Try Something New

A friend of mine used to tell me stories of how he would prospect for jewelers to consider carrying his company's collection. In one instance early in his career his sales manager was traveling with him. The week was to include set appointments with customers, pre-arranged visits to a few prospects, and cold call drop-ins to other prospects.

As they were driving around the territory, the manager would notice jewelry stores here and there and ask the rep about them as they drove by. My friend the rep would respond as best he could with answers ranging from "Oh they don't sell this kind of stuff" to "I sell their competitor" and "I already know they don't need anything."

After a few days of this the sales manager asked him if he would be willing to make a presentation at the upcoming sales meeting. Surprised by this offer, my friend asked "On what? What would you want me to talk about?"

The sales manager replied, "I like the way you do your job. You have an uncanny knack of being able to drive by a store and know, just by looking at it, whether they need anything you have to sell. Really, it's brilliant. Can you imagine how much time the rest of the reps will save by learning your secrets?"

With that they stopped at the very next store they saw, went in and introduced themselves.

Now this was probably 20 years ago and things have maybe changed a bit, but the lesson is still worthwhile when it comes to learning about potential customers whether as a retailer, rep or vendor. People buy for all kinds of reasons:

1) Some may actually want what you are selling.
2) Some may not realize they need what you are selling.
3) Some may not want or need it today, but if they know about it may buy in the future.
4) Some may buy just because they can.
5) Some may buy because they like you.
6) And still others may buy because they feel sorry for you.

Whatever the reason, if you don't take the time and effort to reach a potential customer, chances are they won't buy from you. Rarely is it a random set of circumstances. Somebody has to do something 'on-purpose' to set things in motion.

What are going to be your 'on-purpose' somethings this week? Will one of them be a different kind of conversation starter? Maybe a different set of questions? How will you tap into the real reasons someone has walked into your store? Or how will you and your staff inspire a client to come in and visit your store? Or as a vendor, how will you engage jewelers in conversations which are more about their business and less about yours?

One last note, this same rep friend of mine and his manager were thrown out of a store that week, too. The rep, always a bit too sure of himself, strode into a store and noticed they didn't carry any product like he was selling. After a brief exchange and the jeweler telling him he never sells anything like that so he doesn't carry it, the rep asked, "Do you do any haircuts here?"

"What?" the jeweler asked. "What are you talking about? This is a jewelry store not a barber shop."

"Well," the rep said, "that may be, but I bet if you put a few barber chairs in here you'd sell a few haircuts."

The jeweler hesitated for a moment before raising his finger toward the door and yelling, "Get out!"

The point? Don't be a fool while trying new ways to engage a customer and worse, don't make them out to be a fool.

Be Like an Ant

It's late and I've been sitting here replaying the tapes, running back through my mind the conversations and happenings of the day. I do that quite frequently, I guess, wanting to make sure I didn't miss anything or maybe in an effort to clear my mind a bit before nodding off. I'm not sure which always, but it does seem to help me sleep more soundly.

Sleeping soundly is nice, but I imagine there have been many restless nights these last months for most of us. So what have you been thinking about? What has kept you awake or tossing and turning?

I'm hoping the questions are more like, "How do I take advantage of the opportunity before me? What can I do to set myself apart and excel in these times?"

And less like, "How am I possibly going to make it?...through this new year?...or even tomorrow?"

Everyday I find myself searching for the good news, the positive stuff that doesn't make the front page of anything. I can find it, but I have to regularly sift through a lot of crap to see it. Maybe that's what makes me enjoy and appreciate it all the more.

I live in Minnesota. Those of you who don't or haven't or haven't been, probably hold a certain image of this place. Some are accurate and some perpetuate legends. But I can tell you, having moved and lived in a few different climates, that Minnesotans probably embrace the seasons more fervently than many others, though I'm sure we are not alone in our fervor.

Why is that? Well, logical thought and a common answer would be the length and severity of the winter. You would probably hear that from most anyone you asked, but I believe it has something more to do with acceptance and anticipation.

There is a certainty, a knowing, that nothing lasts forever. I remember my mother telling me exactly that at a younger age when pimples seemed to appear, re-appear, and multiply daily--at the most crucial dating moments. (I wondered if she secretly oiled my face at night as I slept, in an effort to thwart my plans of an acne-free approach to a potential date.)

But nothing does last forever. Not the Minneapolis winters, the Seattle rain, nor the Houston humidity. Nor acne. They come. They go. Just like the good times and the bad times. They come. They go.

It's what we do with the in-between that makes the difference. It is how we prepare for each that sets us apart and sets us up.

A former mentor of mine used to tell me to study ants. You see, he'd say, ants have it all right. All summer long they work like mad, constantly reaping and harvesting and storing and preparing for winter, because they know it is coming. It always does. And they always have enough to make it through the winter, but while they are surviving that they are making plans for the spring and summer and how they are going to take advantage of the bounty that is promised each and every time the good weather rolls around. He'd tell me the ants were always making plans well beyond the moment of their circumstance. They were always looking forward, always preparing.

