Let’s ‘Rock & Gold’

This is one of a series of articles by Mónica Arias of Excellence Consulting, a luxury sales and marketing consulting firm based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. These articles will focus on ways that sales and marketing professional in the jewelry and luxury industries can improve their techniques.

Gold has a story, legacy and beauty of its own that’s managed to survive through the ages and whose mystery is still attracting hot genuine value as the number one preference of investors worldwide.

At the same time our beloved earth has also been gracefully producing beautiful and valuable diamonds and gemstones since ancient times for us to appreciate and admire.

The moment jewelry makers discovered the art of joining the two they set the foundations for a fantastic and alluring business, as if declaring: “Let´s rock and gold,” long before Elvis ever existed.

Why is the combination of gold and stones so appealing?
There is no conclusive answer. Rocks and gold simply look fantastic together. The simplest set of earrings can make all the difference if designed elegantly, respecting a true balance between the metal and the stones.

But this is too simple a statement because we are leaving aside the main elements to this gold and rock success: As in the movement once presided by Elvis, the revolution of Gold & Rock is directly associated with intense color. Magic comes out of brilliant colors in full vibrancy of grades which produce the fascination that comes from choosing a jewel we love.

As an example, let´s take rubies. According to many experts, rubies, which mainly come from Myanmar and Thailand, are considered to be the most powerful gems in the universe, usually associated with astral signs and protection to the living. Its magical influence is associated with life force, passion and love. It’s been said that to own a ruby is to have contentment and peace. And when rubies are set in gold they are considered the symbol of vitality and royalty.

However, what is even more striking and fascinating about rubies is their wide range of color, which varies from slightly vermilion to intense red, with the most desired and valuable being the famous “pigeon´s blood” tone.

It’s amazing to have such a wonderful description of meanings and features to help us make the most appropriate connection with the jewel. So wouldn´t you agree that you could literally add value to your demonstration if your customer showed a certain inclination to one of these features?

Whenever possible, do yourself a favor. Next time you are in front of a client, try to Rock & Gold a bit before making any demonstration. In other words, seriously, make the effort to express your true passion for gemstones and gold.

Ask the customer as many open questions about them as you can (see the “open question parade,” which appears in most of my articles). Then begin working towards influencing what you perceive as their preferences by associating the exact feature of the piece that will make the strongest impact in your customer. Trust me, the rock and gold tactic will help you see through your customer’s real passion about a particular piece and you will celebrate a long-term sales bliss after having investigated further on Rock & Gold and its infinite benefits. I am sure Elvis will give a thumbs up.

Mónica M. Arias
Excellence Consultant: Helping you discover how to reach your next level through excellence.
contacto@monicaarias.com.ar
copyright: Mónica M. Arias

Cold Calling is Alive and Kicking

This is one of a series of articles by Mónica Arias of Excellence Consulting, a luxury sales and marketing consulting firm based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. These articles will focus on ways that sales and marketing professional in the jewelry and luxury industries can improve their techniques.

Let´s assume it: cold calling is alive and kicking! You may argue it is really difficult for luxury companies to get new clients through cold calling. Reality, however, proves quite the contrary.

So, what are the main reasons why this strategy is still used and will continue to be used for doing business in the future?

Cold calling is: 
* A fantastic tool once you realize that more often than not clients love to be called and offered solutions and / or products on the phone, your possibilities to get new clients will go up very quickly.

* A “voice-bridge” between your product and service and your client and prospect. When you make cold calls, you can easily interact showing the right “voice-attitude,” so the person who is listening on the other end will feel your pleasant words as you speak. This will automatically generate a bridge between you and the prospect, allowing for your speech continuity.

* A fun resource for your client. You may respect your client/prospect when on the line but at the same time offer a “tone of your own grace” by saying something casual, or talking about a news event about the market, or whatever the phrase of your choice to lighten them up a bit.

From a professional point of view, cold calling is not only necessary but obligatory. This means you should at least have a couple of strategies on paper to start working with every week, as well as an action plan to follow up on those calls that need to be made again.

Make your own movie
Strategies for cold calling come in different versions but one I really love and recommend using is crafting your own scripts. I know there are many sales professionals that will hate me for saying this. However, I know scripts work so well. I used to think exactly like the haters but then I learned to forced myself to go “the extra mile” and prepare my own scripts with phrases and assorted words that helped me enormously in my everyday work of enhancing my portfolio.

You can even record your voice once you have prepared your scripts and listen to yourself over and over, until getting it right, such as choosing to change certain words for others much more suitable.

In order to be ready, you can always rely on your list of words and phrases I recommended you to craft in previous articles.

Their help is immense and so will be the feedback from your customers.
Once you start using cold calling, do not underestimate the power of voice mails. I know, I know…it is so stupid to talk to a machine! But, again, studies have shown that 60 % of the messages you leave on answering machines offering your customers / prospects to call you back because you have something really juicy to talk about is answered.  Now this simply means that voice mails work, and that 6 out of 10 messages you leave will be answered. Do you know of an easiest tool to make new customers or make your existing clients part of a loyal portfolio?

As Wendy Weiss, the self-claimed “Queen of Cold Calling” puts it: “All sales professionals use scripts, not all sales professionals use good scripts” I would add: “not all sales professionals use excellent scripts for cold calling.”

Take action
Craft your script, make a list of possible questions you would like to ask, write on another column a list of possible objections you might find, and finally what kind of responses you would like to say to overcome them with grace and courtesy.

