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HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR JEWELRY STORE

10 TIPS FOR A BETTER JEWELRY STORE AND A BETTER BUSINESS

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How Jewelers Can Improve Their Jewelry Stores

Jewelry Store Owners…

Listen up, I’m Talking to YOU!

If you want to Increase Traffic and Increase Sales, take Note of the Topics listed below.

They will Help you Achieve a Better Jewelry Store, a Better Atmosphere, a Better Staff, and a Better Bottom Line.

These 10 Tips are Common Sense, or should be. But Sadly, if you Walk into most Jewelry Stores across the Country, you’ll see that many are Lax and Missing the Mark.

They Fall Short and there is No Reason for it!

Jewelry is a Very Competitive Business, and any Store that has More Professionalism has the Upper Edge. You really can Increase Customer Flow, Positive Word of Mouth, and put More Money in the Bank.

What are these 10 Great Tips?

Let’s take a Peek at the Best Tips for Jewelry Store Owners…

  1. Train Your Staff
  2. Dress Appropriately
  3. Keep your Jewelry Clean & Polished
  4. Fix Your Lights
  5. Offer Service and Smiles
  6. Don’t Close Your Store Early
  7. Don’t Slam The Competition
  8. Have Promotions And Events
  9. Work Email and Newsletters
  10. Follow Through/Follow Up

10 Tips for Jewelry Store Owners!

Now let’s take a Closer look…

1) Train Your Staff

A Knowledgeable Staff is a Successful Staff.

To get the most out of your Employees, you must Develop an On-Going Training Course and put all your Old and New Hires through it.

From the start they’ll Learn all about Greetings…

And Greetings are SO Important!

Greetings should be Warm, Calm and Welcoming. A Friendly Smile goes a long way.

Greeting them is Not Pouncing on them the Second they Enter the Door. It’s giving them a Moment to Walk in and Adjust to the Surroundings and Light.

If a Customer Enters and sees Employees Huddled Together Talking, it can make the Welcome Uncomfortable since all Eyes Turn Towards Them.

Break up the Huddles. Don’t Gawk when People Enter. Give them Space and Certainly Don’t Yell across the Room.

Walk up Slowly, Casually Greet them. Give them your Name and offer a Hand. Let them know that you’ll be Close if they want some Help or Assistance with Merchandise.

Make them Feel at Home…

Employees should also Learn about: Showing Merchandise, Being able to Answer Customer’s Questions, Overcoming Obstacles, Closing the Sale, Financing, Paperwork, Appraisals, and Gaining a Customer for Life.

I put together a Great Jewelry Salesperson Training Manual HERE! Read it! It will Help you and your Staff!

Stores that do not have a Clear Training Manual will Fly by the Seat of their Pants. They will make up New Rules Day by Day, and things will Never Seem Consistent or Fair! You MUST Train and Educate your Staff Constantly and make them all Adhere to a Training Manual or Employee Handbook!

Teach your Staff about Diamonds, Show them. Hold Weekly Staff Meetings and Train them about Different Gemstones, the 4C’s. Delve deeper into Cut, show them Examples under the Microscope.

Teach them the Proper way to hold and Display Loose Diamonds (With Tweezers and a 10x Jeweler’s Loupe). Go over Diamond Reports, and really make them Feel Comfortable Showing and Selling $10,000 items.

Make them do Sales Presentations in Front of each other. Keep them on their Toes.

Help your Employees with Diamonds and Gemstone Articles. Subscribe to Jewelry Magazines so they keep Current on Trends and the Hot New Items for Christmas.

It’s all about Education, Constant Training and Support. That way everyone will know your Merchandise inside and out.

Knowing your Goods will allow you to Answer Questions like:

Do you have any Tacori Rings?

I Understand that you Can’t Possibly Know Everything when it comes to Diamonds, Gems, and Metals, but you should know the Vast Majority of your Merchandise and be able to Talk about them Confidentially.

You want them to be able to Answer Questions and not have to Run to Find the Answer.

Educate your Staff by Enrolling them in Diamond and Gem Courses.

Read, Learn, Train!

The More Knowledge you give them, the more they’ll be able to Sell.

Knowledge really does Bring Confidence and Customers can Sense that.

