Look Book

52 www.thejewelrybook.com There's so much great information in the market on selling bridal—and so many seasoned sales staffers—that I'm sure many of you could sell wedding jewelry in your sleep! But in the spirit of practi- cality, let's dive into the psyche of bridal customers and current waking opportu- nities to reach them. Keep sales about the customer. Cus- tomers, especially bridal jewelry shop- pers, want to be the center of attention. Clients want to be pampered and catered to; if not, they would just buy online. And since this is the preferred treatment for bridal consumers, and it's not every day that people buy engagement rings and wedding bands, salespeople need to customize product suggestions to indi- vidual customers at specifi c moments. To do this, staffers should constantly fi ne-tune communications and rapport- building skills. Customers will give you all of the information you need to create the right suggestion as long as they trust you. The fi rst step? Ask personal but disarming questions to uncover his or her true wants and needs and gain their confi dence. There is a great deal of responsibility rid- ing on how well salespeople can get an oftentimes complete stranger to trust them. Developing rapport and using the right questions at the right time help you make the perfect suggestion almost every time. Keep suggestions relevant. It's easy to use the same add-on features and bene- fi ts for every customer, but this doesn't work well in a retail store. Remember, customers want the entire experience (including the product) to be about them: unique, special, bespoke. Coupled with robust product knowledge, proper training will allow your salespeo- ple to show every nuance of the products they sell and how those products comple- ment each other. If all your salespeople know are the general talking points about a product, then it's hard for them to relate those products to new clients with differ- ent interests. Staffers are left with the op- tion of having nothing relevant to say or, worse yet, making something up that the customer can fact-check on their smart- phone (I've seen this happen). Keep the focus on the celebration and value. I've said this before but it bears repeating: if the conversation stays focused on price and the 4Cs, it's nearly impossible to upsell or suggest useful add-ons. As long as the customer is focused on cost, they can't see value. Bridal shoppers may have more to spend, but that doesn't mean they're looking to throw money away. They want to know if what they're getting for their dollars is better than a mass-market product. Well- trained salespeople know how to steer the conversation toward the overall value of the engagement ring apart from its cost and separate from the 4Cs. Finally, don't forget the add-on sale, such as a pair of diamond stud earrings! Your bridal customer needs to be reminded that her new mother-in-law should have a special gift for the wedding and that a pair of diamond stud earrings would be perfect! In fact, both mothers deserve a special gift. Why not, and why shouldn't they come from the bride-to-be? B Y PAT HENNEBERRY 3 Ways to Perfect Selling Bridal Consider this trio of moves to better reach wedding jewelry shoppers. w w w . r e b e c c a o v e r m a n n . c o m 4 1 5 . 4 6 6 . 2 9 9 2 INSPIRED SELLING

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