About a year ago, it was time to go engagement ring shopping.
So, I found myself at Lugaro Jewellers in Park Royal Shopping Center. Before I knew it, I was talking to the owner of the store and we found common ground in that we were both Middle Eastern and ran our own business. She did a great job of making me feel comfortable in a situation that is not always the easiest thing to do for someone. We found a ring fairly quickly which we both thought would work and before I knew it, she then had me looking at Rolex’s.
She gave me the origin story for Rolex, talked about quality, incorporated how running a business is about finding quality, how I was about quality, and finally, how I needed a Rolex because it was also quality. She had me thinking I needed a Rolex and a ring in the same day. Not to mention I don’t really wear jewelry and very rarely ever wear a watch. I don’t even like watches. After our pleasant conversation I did an analysis on what had happened. Why did I pick the ring I picked? Why was I drawn to one of the more expensive Rolex’s? Why did I thoroughly enjoy the experience so much? I thought about it and came back with a couple of thoughts:
The lady selling me the ring/watch had probably tried selling some 12 times a day, 6 days a week for the last 35 plus years. So that gave her roughly 2520 times to get it just right. She probably failed miserably a bunch of times. So, she started to get better at reading her customers and she started to realize
what would make people tick. She had fully done an analysis of what would lead to the most sales.
Repetition and learning from each opportunity had made her spectacular at her job. It also made me appreciate her approach and do a bit of a dive on what I had just been a part of.
What made her special and what were her goals:
a. Appealing to grandeur
i. People want nice things, she happens to sell really nice things, people buying
engagement rings want to do it right and so, appealing to the higher end of
things is probably the best way to go.
b. Focusing on quality
i. Quality sells. Explaining how great something is and what makes it great and all the detail that makes it great is a perfect way to get someone attached to
something. Everyone deep down wants high quality things and people in their
lives. She did an amazing job of that.
c. Building trust
i. Her honesty helped build trust. The more you trust someone, the more likely
they are to work with you and the more likely it is to work. I can't tell you how
many times I've wanted to buy something and someone lying about something
totally unrelated just turned me off and therefore, I did not buy. We want to trust the people we work with. And she earned that trust.
d. Kindness and caring approach
i. Being personable is a great feature. Her ability to connect and find common
ground was spectacular. Her easy and understanding demeanour was fantastic--she really went out of her way to make it known that she cared to get it right. It
mattered to her. She knew that if she took care of me and made sure I was
happy when I left, I would probably send someone else to go see her (I have) and
that referrals are the best advertising.
e. Stories matter
i. From the beginning of finding me the right ring and even more so with
trying to get me to buy the Rolex, she weaved a story. The story was compelling,
the attention to detail was engaging, and the entire experience was enjoyable.
She learned all these things from getting the reps in. She wasn’t always this good. She had to put in the time; she had to try new things; she had to learn from her mistakes. She had no opportunity to deal with discouragement from getting it wrong. She just needed to keep trying, and growing, and learning from her mistakes. Before you know it, if you put in the time and show
some resiliency, you can get better every day and put quality time into your opportunities--getting the reps will make you spectacular.
In all honestly, I didn’t buy the watch because I realized I don't even like watches.
But I was definitely aware of the experience I had been a part of and what it had taken to get to that moment. And I am grateful to have been a part of the whole thing.
I did buy the ring and she ended up saying yes. So in the end, it all worked out!