Vendors - What makes for a great client?

Josh Rioux
Haines, Alaska
*The Colored Gemstone Nut*

For me, the most important element of the retail relationship is just that, the relationship.  I’ve never been fond of the big-box style of retailing where you buy your product and move out the door.  This doesn’t suit custom jewelry especially well but I don’t actually like it for much of anything.  I always liked customers who were willing to say what they want and what they like, and are interested in an exchange of information. These stores are the most successful by a significant margin in almost every category, including jewelry so I guess I'm obsolete. It’s a fair part of the reason I retired from retail.  Customers tend to expect all of the handholding that make the relationship style stores popular but also expect the prices of the warehouses.  Quite a bit of the value from a retailer is presented up front and is not separately billed. The habit of customers to come into a store and solicit a free education, examine the jewelers inventory for design ideas, consult with their experts on structural and design issues that may apply to their project and then take their designs or repair suggestions to the cheapest guy in town is, in a word, rude.  These same people won’t tip a taxi driver because there is nothing left that they can get out of the deal.  They will never see that particular driver again and so there is almost no downside to stiffing the driver, right?

I actually had customers come back and complain because they took one of my designs to someone else and it didn’t come out well. This was somehow my fault and they expected me to fix it!

Neil Beaty
GG(GIA) ISA NAJA
Recovering Jeweler in Colorado

There's never a crowd when you go that extra mile.

Rhino
Good Old Gold

Wink Jones
GG
Winfield's/High Performance Diamonds

Ana "The greatest experts are only as good as the sum total of what they have seen." [Souren Melikian]

........... Karl has joined the diamond trade and is now posting as Karl_K

David

Jim Schultz

www.JamesAllen.com

Garry Holloway FGAA DipDT

HCA and Ideal-scope developer

http://www.ideal-scope.com and
http://www.HollowayDiamonds.com.au

........... Karl has joined the diamond trade and is now posting as Karl_K

Garry Holloway FGAA DipDT

HCA and Ideal-scope developer

http://www.ideal-scope.com and
http://www.HollowayDiamonds.com.au

Director of Sales at Whiteflash from 2000-2008

Date: 2/11/2005 11:46:48 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
Rich OR good looking will suffice

Seriously though Storm, did you think I would be serious?

A great client is someone who believes you when you say this is beautiful.  The best sales people are those who can match the right beautiful thing to the right person.  This is one big problem for the Internet, but we can see that Amazon is doing a pretty good job of predicting clients taste and desires.

"People who possess great qualities, do not need to show off".

Gary

www.diamondexpert.com

........... Karl has joined the diamond trade and is now posting as Karl_K

So my good friend Sammy Sherman comes to the office and says. It’s my wife Rebecca’s 50th Birthday. I want to buy her a diamond for $100,000.
 
He chooses a beautiful IdealCut D IF. (Such a beautiful stone even uncle Gary would approve)

Sammy takes the diamond home to Rebecca and the following morning over breakfast wishes her a happy birthday and hands over the rock.

She looks him up and down; hands back the diamond and says “ Sammy I don’t want this diamond I want a divorce.

Sammy takes the diamond back, puts it in his pocket and replies ”Sorry Rebecca I wasn’t thinking of spending that much”

Sorry Storm not what you are looking for just a bit of humour
Johan

Diamond Exchange Ltd. (Australia)

Date: 2/10/2005 7:226 PM
Author: strmrdr
Thanks everyone keep it coming :}

Wink you posted exactly what I thought you would post my friend :}
Glad to see you made it back ok from your vacation.

Wink Jones
GG
Winfield's/High Performance Diamonds

Date: 2/13/2005 122:43 AM
Author: Wink

Date: 2/10/2005 7:226 PM

Author: strmrdr

Thanks everyone keep it coming :}


Wink you posted exactly what I thought you would post my friend :}

Glad to see you made it back ok from your vacation.

Made it back, but was very sick for a while, dang!


Sorry to be so predictable, but hey, I am fairly transparent...

........... Karl has joined the diamond trade and is now posting as Karl_K

Date: 2/11/2005 8:12:28 AM
Author: Garry H (Cut Nut)
No one has mentioned yet 'how she looks?'

A perfect client is one who rings up and says 'you know what she wants'
We deliver and all the relationships grow

Or, the guy who said 'You can increase the budget, but you cant spend more than the Bently I just bought'

Rhino
Good Old Gold

Excellent thread and idea strmrdr.  I've put a little more thought into this so here goes.

>What makes for a great client?

Many excellent answers have been given already but here are ones that come to the forefront of my mind.