Confident People Perform Better, are Less Stressed, and More Successful.

It all goes Hand in Hand.

Never Stop Learning and Training yourself and Keep your Staff informed.

That way when a Customer says:

What’s the Difference between GIA and IGI?

What are Invisible Set Stones?

What’s the Cut of this Diamond?

Why is this Stone $2,000 less than the one down the Street?

What’s Fluorescence?

You’ll be able to Answer without Missing a Beat. :)

Jewelry Store Questions!

2) Dress Appropriately

Look the Part. If your Tie is Undone, or your Shirt is Un-Tucked, it makes a Sad and Lasting Impression.

Unkempt!

Keeping a Neat and Clean Wardrobe is Essential.

You are, after all, dealing with some of the Smallest and Wealthiest Objects on Earth.

It’s hard to Sell a $10,000 Diamond when you have a Missing Button, Scuffed Shoes, Ripped Panty Hose or 3 Day Old Stubble.

Dress like you own the Place, and Dress like a Million Bucks!

Dressing for Success really does up the Professionalism and the Whole Entire Store. Casual Fridays Don’t Work Well in the Jewelry Industry!

Dress Appropriately

Keep your Head Up, Shoulders Back, Maintain Eye Contact, and Smile.

It Really Does Work Wonders!
And…

NO FOOD or GUM!

Sales People or Cashiers, or Even Bosses, Chomping Gum Drives Me Crazy.

Don’t do it!

No one wants to be Waited on while you Snap and Crack your Gum. It’s Annoying, Not Professional, and Irritates some like Fingernails on a Chalkboard.

To me, it gives the Appearance that they Don’t Care, has No Responsibility, No Real Desire in Life (It’s Just a Job), and they Just Chomp, Chomp, Chomp Away.

It doesn’t look Pretty, Nor Sound Great.

And if you’re Eating in the Back and a Customer Interrupts your Lunch, make sure you Wash your Greasy, Oily Hands and Pick the Lettuce out of your Teeth. Not to Mention Mouthwash for your Garlic Breath. Oh, and Wipe the Crumbs off your Tie, and do something about that Spaghetti Sauce on your Sleeve

You see, it’s Not Very Presentable. It’s usually Better to have someone else Wait on the Clientele. That way you don’t Fingerprint the Diamonds.

Get my Point? :)

Appropriate Attire for a Jewelry Store!

3) Keep your Jewelry Cleaned & Polished

This is a No-Brainer, or so one would think.

Sadly, it’s just not the Case.

You’ll see many Jewelers showing Diamonds and Engagement Rings that are Dirty, Covered with Tarnish or Oily Fingerprints, and even Showing Silver Jewelry that is Oxidized and Black.

I see Cases and Trays with Rings Upside Down, Sideways, the Tag is Sticking Straight Up

What are Jewelry Stores Thinking?

Why?

It Doesn’t Kook Good!

I had a customer ask if a Ring was “Used” Before because there was a Smudge on the Diamonds and Gold.

It’s Embarrassing!

The items in the Showcase should ALWAYS look Perfect and Spotless. They should be Kept Clean and Fingerprint Free.

When you show items to customers, keep a Polishing Cloth Handy and Gently Wipe the Goods Before you Hand them over to the Customers. This not only Gives you Ample time to Chit-Chat with the Customer, but it gives you Time to Look at the Tag and Gain Valuable Info, like Carat Weights, Clarity, Color, and Price (Which also Helps Loss Prevention).

This Cleaning Process Never Ends

And while you’re at it, Clean the Showcase Windows. Kids Love to Put their Hands and Lips all over Glass. When the Staff isn’t Busy, have them Constantly Clean and Straighten the Jewelry.

Plus, if you’re Showing Loose Stones, make sure the Stones are Clean and Dust Free as well. Steam Clean them so when you Show them under a Scope or a Loupe, the Dirt won’t look like Inclusions!

It Just Makes Sense.

You won’t Sell very many Dirty Diamonds!

And, having the Sales Staff Cleaning Merchandise keeps them out on the Floor and ready to Meet and Greet the Next Customer…

Keep Your Jewelry Cleaned And Polished!

4) Fix Your Lights

Without Light, Diamonds won’t Sparkle!

Which means, the more Light, the Merrier!

