written by Ann Glynn
Selling jewelry is all about fashion and jewelry trends. Are you wild about color? Find out what color your customers love and build from there. Introduce your customers to the latest styles in diamond jewelry. Get to know their favorite shapes and let them know you will keep an eye out for possible bargains on those shapes to help them build a collection they will love. Offer your services as their expert personal jewelry shopper.
Have your in-store sales gone stale? Reinvigorate them with interesting new products. Let’s start with birthstones and then move on to other gorgeous, less well-known gemstones that can help you make money and cement your image within the jewelry business as the expert that you really are. An inexpensive way to generate interest is with gemstone products. I’ve literally searched and found many gemstone products online for less than $200. These types of products can be sold very inexpensively or used as giveaways to lure customers into your store. The objective is to get the customer into to store.
For example, our longtime advertiser, Bryan Aderhold, “The Candy Man” is well-known as a colored gemstone supplier to many retailers. Recently, he took his gemstones to another level by offering gemstone buttons for clothing (shirts). Below are some photos of what they look like:
I’ve also found gemstone pens, candleholders and many more creative ways that people have incorporated colored gemstones into existing product offerings. These products can be an interesting and inexpensive way to begin cementing yourself as an expert, and a gateway to creating interest in colored gemstones, and a gemstone lifestyle for your customers for future visits.
Consider having a meet and greet day/night to share these new products or services with your clients. Make it fun by letting them know how the new products and services can impact or benefit them. Keep in mind that some of your customers are looking for a reason to buy. Whether it is a new product or trend, you can help them if you get to know them. Let them know that you would be honored to be their personal shopper/advisor when it comes to all-things jewelry. Has covid kept them from doing fun things together? Offer to hold a get together in your store for them and their friends.
If they would enjoy an outing, take it to a whole new level with inexpensive giveaways such as jewelry cleaner or silver jewelry cloths or inexpensive gemstone products. Don’t know where to start? Connect with me – I would love to talk with you and help you figure out a great starting point to reinvigorate your sales and visibility in your community.
Need more ideas? I can help you with that. There are so many fun and inexpensive ways you can help your customers enjoy lead a gemmy life. Lead by example and take every opportunity to bring customers into your world. Let me give you an example. Most of you know that I had a stroke back at the beginning of 2020. Since that happened, I have been undergoing physical therapy. One of my therapists asked me what I did for a living and I told them I was a consultant for the jewelry industry. Ever since then, I have at least one therapist a day that wants to talk to me about jewelry related information.
Be the expert, without the overbearing sales push. Be the one that people want to talk to. Share fun information about gemstones, diamonds, and latest items to hit the auction block. How about jewelry care and cleaning? Believe it or not, most people don’t realize that their jewelry requires care and cleaning. Let them know that they can bring it into you for an occasional deep cleaning. I call it responsible jewelry ownership. Why don’t you give a class on that once a month? Include information on care and cleaning, insuring jewelry, proper steps to take on keeping jewelry safe? Responsible jewelry ownership? We can help you with support information to give out to your attendees. Give a little test when they finish up, along with a little certificate when they complete your class. The objective is to make it fun for them and you. I will work with you to create a program featuring diamonds and gold, along with gemstones for your store and customers.
My years as a professor at Loyola University taught me that if your students are engaged with the subject matter, they will learn more and love you more. Don’t think you can do it? You can! And we can create something special just for you that plays off your specialties and business goals. You want to open the door and bring your customers inside the colorful world of gemstones and diamonds, along with precious metals. Let your customers know you are happy to help them identify their own unique jewelry style. Maybe they are like me, and don’t care for silver. Let them know that white gold makes a lovely option to silver, and that you would be happy to help them build a gorgeous elite gold jewelry collection that can go with everything.