A great client is ...

a.  (the short quick answer) the lady or gentleman who realizes this is one of the most important purchases they will make in this lifetime and is willing to take the time necessary to learn about what it is they are purchasing. 
    (the why's of this answer) Yes it is great helping educated consumers but I do not assume that they are as knowledgeable as they seem sometimes.  Ie. many people learn about the characteristics of carat weight, clarity and color enough that they can recite the defiintions to me, but generally most people have not seen and compared these clarities/colors next to each other and most don't have a clue when it comes to cut. There are many people who are "book smart" but are not "street smart". The latter only comes with years of experience and that can not be attained via the net. This is where the help of a seasoned pro can really be of benefit, but it is also the street smart vendor who can take advantage of people if they are not cautious.  When a client comes to our store and after we've introduced ourselves, my first questions are generally to get an idea of how far along in the education process they have come.  My primary and initial job is to fill in the blanks of their education and correct any misinformation they have been given and demonstrate why.  Some people only requre our presentation on cut, some on cut & color some on all 4C's.  We are prepared to help them in each category if necessary and there have been times when we would have to teach for as long as we can and if necessary extend the presentation to another visit should time run short for them.  We can generally complete an entire presentation on the 4 C's within 45 minutes but if they have a lot of questions and want to make alot of comparisons, that can sometimes extend from a couple to a few hours. We will take the time necessary for the client to become educated and answer all their questions as well as familiarize them with our selection process and the expertise & lab equipment we use to do this.  While leads to point #2.

b. the person who respects our time and the effort it takes to help them find their dream stone.  I don't expect to close every sale or win every client and never will you get a hard sell or pitch here.  We truly believe that a quality product will sell itself, so if we do our job right and find that stone and the client has made it clear they are ready to purchase that they hold to their word. However if we are investing our time, energies and even capital (calling in stones for them to view), a great client will follow through on their word just as we had.  In the past there have been Internet (and in-store as well) clients who took advantage of our kindness in this matter.  We would spend hundreds of dollars calling in stones to scan in to show them (not to mention our time doing it) only to not get any answer whatsoever.  This forced us to change our policy to requre a non-refundable deposit to cover our shipping expenses (which is absorbed into the price of the diamond upon a sale).  This year we are experimenting with a different procedure and are offering to call in 2 stones on our tab based on the best available data/specs within their range and seeing how things pan out.  We realize there will always be dead beats but if the majority of people are people of integrity we are considering dropping this criteria if its worth it in the long run.  

c. One who appreciates art, the time it takes to create it, and is willing to pay a fair price for it.  I tend to be an extremist in the fields I set my heart and mind to.  No matter the subject, once it captures me ... I go all out.   My type of personality tends to attract the anal retentive.    This can be viewed as both a negative and a positive however I look at it in the positive, generally because I know I can satisfy most of these types.  Patience, of course, must be a prerequisite.   I would probably make a terrible appraiser because I would not encourage most diamonds I see in the general market.  Cutting factories either love me or hate me as I am generally accused of being too picky.

d. A great client not only appreciates our investment in their education and diamond selection but will also let others know about it as well.

e. As someone had already mentioned.  A great client is one who forgives if an honest mistake is made.  We are all still, only human.

f. People I generally enjoy helping are those who are have or share a certain passion about life.  I personally strive for excellence in all I set my heart to do and when I meet individuals like myself, there is usually an instant chemistry. Their passion doesn't necessarily have to be diamonds either. People who have vision are people who are working towards their goals, accomplishing them one milestone at a time, acheiving small successes' and lead happy and productive lives.  I tend to jive well with peeps like this and make for a great client.

>What can we do to help you help us find the diamonds of our dreams?

Become as educated as you can about the subject and communicate as clearly and plainly as you can what it is you want.  If not very educated on the subject ... ask us and we'll help do that via both web and phone.  If your expectations are unrealisitic we will let you know that too.  One of the problems in this category is that jewelers do not know the questions to ask to HELP the consumer HELP US.  The open flow of communication is key.  One party should not leave the other guessing.  Ie. if someone has taken the time to educate you and has invested IN YOU... the least that consumer can do is be open and honest about what it is they want. 
    I've seen inexperienced sales people help a person, find out what they want, the consumer tells them ... they call up and bring in the goods ... THEN the consumer says ... yes that's what I want but that is NOWHERE near the price I want to pay.  Somewhere along the line there was not *enough* communication.  If a person spends the time with you, teaches you, etc. they have earned the right to also know what budget they are looking to keep within.  There are some consumers who are offended by salespeople whose *first question* is "How much do you want to spend?" and I can understand this.  IMO it is a bad approach, but if a vendor has taken the time to invest in YOU, it is only fair that you be upfront with them on all counts.  Some salespeople are afraid to talk about the 5th C (cost) up front but if this is not asked, alot of unneccary time and monies could be avoided.

>What steps can we as consumers take to help avoid problems?

It is my opinion that the pro will help step you through the process.  The only steps required by the consumer is to follow the instructions of the one who is helping them and of course QUESTION anything they don't understand or if something is not clear.

>A lot of sales are dependent on trust if there was one thing you would want every client to know about you in this area what would it be?

Our track record.

>If there was one thing you would want every consumer to know before they contact you what would it be?

The content of our website.

>Thank you for your help :}

It's a pleasure strmrdr.  If anything else comes to mind I'll edit and add to this post.

Warm regards,

Rhino
Good Old Gold

........... Karl has joined the diamond trade and is now posting as Karl_K

John

__________________________

John Pollard

Whiteflash Director of Education 2004-2007

John

__________________________

John Pollard

Whiteflash Director of Education 2004-2007