Make sure, on a Daily Basis, that you Check ALL your Store Lights inside and out. Check the Fluorescent Bulbs, the Halogens, all the inner Showcase Lights, Spot Lights, Microscope Lights… You don’t want Dark Areas or Shadows.

I’ve been in Stores before where the Case Lights would come on and off throughout the day. It was Distracting and would Surprise Customers when it would POP on.

I’ve also been in other stores that were Way, Way Worse.

Some Store Owners never change their Burnt out Ceiling Bulbs.

EVER!

One Store had 18 Burnt Bulbs. 18! I Counted Them! That’s Lazy!

18 Dark Areas in the Store. The Salespeople would be Showing Goods to the Customer and have to Lead them over to a Lit Spot in order for them to see. Not Cool!

I’ve seen some Stores shut off the Overhead Lights as well just to Save Money. They would turn them on when Customers would Enter. Imagine a Customer’s Face when they would Enter a Dark Store Suddenly Flooded with Blinding Light. Is this Professional?

Not in the Least!

The Store would probably look Closed. Is this the Business you want to Reflect?

Leave your Lights on and make sure they ALL Work!

AND make sure you Check the Outside Lights, Building Lights, Parking Lot Lights (so it’s Safe), and make sure they aren’t Burnt Out.

I saw one Jewelry Store in Town that had Burnt Out Letters in their Rooftop Logo…

Sadly “elers” was Burnt out, leaving only “Jew“…

True Story!

It Wasn’t Appropriate!

Keep a Stock of Bulbs on hand and once a Day make it a Duty to Walk the Store and Check the Lights.

Keep Your Jewelry Store Lights Working!

5) Offer Service and Smiles

It’s all about SERVICE!

What Services are you Giving Customers?

I always say you can Judge how Good or Bad a Business is, by the way they Handle Problems and Returns.

In Fact, this is the Case for any Store Across America!

You need to Train your Staff on How to Deal with Problems, Irate Customers, Repair Issues, Billing Mistakes, Finance Fees, Exchanges and Returns.

It’s all Part of the Job.

Deal with it Smiling and you’ll Win the Customers over.

The Bottom Line is, Keep your Customers Happy.

Keep your Customers for Life!

Bad Word of Mouth is Bad Business and Spreads like Wild Fire. It’s just Not Worth it No Matter Who’s Right or Wrong.

Go out of your Way to Make your Customers Happy and they will Reward you with More Sales and Generations of Family Members to come.

Offer Services like: Free Cleaning and Polishing. Hand Deliver Rings when they’re Finished. Offer a Free Watch Battery Day. Set out Candy for the Kids, Coffee for the Adults. Make People Feel Warm and Special.

Treat them like Kings and Queens

Treat Customers Like Kings And Queens!

How About A One Day Appraisal Service?

Same Day Repairs?

What can you do to Service your Customer?

Go the Extra Mile!

6) Don’t Close Your Store Early

A Couple Pulls up to a Jewelry Store. The Sign on the Door says they are Open until 9 p.m. It’s 8:40. They Walk into the Store to Shop for Engagement Rings and what do they see?

The Staff is Pulling the Merchandise and Putting it away. They are Loading up Trays and Carrying Them to the Back Safe.

The Salespeople all Stop and Look at the Couple with a Smirk.

Are you Closed?” the Customer asks.

One Salesperson Grimaces “It’s been a Slow Night, so we Decided to Close a Little Early. Sorry!

No Problem” says the Lady, “We’ll Come Back Tomorrow!

They Wave. The Salesperson Waves.

They NEVER Return!

Ever!

Are you Hurting your Business by Closing Early?

It happens to Stores all over Town. The Sign says they’re Open, but the Doors are Locked. What Gives?

Do you Realize what kind of Message you’re Sending out? What Kind of Inconvenience and Aggravation you’re Causing Customers?

They just Spent Time, Effort and Gas Money to Drive out to see your Rings, and you’re Closed.

Who would want to Shop in a Place like that?

Not Me!

If you Post Hours on your Door for all to see, Stick With Them.

Stay Open!

That Extra 20 Minutes won’t make that much of a Difference, but it could to your Bottom Line. That Last Person in the Door could have spent $10,000!

