SELLING
COLUMNISTS
LEONARD ZELL
Sell to both bride and groom part III
Salespeople tell me why bridal couples can be difficult customers : n He acts less enthusiastic then her and won ’ t talk much n Half way through he gets up and leaves and looks at watches n She wants a larger diamond then he can afford n She wants to look at every engagement ring we have and then can ’ t make up her mind n We hear this too often : “ This is the first place we ’ ve been , can we have your card ?”
If any of you jewellers read my article : ‘ Are There Difficult Customers ?’ in Jewellery Focus you would know my answer : ‘ Rarely ’. How can a bridal couple be difficult when they are coming to your store for the happiest and most important purchase of their life ? So where is the problem ?
When I asked my father when I began selling bridal customers he said “ Lenny , look in the mirror .” I didn ’ t quite know what he meant . I was sure the couple were the problem until he told me to observe him and then I knew right away . He did everything I should have done . n Greeted the couple with a smile and enthusiasm as soon as he saw them entering the store . n He said : “ It looks like there is going to be an important occasion .” They in turn replied with a smile and told him about the engagement that no one knows about yet and my father said : “ Your
parent will be thrilled with the surprise .” That put on a high and this is when my father made the connection . n “ I would like to introduce myself to you . My name is Harry Zell .” He addressed them by their names and said : “ Mary and Bob , today will be the one of the happiest days of your life .” They smiled , looked at each other and she said she cannot wait to see the engagement rings and my father said : “ Mary , you must be looking for something special .”
Why did this happen ? My father treated everyone as his friends and never as customers . What did I do ? Just the opposite . I smiled somewhat and was serious because I assumed this was a serious moment . I asked question after question , which almost all salespeople do . This was their third store and they were sick and tired of being interrogated . I did not introduce myself and thought it was OK to remain anonymous until I had their credit card and then tell them who I was . Because I asked all those questions I ended up talking more then them a nd therefore no connection was made .
My proudest moments were when mothers of the bride came into our store and asked to see the Mr . Zell who waited on their daughter . I said : “ I will get him , but perhaps there is something I can do .” The mother could not wait to tell me how my father made her daughter feel so special . Her daughter could not stop talking about him . She came into especially thank him . He came out and before I knew it they were addressing each other as Harry and Sylvia and they became friends . Some of you jewellers would talk to her for a while , thank her for coming in and say “ have a nice day ,” but not my father . He said , “ Sylvia , Chances are you have an anniversary coming up and she said : “ Harry , not for a while , but a big birthday .”
That is all I needed to hear . I wanted to be just like my father and he was a wonderful mentor . I could not believe the change in my customers when I greeted them with a big smile . They smiled right back and that relaxed me and it was easy to introduce myself . I was surprised that as soon as I told them who I was I seldom heard a challenging remark . It was easy for me to learn because everything my father taught me made good sense . He said what he taught me was to raise my standards above all others and my customers will notice it immediately . He was right . What about all those difficult customers ? I rarely saw them again . I made them my friends .
ABOUT ZELLING
This article is part of a series on selling bridal sets . I am giving more attention to this because it is a large part of your sales . There is much more to tell you , but due to space limitations , I will be covering it in the next issue .
This is a partial list of subjects : n Salespeople tell me why the bride and groom can be difficult customers
n How to get the friends come into buy
n How introducing yourself closes more sales and creates repeat customers .
n Seven excuses given by salespeople why they could not close a bridal sale
n How to sell to a bridal couple who are only looking for a wedding ring and have them be repeat customers . Stay tuned , Leonard Zell
To help you get started , go to Leonard ’ s website , www . zellit . com and order his best selling sales manual of proven jewellery sales techniques . Now available , “ Leonard Zell Live ” A full day sales seminar recorded live on 3 CDs . You may also E-mail Leonard at zellit @ aol . com for further information on this article and for answers to any of your questions on selling and management .
44 JEWELLERY FOCUS
July 2017 | jewelleryfocus . co . uk