Once your product is in the store or gallery you loose control.
Therfore it’s important to try and help the store owners properly
train their sales staff about your jewelery and give them the sales
tools to do so.
There are so many choices out there, plus buyer behaviour is such
that people look for reasons NOT to buy. A sales rep has to
anticipate the buyers objections and be ready with the response, and
provided with to do so. Ie: This product too expensive,
it is the wrong size, colour, shape etc.
Today consumers are confident and knowledgeable. The art of
intimidation and heavy pressure doesn’t seem to work.
Good Experience
I was recently at the Obssinian Gallery in Tucson. What a wonderful
expereince. The staff was friendly, and excited to have customers
view the work and try it on. Was I a serious customer?
Although I made jewelery, I still love other artist stuff, besides
they also carried glass ceramics and furniture, and I am a potential
customer.
Bad Experiences
I live in Scottsdale - or fondly referred to as Snots-dale
Over the past few years I have seen examples of some of the rudest
sales reps.
In one I overhear a young pretty white sales talking to a young
foreign couple picking out engagement rings.
They asked the rep about diamond pricing and the Rappaport Report
RR.
The rep was very rude, and gave the couple some BS of why the RR had
no bearing on the price of diamonds. The rep treated them like they
were stupid because they sounded different, and were dressed
casually and did not look like they had the money to shop in the
store.
They understood english perfectly, and seemed to pick up on the body
language and the tone of the sales rep.
They left the store, no purchase. I ran into the couple again while
outside the store, and spoke to them. Both were aeronautical
engineers, I’d say they had a few bucks to spend. The sales rep said
that they did not carry that designers line.
I went on to explain what granulation was.
Next StoRe:
I asked the sales rep if they had any granulated pieces.
The rep told me that he did not carry that designer. I explained that
granulation was a process not a designers name.
The sales rep told me he has worked in he jewelery industry for 30
years and had never heard of granulation, so therefore it must not
be a very important to to jewelry industry.
Third StoRe:
This store carries David Yurman.
I excitedly told the sale manager that I saw David Yurman walking
around at the Tuscon Gem Show.
I was very rudely told by the sales manager that Yurman does not
show at the Tuscon Show. I explained that it looked like he was
looking at what is new in the market.
With a very condescending tone, I was put in my place and told that
David Yurman was so important, that he would not be at the gem show
buying stones like the rest of us lowly designers and manufacturers.
Where do stores find people with such attitude- or as an old friend
of mine called it a “King Tut (atit) Tude”.