Are you riding your jewelry business or is it riding you?

The whole idea of training your sales team is so they can truly drive sales. This is the only way to take control of your jewelry sales floor..by empowering your people to truly sell effectively!
Jim Douglass learned how to sell where it counts, on the sales floor of a fine jewelry store, becoming the number one Hearts On Fire salesman in the country! After many years training hundreds of HOF retailers for Hearts On Fire, JIm started Selling Fundamentals and now his talents are available to you.

Jim rode his shiny Harley Davidson Road King to Charleston to visit Freshley Media this week. I’ve known Jim for several years and have always admired the results he archives. Bottom line, he knows how to train jewelry sales people. The conversion rate at one of his client’s recently exceeded 90%! Does your team sell like that?

Over shrimp and grits at world renowned Poogans Porch, we talked store sales performance and what really works. As an advertising agency, I’m an “outside” guy. My focus is influencing the behavior of consumers outside your store. Jim is the ultimate “inside” guy. He is totally and passionately focused on sales management and improving behavior of consumers inside your store. That starts with your sales people.

Here are some great bits of Jim Douglass sales wisdom:

Never assume sales.

“All aspects of management; administrative, merchandising, marketing, etc., are important to your business. But by default they are intended to support your sales and sales management, not the other way around. Without sales no one gets paid! When other aspects of management take priority over sales and sales management the unspoken message is, the sales are assumed. In today’s marketplace, that will kill you.”

Closing is a skill and must be learned.

“Most salespeople dislike the word close because it implies pressure or being rude. When told they need to close each presentation it’s met with resistance the argument being ‘that’s being pushy’. That facts are most salespeople have never been trained how or why to close. Bringing a presentation to a conclusion, at the right time, will either get you the sale or reveal what the customer is thinking that may be blocking it. Once the basic fundamental of closing is learned conversion rates go up, guaranteed. Who is training your salespeople to close?”

Yes, I know, you’ve heard all this before. The difference is that Jim Douglass actually trains, working with owners and mangers to build strong sales teams over time. He does not do worthless three day seminars. “ This is all about changing behavior to improve results” JIm explained. “ Changing bad habits, replacing them with proven, good sales habits takes time and measurement. You can’t change what you can’t measure, so actually measuring results is also central to what we do. Traffic means nothing if they don’t buy.”

Buyers are by definition sold. Who is selling in your store? Who is managing your sales team? What is your conversion rate? Are you riding your beautiful, shiny business or is it riding you?

If you want to talk to Jim you can reach his email: jimdouglass@sellthroughpro.com or call him directly at 803-322-7532. I highly recommend him to all my stores.