Roopring

One of the best ways to increase jewelry sales at stores and galleries is to discover what is right in your own backyard. Often local business owners are looking to feature designers from their area or are in need of skilled jewelers to take on contract work. Undoubtedly you know most of these stores. The question is: Do they know you?

I was on the road for nine years traveling all over the United States and learned the dos and don’ts of approaching a store. The huge advantage of selling this way is that you get to see the store and you have time (usually) to check out the inventory they are currently carrying, see how they display their jewelry and meet their staff. This part of the experience will give you a huge amount of information about whether the store is a good fit for you and you for it. You’ll also have the buyer’s attention to yourself, unlike at a show, where buyers are being lured in so many directions. You might even discover stores that were never on your radar but that are a perfect fit for your work.

Draw a circle with a radius of 50 miles around your hometown and start researching stores in that circle. This ensures you are making daytrips versus traveling long distances to the next time zone or across the country. You may take longer trips in time, but when you are first getting started, stay closer to home. When you have seen everyone in your 50-mile circle, expand your search to 100 miles.

The next thing you need to decide is whether to make an appointment or just drop in. Usually stores prefer an appointment, but sometimes you can get away with going in without one. If you call ahead of time and can’t get an appointment, tell the buyer you will be in the area anyway and might stop in to see the store, since you have heard such good things about it. Make it clear that you won’t be a bother. You never know; the buyer might just decide to make an exception once you are there in person. You can also walk in without having called at all and hope to catch the buyer with a little spare time. I found that about 50 percent of the times I made a cold call, I saw the buyer. About 50 percent of those times, I sold or set up the possibility of the store becoming a client in the near future. http://www.silverjewelrygift.com/