Our Blog
The Impact Salespeople Have on Your Business
First, let’s look at some facts about salespeople. 1 – The saying “good salespeople are born salespeople” is akin to saying good brain surgeons are born good brain surgeons. Over the years I have analyzed the performance of thousands of jewelry salespeople and can...
Your Image- Are you the Lead Dog?
In Alaska where they use dog sledges for travel, there is a saying "unless you are the lead dog the view is always the same.” That view is the unpleasant one of looking at someone else's rear as you follow them because they are ahead of where you are. In today’s...
What Customer Are You Appealing To?
Your Image is defined as others perception of you, not your perception of yourself. Let's go back to the times when the image of a Jeweller was very high. Customers trusted jewellers, and in the pecking order of retailers, jewellers were at the top. Image was...
Are you working for your Landlord?
When your customers buy from you they want the lowest possible price and you want the highest possible price, and to achieve a result both parties can live with, an amount of haggling takes place. How much the customer really wants the item (fallen in love with it)...
We are in the People Business
So, you think you are in the jewellery business. After all, you have the word jewellers above the door, your windows and showcases display jewellery, people come in to buy jewellery, they refer to you as their jeweller, so it's natural for you to think you are in the...
Not All Software is Created Equal
Managing a business can sometimes seem chaotic! Many retail jewelers know there has to be a better way to manage their business to increase profits and free up their time but simply don’t have the time or knowledge to look for the solution. In today’s competitive...
Money in the Bank or on the Shelves?
Trade Fairs are coming up and wholesalers/manufacturers are spending tens of thousands of dollars gearing up to do exactly what you are in business to do...make sales. This includes previewing new designs and ranges. Now, most of you have been attending a trade show...
Losing Diamond Sales?
Losing Diamond Sales? More importantly, are you giving them away to your competition? If you still selling diamonds the "old" way then you are losing sales. So what is the "old" way? First, let’s look at old values because it’s the consumer's values that help...
Exit Strategy- What Are Your Options?
Most people when they go into business do not consider an exit strategy (getting out of the business in the future), after all, they are just going into this exciting new business. But as the years march on, business people start to think about an exit strategy. This...
Expanding Your Business
If you are considering adding a second store to your business, make no mistake, going from a single store to two stores is a big leap. Going from two to three to four is a comparative breeze. If you are looking to add another store to your stable, you will be either...
Who is the most important person in your business?
Who is the most important person in your business? By Malcolm Alderton The owner? After all, all major decisions which affect the business are made or authorized by the owner. The sales team? If the sales team can't sell, then you are out of business, or at the very...
Knowing Your Figures 101
Knowing Your Figures 101 By Malcolm Alderton For years many years jewellers have been running their Stock Control from the heart (this ring is beautiful, I know I can sell it so I will buy it), and long may this continue. However, business is tougher today, so it's...
Tools For Inventory Control
Buying the right inventory is a major key to the success of a Retail Store. Using the proper tools to achieve this is just as important. To control inventory, there are several buying problems that must be surmounted. The following will addressed some of these major...
Create a Win/Win Relationship with Your Customers and Your Suppliers
Buying the right stock is the major key to the success of a retail store. However, it is also the area where retailers experience many problems, sometimes unwittingly. The most common buying problems are as follows: Most retailers don’t have a buying plan. Most...
The Power of Change
Most people have heard this statement, or something similar, at least once in their lives. This means that there are many people in today’s society resisting change. These are changing times, more so today than ever before, and resisting change or being slow to...
The Real Cost of Old Inventory
All jewelers equate the problem of old inventory with having too much cash tied up in an unprofitable asset. But how they define that cost varies widely and we have heard some “reasons” for carrying old inventory that are merely a skin of truth wrapped around a...
What’s So Special About Special Orders?
Have you ever stopped to consider how much of your profit comes from Special Orders? It’s a certainty that they cost you more than selling something out of your cases. Taking time and resources to hunt down, order, inventory and follow-up on special orders can put...
How to clear Vendor Debt without jeopardizing future sales
When you have overdue vendor payables which are causing you sleepless nights and strained supplier relationships, there is an answer and it’s all to do with managing your Cost of Sales (COS) fund. There are some very strict dos and don’ts which will impact your...
Successful Business Constantly Seek Margin
Many jewelry retailers are so successful they are slowly going broke by chasing sales and neglect to create vital Goss Profit. Too little GP means one of two things - either the business cannot meet its financial commitments on time, or the owners are not enjoying an...
What will “Failure to Plan” cost you?
In large corporations people with specific skills are matched to specific tasks. Big businesses employ buyers for buying, sales people for selling, accountants for preparing budgets and reporting on performance, human resource people for managing staff, marketing...