“Negativity begets negativity. Keeping it off the selling floor is a must,” explained panel moderator Elizabeth Bonanno when she opened discussion. She is the founder of The EAB Project a luxury brand development agency.
The panel featured three top retailers from across the country: Jay Hartington of Marissa Collections, Soraya Cayen of Cayen Collection and Adam Gorman of I. Gorman.
The panel gave suggestions on personalizing the customer experience and creating a “Yes” environment:
- The greeting is key. A warm greeting is important to make the client feel comfortable enough to engage with the products, Hartington said. Gorman added that the energy of the staff needs to mimic the energy of the store so that everything is consistent. “The heartbeat needs to shine through in everything.”
- Find different ways to motivate staff. Marissa Collections and Cayen Collection have sales-based incentive programs to successfully motivate salespeople about specific designers. I. Gorman is not a commission-based store, so salespeople are motivated solely by their love of jewelry.
- Store environment sets the tone. “Physical space is where it all begins,” Cayen told the audience. She said her biggest tactic in making clients feel welcome in the store and ready to engage with products is for salespeople to treat clients like guests in her home: they offer them a drink and start a conversation with them that is not jewelry focused. “They know we are a jewelry store, so how we bond when we present the jewelry is very important.”
- Knowledge is power. Educated salespeople make more sales. Stylists at the Marissa Collection take GIA classes to be informed about jewelry. All the panelists agreed that they instruct their staff to learn as much about each designer as possible so they can really fall in love with each piece and their enthusiasm can shine through, resulting in a sale.
- Small touches make a big difference. The panelists explained the personal touches, like sending wine for an anniversary or flowers for a client’s birthday, can really set a retail store apart from competitors. That way once the client is in need or want of a piece, the store will be in the front of the his or her mind.
