible mistake. Low prices don’t build loyalty and relationships, and there will always be someone selling it for less. Instead, use arguments like quality, service, reputation, etc., to overcome price objections.” – Harvey Rovinsky
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Being too technical in your presentation. “When you get all caught up in the four Cs, you sell diamonds like a commodity instead of the precious one-of-a-kind items they are. Certainly, some customers respond to technical information, but you should never leave out the romance.” – Caroline Stanley
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Not introducing yourself to customers (and not remembering their names). “When a customer buys a diamond from someone, trust is the number one issue. How will you gain trust from them if you remain anonymous? And how can you form a long-term relationship with them if you don’t even bother to remember their name? Customers have to know whom they’re dealing with. You can’t treat them like strangers. – Leonard Zell