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36 | thejewelrybook.com B O O K Y O U R S A L E S MASTERCLASS I N S T O R E NOW! Consultant to Jewelry Suppliers and Retailers Author | Columnist | Keynotes Managers Meetings P E T E R S M I T H TheRetailSmiths@gmail.com Peter Smith teaches Sales Training Masterclasses and Hiring Workshops in retail stores, and consults jewelry suppliers, brands, and retailers. He is the author of three books (Hiring Squirrels, Sell Something, and e Sales Minute) and a columnist for e Jewelry Book and National Jeweler. He has more than 40-years in leadership positions in the industry including companies such as Memoire, Hearts On Fire, VIBHOR, and Ti any & Co. He can be reached at eRetailSmiths@gmail.com A favorite refrain of mine is to control the controllables and focus on the big rocks. It is particularly poignant in a year when many seem to be waiting for the Grim Reaper to bring jewelers crashing back to earth after the historical performance of recent years. As of this writing independent jewelry stores are down a mere three percent for the year. Hardly a cause for concern coming off an okay year, let alone the fabulous results of 2022. ere are numerous ways to positively impact your fourth quarter, and the fi rst is to communicate to your team that you expect nothing less than an outstanding season. at positivity and clarity of communication is an important step in getting your entire team on the right trajectory. e second step is to have a hard look at your inventory mix. While it may not be the year for speculative buying, you can't run short of best sellers, and you should apportion some resources to spicing up your inventory and exciting your best customers with some newness. e last point I'll make is to watch your average ticket. If you brought lab-grown diamonds in as a strategic initiative, make sure you don't inadvertently conspire to drive your average ticket into decline. e best way to avoid that outcome is to provide an average ticket component to your sales goals, and to be transparent with your sales team about those goals. Happy Retailing! by Peter Smith Some Thoughts for the Fourth Quarter

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