Jeweller - December 2020

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BUSINESS Selling Six simple and effective selling tips you can implement right now While some aspects of your business have undoubtedly had to change and adapt to the new reality of retail, there are other elements that you can’t afford to neglect, advise RICH KIZER and GEORGANNE BENDER. Even when things were ‘normal’ – before COVID-19 – customers shopped in strange patterns, and their choices tended not to be divided equally among retailers. Yet the pandemic has made it even clearer that if you want to make more sales, you must do more as a retailer. Here are six of the most effective ways to build your business and increase sales today and into 2021. Continue to plan events and promotions You have competition coming at you from all sides, all vying for the customers’ attention. What are you doing about it? Just opening your doors is not enough. You need to be ready with events that are locked and loaded on your calendar. In-store events do not always automatically equate to running a sale – although that’s an option. You can do ‘make it-and-take it’ events, demos, seminars, pop-ups, supplier days – the possibilities are endless. If you are selling online or via social media, plan something special for any digital sales days or upcoming holidays too. Now is a fantastic time to create a calendar of sales events for each month of 2021 – both digital and physical. Plan each event, buy product, and get your team involved. Re-train your team You can’t do everything by yourself; you need a team of strong sales staff backing you up. Be specific about what you need and be up front about what is required to do the job. Sanitising the store and reinforcing mask mandates will be with us for a while and your team needs to know what is expected of them. That much goes without saying. This isn’t a time to hold back, it’s time to sell. Hold training sessions about product and how to deliver exemplary service when you can’t see the customer’s face. Update your team each time a state or community COVID-19 guideline changes and commit to a training schedule that lasts all year long. Adopt a ‘buddy system’ and partner new hires with seasoned pros who Retailers must do more to attract and close every sale. can mentor them as they learn about the store and the products you sell.. Create a ‘never out’ list Every retailer should have a ‘never out’ list of the things you need to have in stock 100 per cent of the time. During peak times of the year, this list takes on an even bigger significance when being out of one of these items can literally make or break a sale. Your POS system will likely create this list for you, but make sure to do frequent physical counts on the sales floor to make sure your list is correct. Sell, sell, sell gift cards Gift cards are your secret weapon – and that’s gift cards, not gift certificates. There’s a reason for that: a recent study found that retailers who switch from paper gift certificates to plastic gift cards increased gift card sales from 35 per cent to 50 per cent. It also found that 55 per cent of gift card recipients required more than one shopping trip to spend the balance of their card – which is good news for retailers! More time spent browsing means more chances to make another sale and turn a repeat customer into a loyal brand advocate. Remember, a gift card that’s presented in a boring paper sleeve or envelope doesn’t look like much, even if it’s for big bucks. So, If you have product that has been sitting dormant on your shelves while your store was closed, a clearance strategy is important. Packing them away for sale next year is almost never a good idea package your gift cards with a look that’s unique to what you sell and offer your gift cards electronically too for contactless sales. Ensure your returns policy is competitive If every one of your competitors accepts returns and exchanges but your policy screams ‘No!’, customers will go somewhere else to shop. Note that during the pandemic, many retailers have lengthened return and exchange windows. A good returns policy is even more important when it comes to shopping online. You’ll save more sales if you train all your staff to politely suggest an exchange or a gift card before offering a refund. Make sure your policy is up to date with all relevant legislation too. Be prepared for markdowns If you have product that has been sitting dormant on your shelves while your store was closed, a clearance strategy is important. Packing them away for sale next year is almost never a good idea and trying to sell past-season product at full price isn’t a good look. Determine which piece will be discounted; how much it will be discounted by, how it will be ticketed – numbers work better than percentages – and where it will be displayed on the sales floor. Unless you are having a big sale, display clearance stock near the back of the store so shoppers have to pass through new displays to get to it. You’re exhausted just reading this, right? Being a retailer has always meant long hours and putting out fires. Add in selling through your website and social media, plus keeping up with COVID-19 mandates, and you have a lot of new hats to wear. The only thing that makes it easier? Having a game plan. RICH KIZER and GEORGANNE BENDER are retail strategists, authors and consultants. Visit: kizerandbender.com 60 | October 2020
