Romancing jewellery is extremely important as it increases the desire to buy, which in turn leads to a faster close.
It stops returns because a customer will use similar words when romancing it to their loved one. This increases the sentiment and that person would never think of bringing it back.
Most salespeople assume that when they use adjectives when showing jewellery such as beautiful, amazing or fabulous that this is romancing. All that these words do is voice their opinion, which most customers ignore.
These words are over used, especially beautiful. I have heard it used as many as six times in one instance. When I point this out to salespeople they are not aware of it because they have used it for years. When I ask them, “How much does a salesperson’s opinion mean to you?” suddenly they understand. Your opinion could also turn a customer off such as, “This is my favorite piece, or “I am going to show you an exquisite piece of jewellery.” If they don’t concur, where is your credibility?
I am sure you have been told many times, “You have to love jewellery to sell it.” This is complete nonsense. How can you love everything you sell? I have a better way that makes more sense. Pretend you just bought a diamond necklace. Now that you own it you will sound more natural in showing your enthusiasm.
I will give you some examples, but first I will define romancing. It’s about creating a vision in your customer’s mind, such as: “Look how this diamond sparkles.” “Notice the deep blue of this sapphire.” “When you move this emerald ever so slightly you will see its vibrant green.” “Just look at the rich color of this ruby.” Try to avoid repeating yourself while you romance the jewellery, your customer heard you the first time.
Customers also like to hear the historical lore of diamonds and precious gems. Say this to a bride, or a husband giving a diamond to his wife. “In ancient times the diamond was called the Venus stone because it was as bright as Venus, the evening star.” Or, “The diamond was called the Venus stone because Venus was the goddess of love.” For rubies: “In India it was believed that rubies protected their owners from all manner of misfortune.” Sapphires: “The ancient Persians regarded the magnificent blue of the sapphire as the symbol of truth and sincerity.”
When quoting historical lore be careful not to make it sound like a fact. Remember, it is only lore. Use your smile otherwise you might your speech might sound staged. The best way to check how you sound is by using the recorder on your smartphone. It will show you exactly how your customers hear you. This is different then how you sound to yourself because you only hear yourself through your inner ear. This is why very few people like to hear themselves on a recording.
At first you will be turned off because you do won’t hear the smile or enthusiasm you were sure you conveyed whilst speaking into your phone. You will find you may have to exaggerate your smile and enthusiasm to have it come out just right on the recording. Practice and keep practicing until it sounds like it’s the way you want to be heard.
You can find words to describe color and brilliance by searching for a synonym site on the internet. For historical lore you may have to search further. I have all the historical lore and key words to describe brilliance and color in my sales manual, as well as the historical lore.
The salespeople I have taught to romance jewellery have found their customers are much more receptive, and that is has become their key for closing more sales. This should be a good enough endorsement for you to try. At first you may find it difficult, but when you think about it is easy to romance to a friend a great book you couldn’t put down, a vacation in France or a piece of art you just bought. Romancing your own experiences and possessions comes very easy to you. You can see how this created a great deal of interest to your friends. It will do the same for your customers.
This article first appeared in the May issue of Jewellery Focus