That's good stuff and for some reason I thought about it as I re-ran the tapes of my day. I guess I want to be like an ant in some ways. If you put something in front of an ant, they either grab it and drag it with them or go around it and continue with their business, focused on their mission. Either way, they are not easily distracted from what they have set out to do regardless of what is going on around them.

Yup, I want to be more like an ant.

Who Are You? What Do You Do? And Why?

Stand for something.

Be meaningful and on-purpose.

Be sure that everything you do is in line with your core values, your mission, and your vision.

What's that? You say you don't have a clearly stated and understood mission and vision? You need to get one by asking yourself the questions "Who am I? What do I do? Why?" Write down the answers for yourself and then for your business, whatever it is that you do.

From those answers you can develop a succinct and clear statement defining your mission and vision, both personally and in business. It is especially important for being prepared and effective at making sound decisions, because every one of them should be guided by your core mission and vision. It is also important for anyone who works with you to understand it, buy into it, and know how they fit into it - what their role is and how they contribute to that mission and vision.

Retailers are faced with having to make meaningful decisions regularly, whether it be to set a new company policy, add or decrease staff, or bring on a new vendor. These decisions and others are undoubtedly more critical now because one can ill afford to make mistakes which may prove costly.

For instance, when considering a new vendor partner ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is this product/service in line with our mission - a) to our market? b) to ourselves?

2. Can we quantify and verbalize how this will - a) enhance our offerings to our clients? b) enhance our position in the market? c) enhance our profitablity?

3. Can we get the necessary critical vendor support to - a) train and engage our staff? b) satisfy our clients? c) manage our investment (ROI) and inventory?

4. Can we see this as a long-term investment - a) toward the betterment of our company? b) to grow with the vendor as a meaningful contributor to our business? c) to be able to really get behind the offerings and proudly present them as an integral extension of who we are?

5. Can we establish a business partnership that fits OUR terms and needs or are we being dictated to? Or is it a combination we can live with? And finally, is it worth it?

Everything you represent, sell, instill, advocate must be done with intent. Every associate in the company must buy into that philosophy and intent. They must understand how your decisions and their roles and actions contribute to the overall vitality, success, and mission of the company. They must be immersed in the culture and you must be able to explain, even defend, decisions and policies which are engaged and implemented within.

"Because I said so," doesn't quite have the same impact or acceptance as when you used to hear it from your mother. Know how to articulate your reasons for your decisions. It's easy once you have defined your core values, mission, and vision and adhered to them as you've conducted your business.

You Can't Please Everyone, So...

I recently had a conversation with a jeweler friend of mine who was lamenting the fact one of his vendors let his rep go. It seems the vendor is going through some downsizing and reorganization to get leaner and more profitable. We discussed the factors: the economy, a rising cost of sales, and shrinking gross margins due to fewer sales to fewer jewelers and greater competition for the same dollar.

While that was understood, he was upset that a company would cut off his reason for starting in business with them in the first place. This was a rep with whom he built a relationship of trust and understanding over many years. My jeweler friend now wonders how his business will be serviced as the vendor has no intention of replacing him with a new rep, but will be handling his account from the home office with personal interaction being limited to trade shows.

Oh, and the jeweler will continue to be able to order product online, just as he has for the past couple of years.

Hmmm. So, he has been ordering online and it has been efficient and simple. He knows the product, knows the company and trusts the quality and delivery enough to order by computer without having to touch, feel and look at it in person each time there's a buying decision. And it has been a profitable line for him, so...

"And the rep? What did he do?", I asked. Well, to begin with he introduced him to the company. Without the rep the jeweler would never have known they existed or given them a chance. He sold him on the collection and placed the first order for inventory and became his primary link as his business grew with them, presenting new designs, new marketing concepts, and handling customer service and inventory issues with prompt, effective attention. He continued to receive commission on all sales to the store, whether he actually wrote the order or it was placed online or by phone. My jeweler friend made sure of that. Had it been otherwise he would have always called him to place an order. Very thoughtful and very nice---the way a partnership should be: thoughtful and nice....and mutually profitable.

So the company may lose an account over this? The jeweler told me he is now beginning to look for someone to replace them, but wonders who he can find that will provide the kind of support and service to which he is accustomed and provide the kind of product he knows he can sell.

So big deal right? On the surface it may seem it has always been that way, but as I see it, the industry paradigm is now shifting daily. For years vendors have relied on reps to build their business and that is where the relationships with jewelers have been cemented. For the most part relationships have NOT been nurtured, maintained, and enhanced by the vendor home office, though they should be. Reps have had no incentive to caress the jeweler closer to the company than to themselves. Why do you think it has been so important to vendors to know the kind of account list a rep has before hiring or contracting? Because traditionally they are the ones with the relationships.