Is “Survivor” really Worth the Rush to Vacate the Premises? DVR it and Give Customers the Right to Shop.

If you don’t get that $10,000 Deal, who will?

Your Competitors!

Can you Afford to lose 10 G’s? Who Cares if the Staff is Grumbling and Wants to Leave Early. Really!

Set Precedent! Don’t Close Early. Don’t Even Pull Early. Don’t Begin Closing Tasks until all the Customers are Done Shopping and the Doors are Fully Locked for the Night.

You’ll be Surprised at how much more you can Achieve!

Jewelry Store Hours!

7) Don’t Slam The Competition

Don’t Knock the Competition. It just makes you Look and Sound Bad.

It’s Petty, and Uncomfortable for all. It makes Customers Trust YOU Less.

Here’s my Rule of Thumb:

There’s Enough Sales To Go Around!

Every Jewelry Store Carries a Mix of Quality and Products. They Carry Cheap Goods, Middle of the Line Items, and Expensive, High Quality Goods. So Telling a Potential Customer that “That Store Sells Junk!” is Not Fair Nor Cool. That will come Back and Bite YOU in the Butt.

There Really is Enough Sales to Go Around. If that’s where a Customer Finds Something that they like, so be it.

Show them what you Have, go over your Warranties, Guarantees, Service, tell them what you have to Offer, and let the Customer Decide.

If it’s Not Good Enough, then you Need to Look at Yourself Closer. See what you could be doing instead of Trying to Tear the Competition Apart.

Don’t Come Across as Bitter or Disgruntled. If another Store Slams you, Good. Let them!

They’re just Jealous

Smile, Show the Customers why they Should Shop with You and Gain their Trust.

Customers will Appreciate it!

Don't Slam the Competition!

8) Have Promotions And Events

Get the Word out. Have Fun with it!

Stir Things Up. Get Involved!

Do something but just sit there and Hope the Sales will come to you.

There are Lots of Ways to have Promotions, Sales, and things that will Get the People in the Door.

Trust me, I know. I’ve Created a lot of Advertisements for Jewelry Stores over the Years.

Things Like:

Bridal Shows, Remount Shows, Inventory Close Outs, Pre-Owned Rolex Sales, Make a Deal with the Boss Day, Battery Coupons, We Buy Gold Billboards, Fliers, Postcards, Catalogs and even Websites.

It’s Endless what you can do when you put your Thinking Cap on.

One Local Jewelry Store Owner near me is constantly doing Radio Spots, Promotions and Charity Events.

Anything he can do to Constantly keep his Name out there. He even Created a Jingle!

He Exchanges Gift Certificates with Restaurants, Florists, Limo Services and Bridal Shops.

He puts together Elaborate Package Deals for Newly Engaged Couples.

He Works their Facebook Page, Posts Happy Couple’s Photos, Sends out Mailings and Postcards for a Free Gemstone (like an Amethyst or Blue Topaz) on their Birthday…

He works it!

He Even Sends out a $50 Gift Certificate for Mother’s Day.

He Works with Vendors and Brings in Trunk Shows, Pearl Events, Exotic Gemstones, and just has Fun with it.

Have Snacks. Get involved with the Community. Why not?

And yes, Why Not Have A Free Watch Battery Day?

It may Cost you a Couple of Bucks, but look at all the New Customers it could Bring you. They may Buy Now, they may Not. But they will Certainly Remember you the Next Time they need Merchandise. For there’s always a Holiday or Special Day Coming

What have you got to Lose?

Promote Your Jewelry Store!

9) Work Email and Newsletters

Check your Email Daily. Respond Quickly. Set up Mailing Lists, Newsletters, Social Media.

After all, you already Gain Many Customer’s Names and Addresses Already, why not also get their Email Addresses as well?

Put them to Good use!

Keep them up to Date with Promotions, Services, Special Deals and Exclusive Offers.

I’m Not Saying Spam anyone, no one likes that. But once a Month, or once Every Other Week, Drop them a Note with Something Neat. An Offer, some Info, something Fun and Cool. How about Cleaning Tips and Advice? Detailed Information about the Birthstone of the Month? New Jewelry Lines coming in. Coupons. Deals. Steals…

Create a Facebook Page so Customers can Like you, Promote you, get the Word out (“Hint Hint”).