BUSINESS Management Set your business up for success in 2021 with a four-step strategy A new year is the perfect time for a fresh start, writes DAVID BROWN, who recommends a simple reflective exercise to organise your business priorities for the future. There’s something about the beginning of a new year that makes us take stock and rethink our actions; gym memberships have their highest joining rate and diet programs get an influx of new members. It’s the ideal opportunity for a reset in order to get ourselves back on track – to undo those bad habits that have crept in and make sure you’re getting the most out of your time. Your business is no exception. Although it’s not spring, this is the time of year when your business will most benefit from a figurative ‘spring clean’. You’ve got the rush of December behind you, there is hopefully money in the bank, and you may even have had a chance to grab a few days off – if you’re lucky! So how should your reset take shape? Starting the process of change Management expert Brian Tracy, who has been a keynote speaker and business training specialist for more than 30 years, has identified four areas to change. Now is an opportune time to take his advice onboard. Tracy breaks it down into four simple key questions: What should I do more of? – What are the ‘good habits’ you’ve managed to establish in your business that you’d like to do more often or more regularly? Perhaps you only re-order your bestselling products once per fortnight. Could you step this up to once a week? After all, the longer a best-seller is out of the store, the more likely you are to miss a sale you might otherwise secure. What should I do less of? – What still needs to be done, but perhaps could be done by someone else? What are you doing that could be done less often? A failure to delegate undermines many a good business. Are there tasks you are responsible for that you don’t need to Organise your thoughts by answering four management questions. do yourself? For example, could someone else be processing those re-orders? Could you let a staff member deal with something you don’t need to be doing? Not only will this free you up to tackle bigger issues, but it will empower another staff member and provide a greater level of job satisfaction. What should I start doing? – What are the habits you know you should have that aren’t getting done? You may, for example, have had intentions of getting regular staff training sessions underway but have kept procrastinating. These sorts of tasks often fall under the category of important, but not urgent. They are valuable to your business but because they are not pressing – your staff can survive without the training for now – you don’t get around to it. The end result is a business still functioning, but not succeeding at the level it could. What should I stop doing? – This can be the toughest question to address, because once made, a habit can be hard to break. It’s the ideal opportunity for a reset in order to get ourselves back on track – to undo those bad habits that have crept in and make sure you’re getting the most out of your time Do you have regular distractions that are part of your day that aren’t necessary? One such distraction may be answering your staff’s questions. It may sound counter-intuitive, but often staff already know the answer to something – they simply need you to give them permission to make their own decisions. Customer issues are also a case in point. Do your staff come to you with every customer problem or complaint? Empowering them to resolve matters up to a certain value will eliminate a large percentage of your time spent on unnecessary tasks. It will also make the customer happier as their problem can be resolved more promptly. As a further bonus, it also allows your staff to feel more in control during what might be an uncomfortable situation and that in turn gives them a sense of resilience and confidence. Set yourself up for success If you’re looking for a starting point to make some fresh changes in 2021, then this exercise is a great place to begin. Once you begin asking yourself these questions, you’ll be surprised how many areas of your business fit into each of the four categories. Monitoring your daily activity will soon show up where you can start to make meaningful changes. The small amount of time it will take you to complete this exercise and implement some lasting solutions will be some of the best time you will spend all year. Don’t procrastinate – get started today! DAVID BROWN is is co-founder and business mentor with Retail Edge Consultants. Visit: retailedgeconsultants.com. 61 | October 2020
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VOICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN JEWELLERY I
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Page 21 and 22: Louis Vuitton purchases a second la
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Page 36 and 37: BACKGROUND STATE OF THE INDUSTRY RE
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