Pick up the phone….differentiate from the rest, make that call, talk to your prospect using enchanting words and phrases, leave a message, send them a picture of the last exciting colorful collection piece and enjoy your brightness closing more sales every month while making your customers truly happy purchasing from You.

Mónica M. Arias
Excellence Consultant: Helping you discover how to reach your next level through excellence.
contacto@monicaarias.com.ar

Curiosity Killed the Cat but Gives Birth to Great Sales

This is one of a series of articles by Mónica Arias of Excellence Consulting, a luxury sales and marketing consulting firm based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. These articles will focus on ways that sales and marketing professional in the jewelry and luxury industries can improve their techniques.

How important is it to be curious in the sales profession? It’s very. and for many reasons.

To start, because the more questions you ask your customers, the more chances you will have to gather information about them. This will reflect in more “tailored” or “suitable” options to offer from which they can choose from. No secret here: asking open questions is one of the golden rules in this profession.

But, how do you do it without being “salesy” or sounding pushy? By interacting with your clients in a natural manner—bearing in mind that you need to make them feel comfortable with you, way before making a demonstration. The situation, of course, will vary depending on the sales context itself, but the rule applies to almost all sales situations: first make connection with your clients, then, and only then, start displaying some options according to what you captured could match their wishes or desires.

Secondly, being curious and asking open questions will ease your way to even something more challenging and magical: you could make your client feel a new need or sudden desire to acquire something he did not even think of. Many salespersons stop questioning clients after they closed the sale, or when they are about to, because they do not feel comfortable with a continuous “post sales” dialogue. However, more often than not, you can sell extra items by simply maintaining a natural flow of questions.

Asking open questions is a way to nourish your relationship with clients and provide something they will adore: excellent service.

You will be noticed, acknowledged and remembered by your clients. Your job is not only selling or reaching your goals, but also having in mind that they need to be assisted in the most appropriate manner, even if the sale does not occur. They need to feel your kindness and professionalism all the time, and you must always go the extra mile in order to give good advice and serve them with high quality standards.

Some sales consultants do not believe that curiosity should be applied to the sales profession. They argue that being curious in the sales process may lead to misunderstandings. Although it is true you are not supposed to ask intimate questions or look as if you were trying to interfere in your customers´ private lives, I think it all depends on other factors rather than the questions themselves: you have to pay close attention to your tone or voice, how you look at your clients straight to their eyes, the way in which you listen to them with your full attention, the manner in which you address your clients, the way you gesture and so many other details which make curiosity look like a poor term to apply after all.

If you love sales, you need to keep curiosity alive because, as it happens with all professionals, you must have you skills updated. You will have to read new books, refresh your vocabulary, search the web for online courses and articles and enrich yourself with new materials. In other words: Never disregard curiosity. It may have killed the cat but will it certainly help you give birth to great sales and your best performance.

Mónica M. Arias
Excellence Consultant: Helping you discover how to reach your next level through excellence.
contacto@monicaarias.com.ar
Copyright 2011

Magical Emotions: Source of Luxury Desires

This is one of a series of articles by Mónica Arias of Excellence Consulting, a luxury sales and marketing consulting firm based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. These articles will focus on ways that sales and marketing professional in the jewelry and luxury industries can improve their techniques.

For those of us who love jewels and luxury goods, one thing is certain: we admire not just their beauty and original designs but the many mysteries they usually wrap us up with, sometimes, for many years.

Since a very early age jewels have represented beauty and sophistication: emperors, kings, queens and members of nobility alike have adored them and made a distinctive feature of their usage a sign of power.

Have you ever wondered why? Some historians say because of a “sacred” quality jewels—especially the ones that have been crafted with gold and stones—carry in order to make the body look and feel unique and beautiful in the eternal, infinite lives of a soul´s journey. This is true when you think of Pharaohs buried with their precious belongings, including jewelry, which were thought to accompany them wherever their souls could migrate.

Some others have studied the history of jewelry from a craftsmanship point of view: the more original and handcrafted the piece, the more valuable it has always been and will continue to be for centuries to come.

However, even when these approaches are correct and irrefutable, jewels exert many other “unseen” effects in those who love to wear them because they represent the identity of the person who was captured by their beauty or design. Unseen effects such as: pride, emotional connection to the pieces, joy, ethics, sense of representation of one´s values and likes, power, desire, revelation, very special occasions attached to strong emotions, memories, fulfillment, manifestation of a dream, etc.

There are countless other unseen effects a jewel may represent in our lives because we are all different and we also live different lives and experiences that make us feel different (again) every time we finish a cycle and begin a new one. From my point of view, a jewel will have fulfilled its unseen “objective” when the person who acquires it feels it reflects exactly their mood and the life path they are walking on at the time of the purchase.

That is why it is so important to keep the fire of getting nice jewelry always alive.

In order for you to allow your customers to remain interested in your new collections, you must stress the fact that every stage of their lives represents new ways to adorn themselves and to carry it with them all the time. You need to work with your excellent communication skills and let them know the possible options that coincide with the feelings, attitudes, actions and experiences they are going under.

You need to make them fall in love with your company over and over again. You must fall in love with the precise, beautiful words to use in order to reflect all the magical emotions your jewels will inspire in your customers´ lives every step of their way, forever.

Mónica M. Arias
Excellence Consultant: Helping you discover how to reach your next level through excellence.
contacto@monicaarias.com.ar
Copyright 2011