Diamond Cutting Events Draw Big Crowds and Sales…

Above: Yotam Rabiv of Ofer Mizrahi Diamonds shows diamonds to the crowd at McCaskill & Co.

In my “Secrets Of The Superstores”, Chapter 8 is titled: P.T. Barnum was a very Rich Man: Events Focused Marketing. In my study of the country’s most successful Jewelry Superstores I found that they were all great showmen and that events were central to their marketing success. Today, more than ever, I believe great store events are critical to growing your store. Here are two perfect examples. Both Davis Jewelers in Louisville and McCaskill & Company in Destin, FL hosted Diamond Cutting Events in the past couple weeks with Ofer Mizrahi Diamonds to great success! OM Diamonds sends in their OM Sales Rep and one of their expert Diamond Cutters, along with extra goods, for two days of intense diamond cutting demonstrations and diamond selling.

…at Davis Jewelers and McCaskill & Company!

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Left: OM Master Cutter Arie Maor gets a Davis Jewelers Client hands on the cutting wheel.

“This was by far the greatest event we have ever done at McCaskill & Co.” Elizabeth Campbell told me excitedly this morning, “We’ve never had so many new people in our store…amazing, just amazing! Sales for the weekend were strong in all our departments and we are working several new diamond prospects. We are off to a great start for the holidays!” Hank Davis of Davis Jewelers agrees “Having the diamond cutter with live cutting in the store really brought in the folks. Best of all our bridal department had couples in the chairs all day long. This was by far the best diamond event ever!”

The power of this event is simple. Everyone is fascinated by diamond cutting. Hank Davis put it this way, “Can you think of a more compelling, engaging way to show you’re in the diamond business?” The opportunity to actually see a diamond being cut is a powerful draw. Cutting shows also build trust because when you share knowledge and information you earn trust. Having a diamond cutting show in your store demonstrates your expertise and primacy as THE diamond authority in your market. Who else has the power to actually have a diamond cutter in the store?

Start your Spring planning now by calling your Ofer Mizrahi rep or calling Ahna Brooks at 312-558-9060 to discuss having an OM Diamond Cutting Event in your store.

The Lost Art: Jewelry Store Sales Coaching

By Jim Douglass

Sales coaching is not a given. In fact it’s becoming a lost art. Unfortunately, most managers are weighted down with personal sales and store administrative responsibilities and have never been trained how to actually coach their sales team.

A good sales coach consistently reviews their salespeople’s presentations. The more you ask your salespeople the same questions over and over the more your salespeople begin to use them during their presentations for discovery. Repetition creates habits and changing habits, from bad ones to good ones, is what Sales Training is all about.

Here are some examples of good coaching questions. When a salesperson says, “We need to order in a 1.25ct, oval, G, VS2, certified diamond”: Why that exactly? Have they already been to another store that showed them that diamond and now you are competing with price? Did they get that information from the internet and now you are competing with an unseen diamond and price? Did a friend at work (and his friend is an expert, right?) buy his fiancé a diamond with those 4C’s for a certain price? Do those exact 4C’s have a specific significance for the customer? The answer to these questions will reveal much needed information that will guide you.

The answers to those questions and questions like them will determine whether you are selling proactively or reactionary. They will determine whether you need to order in a diamond; paying shipping and insurance and expecting the customer to wait and then come back in when maybe the 1.25ct oval only meant they just wanted something different/unique and now you’ve opened up the possibilities to show some unique sizes and shapes you have in stock and the possibility of closing the sale on the spot.

For some real coaching call Jim Douglass at 803-322-7522 or you may email him at jimdouglass@sellthroughpro.com