While technology exists to streamline the process, reps are not yet a thing of the past. If there is to be an effort by some companies to eliminate them I might suggest a well thought out strategy to make certain accounts are ready. Maybe even include and provide the rep an incentive for transitioning and cementing the vendor/retailer realtionship before a series of unintended consequences kicks in...like the jeweler beginning to search for a new business partner.

As Ricky Nelson sang in Garden Party, "You can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself." But that's no way to run a business, is it?

Commentary on JCK's "Can US Jewelry Manufacturer's Survive?"

I read with interest the March 1, 2009 published piece on JCK's website, by William George Shuster. You can read it in it's entirety by clicking on the title of this blog.

As I see it, the fundamental problem with our industry is the business model. Bruce Pucciarello of Novell is right in saying, "Learning not to resist necessary change, manufacturers must adjust their technology and electronic commerce systems to the new economy."

We have perpetuated an archaic system of business for far too long, resisting participation in the technology age to a large degree. Sure there are jeweler websites and certainly there are those who sell jewelry through e-commerce, yet there is far greater room for efficiencies through technology than most realize. And I'm not techie. Many people these days are carrying out business in a virtual environment. Whether conducting meetings, introducing new products, or closing sales, companies and industries in whole have embraced technology as a faster, more efficient, and more cost effective path to doing business.

Our industry was built largely on handshakes and personal relationships. An honorable and worthy way of establishing and perpetuating partnerships, but it required regular hands-on, face to face visits in order to work well. With travel costs skyrocketing, a general decline in retail sales, and swollen inventories it has become extremely difficult for vendors to make those visits profitable.

So what can be done? Change. Change the way we do business. Get more comfortable with virtual meetings, video conferencing, web-cam product introductions, and electronic inventory analysis and management. And plan on an in-person meeting a couple times a year, both in the store and at trade shows.

Jeweler's will have to become more knowledgable in selecting the right vendors to partner with, and in so doing become a more loyal partner. And they will have to become more disciplined at keeping their vendor list shorter. Vendor's will have to become better partners by having a real interest and role in making sure their product goes over the counter into the hands of consumers, thereby earning the jeweler's loyalty. And they will have to get better at helping the jeweler manage inventory for proper turn and profit so business for both can grow.

The old ways of doing business simply don't cut it anymore, but we have to be in this together to make it work. Still, through this transition there will be many who can't or won't change and that is just the way it is. For us to get better as an industry we must also get leaner.

To the victors go the spoils, but there will be plenty to go around.

Change is coming...like it or not

So the jewelry industry is going through some tough times. That's what I've been hearing; that's what I've been reading; and, yes, that's what I've been experiencing too. The common questions to the retailer have been things like, "How's your business? You doing OK? What are you doing to weather this and how long do you think it will last?"


The questions to vendors are, "Are you selling anything? Is anyone buying? Do you think anyone will show up in Vegas? How much longer before people start buying again?"


You know the questions and probably know there are very few real answers. Our industry has been poised for a serious correction for some time now. Years, really. The business model under which we have operated for about a century has run its course. No longer can vendors continue to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on product development and advertising to entice jewelers to buy from them. The reason? Jewelers aren't buying. Or more accurately, they can't. And shouldn't. At least not the way they have been in the past.


A fundamental problem with our industry's model of business is most vendors have treated the jeweler as the end user, relying on the jeweler to continue to make significant and regular stock purchases in order to keep their revenues growing. This isn't to say the retail jeweler is blameless in this flawed formula. On the contrary, the jeweler is an active participant constantly searching for the next best and soon-to-be-hot jewelry trends to set them apart in their market and attract customers. And they are often too willing to move away from existing vendors in favor of that greener grass.

So what happens? The jeweler adds yet another to the vendor list while adding to the store's inventory, hoping a good decision has been made; the product will sell; and the vendor will fulfill it's promises.


The vendor hopes so too, except hoping the jeweler will also be fulfilling promises. But through it all, the vendor constantly searches for more ways to get more product in the store---and keeps searching for yet another jeweler, knowing this or another business relationship won't last.


The jeweler rarely ends up selling everything purchased for inventory and the cycle is repeated year after year, vendor after vendor, causing an overstock of the wrong stuff. And this causes a problem when economic times are tough like they are now because the jeweler is not making enough sales over the counter to justify adding new inventory---even if it is from a vendor who has had success through the store.


So what can be done to break the cycle of co-dependency which has been created over so many years? It needs to be broken completely, then fixed in a whole new way so both retailer and vendor can benefit in long term, meaningful, and mutually profitable partnerships. Not only can it happen, but it must and will.


Clearly we all need to become better, smarter, more efficient, and more effective at what we do in the jewelry industry. Where would you start?