Stay in Contact With Customers!

Mailing out a Friendly Reminder for the 6 Month Cleaning and Inspection Keeps your Store in their Mind. It will Bring them in and Gives you a Chance to Show them all the New Items.

Lots of Jewelry Stores also Check the Newly Engaged Couples Listed in the Local Newspaper and sends them out Coupons or Certificates for Bridal Party Goods or Wedding Bands.

It’s Smart Business

You could Send out Happy Anniversary Cards. Get them Thinking about YOUR Jewelry.

When it’s Time to Shop, they’ll know where to go.

10) Follow Through/Follow Up

We’ll Call you with the Estimate on your Watch

SURE!!!!

“Ooops, Sorry! We should have Called you to Tell you that your Repair is Not Done Yet!

Yeah, Right!

I’ll let you Know when our Next Remount Show is

Never Does!

“Oh, We Cancelled your Layaway 2 Months Ago. No one Called you on that?”

SIGH!

Does this Sound Familiar?

How hard is it to Pick up the Phone and Keep the Customer Informed and In the Loop?

Really?

Your Repair is Finished Early!

That Watch you Liked Came in!

Did you Say you Wanted 4 Prongs or 6 Prongs?

Call!

It only takes a Second to Touch Base and Customers will Understand and Appreciate it.

Even if it’s Bad News:

We Accidentally Chipped your Stone!

It Happens!

Your Watch can’t be Fixed!

That Mounting you Wanted has been Discontinued!

Calling is much Better than Waiting for the Customer to Come in Weeks Later, Mad and Upset and Inquiring as to Why you Didn’t Call, or Why Things are Taking So Long.

Just Call.

And FOLLOW UP As Well!

“Do you Have Any Questions about your New Service Plans?

“Just a Reminder, it’s Time for your Cleaning and Inspecting!”

That Pendant you Wanted just Went on Sale for 60% off!

“I have some Great Ideas for your 25th Anniversary coming up…”

See how Easy this is?

If there’s any Problems, Concerns, or Questions, Take Care of Them.

If you say “We’ll Contact you when the Wax is Finished…

DO SO!

No one Likes to Drop the Ball and Customers Dislike it Even More.

Keep Notes!

Keep a Daily Journal or Planner. Jot Things Down. If you tell a Customer that you’ll Call them for your September Sapphire Sale, then Write it in your Planner for the Last Week in August. Call Them!

Become their “Personal” Jeweler.

Become their Friend.

They are Counting on you. Will You Let Them Down?

“Mr. Client, we just got in some Beautiful Blue Diamond Earrings that will Match your Wife’s Blue Diamond Pendant. It would be Perfect for her Birthday Next Month. How about you Stop by after Work and Take a Peek?”

Easy as that!

Follow Through Follow Up!

Final Thoughts

Take your Store and your Sales to the Next Level.

I’m sure if you take a Step Back and really Look at how Customers Perceive you, and be Honest, you’ll see that There’s Always Room for Improvement.

Even if it’s just Small Things… It all Adds Up.

Perception. Professionalism. Personality and Presentation. These can all Advance your Store into Higher Profits.

Train, Educate, Teach, Service and Smile

Give the People Quality, Treat them Fairly, and they will Become Life Long Fans.

It’s Amazing what a Positive Attitude can do.

Make a Difference!

It all Starts with YOU!

Cheers! :)




Recommended Jewelry Supplies:

Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner Jewelry Steam Cleaner Complete Jewelry Cleaner Kit Diamond Dazzle Stick
Gold Silver Jewelry Polishing Cloths Jewelry Making Supplies Kit Gold Acid Test Kit Watch Tool Repair Kit
Ring Adjusters EMT Emergency Ring Cutter 10x Jewelers Loupe Jewelers Microscope

Recommended Jewelry Supplies:

Ultrasonic Jewelry Cleaner Jewelry Steam Cleaner
Complete Jewelry Cleaner Kit Diamond Dazzle Stick
Gold Silver Jewelry Polishing Cloths Jewelry Making Supplies Kit
Gold Acid Test Kit Watch Tool Repair Kit
Ring Adjusters EMT Emergency Ring Cutter
10x Jewelers Loupe Jewelers Microscope

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