5 old-school sales techniques you can learn from any Jeweller!

What can we learn from old school jewelry stores in the age of the Internet and Instagram? What can a business that often seem to be stuck at least 50 years back know that we do not? It turns out quite a few things that many of us have long forgotten...

We all know these "oldschool" stores on the main street of some city in the world, or perhaps in the new mall they opened recently near your home. A small jewelry store with a glass counter and lots of watches and jewelry on display. And maybe a man or woman behind the counter, who seems to have not moved from it since we can remember ourselves. In many cases there we made the holes for our first earrings there, or maybe chose a necklace for our bar mitzvah or that engagement ring many decades back.

Get acquainted: The jewelers of this world, the last businesses that can be found in any city in the world and are still - in the vast majority - privately owned. In many cases, the grandparents are still working with the younger generations.

So what can one learn about negotiating from such businesses, in the age of the Internet and Social Media? Do they have anything to teach us at all? What else do they know we don't, in a business that often seems to be stuck at least 50 years back? It turns out quite a few things that many of us, in supposedly "more advanced" businesses, have long forgotten:

1. Trust, handshake, and checks

Remember the days we could go to the neighborhood grocery store, get something without having money with us, and mom or dad would come and settle the debt later? It still exists in small-town jewelry stores. Now, you can argue that it is not really professional or suitable for our century, but when you think about it, only so can the poorly paid afford a jewel or watch for an important occasion. And in these places, in the heart of some remote city, the handshake is still worth more than any written agreement and checks are still used as a legitimate form of payment.

How is this relevant to my business?

Research shows that people prefer to do business with people they know and trust for many years, even if they pay a few extra bucks by doing so. In addition, the more complicated a transaction, the more often it is possible and even worthwhile to rely on our gut feelings than spending a lot of time and money on market research or consulting firms. And when you combine the two - a person we have known and trusted for many years, this is worth far more than any written legal contract.

2. Coffee and coke

Everyone who knows me knows how obsessed I am with offering a coffee at the beginning of any sales meeting - coffee improves sales and lowers discounts, as it works on all five of our senses, just like on a date. And the summer version of the coffee is a cold Coca-Cola that someone takes out of the fridge. I even witnessed (multiple times) a salesperson who goes all the way to run out to the nearest kiosk in order to buy one for an important customer out of his or her own money. What happens then, is that instinctively, the customer will want to stay another minute or two to finish his drink. In short, coffee and coke are directly worth more time with the customer, which directly contributes to sales.

This also means that it is sometimes worthwhile not to offer anything, so that the customer will already leave, but this is for another article : -)

How is this relevant to my business?

There is a story about a famous Hong Kong purse shop that was regularly selling way more than many of its competitors. Why? Because every customer who came into the store was directly offered a cold cloth to wipe away the sweat from the hot, humid city, plus a place to recharge his or her smartphone. And by doing so, in addition to a positive, cool and stimulating first impression, they have managed to turn customers who usually come in and out quickly and move on, to those who want to stay longer for their cellphone to charge as much as possible. And along the way, they also doubled their sales.

3. Small repairs and big sales

As I recently visited one of those family jewelry store, I saw an elderly woman come in and ask for help with a piece of jewelry that she couldn't close. It took a lot of time for the shop owners to mess with this little thing that would surely not contribute to their sales that day. Seemingly, this is a complete waste of time that any consulting company would suggest trying to avoid in order to improve one measure or another. But not here, for more than half an hour, the man dealt with patience and tolerance with the bracelet and the lady, then moved to tuning her watch and also explained to her in detail why it was not worth trying to fix another old watch she had with her.

And so, while marveling at the longitude and patience (at this time quite a few other people entered the busy and small store), and a second before that lady left, her friend, who helped her arrive that day and waited patiently for the bracelet and watch repair, bought in less than two minutes gold jewelry for hundreds of Euros. Patience certainly still pays off. And you never know who will buy what and how much at the end. Ever.

How is this relevant to my business?

Quite a few proverbs talk about the importance of "heart width". And psychologically, one can say that reciprocity bias works. That is, if I help someone, they will probably want to help me "back" in the future. Any big deal can start with a small gesture. It is important therefore not to wait with gestures to the end of the negotiations but to carry them out regularly and as soon as possible at the beginning of the sales process in order for the bias to kick in, as in the example above. Because you just never know...

4. Selection (and disposal)

One of the amazing things about family jewelers is the selection of brands and models they work with. It is very common to find stores that represent more than ten brands in one small space. This phenomenon is unparalleled in other industries and products. Have you ever seen a showroom that sells new cars from 15 different brands? And what interested me throughout the story, and that I therefore asked countless shop owners, is how they decide to what brand they point a customer to when he or she is looking for a product.

The answer is simple: Beyond this and that promotion, all agreed that they will always try and direct customers to the same brand with which the owner enjoys working, and also to the brand where the brand representatives frequently visit and show caring and personal attitude to the store. That is, they actually want to "help" that same rep. In short, as usual, people are the ones make a difference. And, as soon as shop owners feel disrespected or even exploited by one or another brand representative, they remove a brand from their shop in the blink of an eye. Why? Because they can! And that too can be learned from them.

How is this relevant to my business?

We already talked about the reciprocity bias above, and when a brand representative treats the store with respect, does not push the product owners, and often visits them, they feel more committed to that brand. Did you know that if your client sees you picking up dirt or a glass from the waiting room floor, he will be more than happy to do business with you? why? Because if you care about dirt in the waiting room, in their subconscious mind the clients will understand that you probably care about them, too.

5. Only one person can sign here!

There is one last fascinating thing that is common to almost every family business in the world, no matter the industry. Only one person, usually the eldest in the business, has the right to sign the bills and checks. This can be laughed at as well as talked about being archaic and primitive, but in a world in which it has often been proven that most executives manage by gut-feeling anyway, and that metrics are not something that is used properly and intelligently in many cases, this is perhaps the only way to properly control the spending.

How is this relevant to my business?

It's simple - ask yourself who has the right to sign, and if you have control over it. You can understand the rest by yourself.