My last career in the 1980s, before I started my long journey in the sign industry in 1985, was working for the prestigious Bock family-owned jewelry store chain Bachendorf’s in Dallas. Four generations and over 100 years of tradition are the underpinning of this still important and thriving Metroplex business.
There, I learned how important values such as loyalty, honesty, and quality were in a family business. The Bock family survived the Holocaust and concentration camps during World War II. They were a tight-knit but very generous family led by Harry Bock and his sons. Harry was quite a character (and the only person I’ve ever known that flew on the Concorde supersonic airliner) to Belgium to buy diamonds each year. He was a fair man, and he treated his employees like family. It was an honor to work for him.
We sold gemstones, jewelry, and luxury timepieces, as well as repair. I saw firsthand rare, precious diamonds and rings that few people on the planet will ever see. And these became works of art created by the jewelry makers, which are probably now adorning a second or third-generation of wealthy Texans.
We had celebrity clients and elite customers who wanted the very best. The gold glass commercial building (one of a pair) where our store was in the lobby, was in the flyover music opening of the series Dallas which ran from 1978-1991. In our parking lot, we saw exteriors being filmed and got to meet (and sell to) stars and guest stars from the show. One of my most enduring friendships to this day started while I worked there with David Ecker. When you spend about 5,000 working hours with a teammate, you get to know them very well.
A few days ago, David called me about an idea for an article from a sermon he heard at church. His catchy phrase became the title of this piece. And with that phrase, it opened the floodgate of my memories and what I learned in the jewelry business. I had forgotten about their impact and how they carried on through my career in the sign industry. Let’s blame age.
We are the sum total of our experiences. Those experiences—be they positive or negative—make us the person we are, at any given point in our lives. And like a flowing river, those same experiences, and those yet to come, continue to influence and reshape the person we are, and the person we become. None of us are the same as we were yesterday, nor will be tomorrow.
B.J. Neblett
Working at Bachendorf’s was my second jewelry job. During high school, I worked at a Zales in nearby Irving mall. Hired as a stocker, it was at Zales when I got my first taste as a salesperson when the company offered 1% commission to any employee regardless of job description to boost lagging sales. 1973 was not a great year; we had a stock market crash, inflation increased and was followed by a recession, an oil crisis and unemployment. Sound familiar? Where did 50 years go? Obviously to repeat itself.
Each day, I expedited restocking shelves, helped cleaned glass counters, and positioned myself to assist the assistant, general and store manager sell something. I figured that 1% of anything was better than the $1.60 per hour minimum wage I was getting. Ironically, Hamilton had released the first LED watch, the “Pulsar” a few years earlier, and it quickly became America’s biggest watch success story ever; over 10,000 per month were sold. It is considered one of the “Top 20 Watches of the century” and was featured in the 1973 James Bond movie, Live and Let Die. If I sold one, I would earn $2.95. So I did what any visionary salesperson would do, I figured out how not to leave great on the table. That month I sold 77 Pulsars. We’d been averaging about three per month.
When you give a 16-year-old a check for $227.15 and his entire 20-hour weekly earnings for a four-week month are only $128 gross, it changes your perspective on life and your vocation. I became the fastest stocker in history so I could get out behind the counters for as long as possible each evening. I started selling watches, rings, necklaces, pins, pen sets, and silver serving sets.
There were three months total of these incentives. The assistant manager complained because in month two, I was outselling him and he worked 40 hours a week. I even got recognized in the chain for sales volume. By the middle of month three, I was outselling the general manager. Then the store manager called me into his office. Uh oh.
It was good news and bad news. I got a plaque and was congratulated on my sales volume. He even shook my hand. He then sat down, shook his head, and sighed. “I’m afraid this has put me in a delicate position. You are part-time in high school and making my managers look bad. They tell me you are not doing your stocking duties well and stealing their sales.” “Untrue,” I said with passion and pride. “Please look around the store. It is the best it’s ever looked. I’m just better at sales than they are. Plus, they get a lot higher base commission than my 1%.” (Remember, I was only 16, so not so well-versed in diplomacy yet.)
And so, I got “laid off” that day even though all store employees had been given the same incentive to increase sales. Supposedly, the reason for my reduction in force was cutting back on payroll. It was my first lesson in politics. But I realized in those three months that some type of sales was the key to my future despite some other retail positions for the next few years.
So how does jewelry translate to signage? Fast forward to my years at Bachendorf’s. I learned by selling Pulsar watches at Zales that it was easier to sell something that was unique that no one else had. Selling is an emotional transference of feeling. That always happens best when you are face-to-face. (Buying a $20,000 engagement ring over the phone doesn’t work well.) That was my approach to selling loose diamonds, especially to about-to-be newlyweds. Even today, I always get face to face if possible to sell a custom sign, a campus identification project or a global branding program. Trust me, your competition will always take a shortcut and try to do everything over email. That’s the shotgun approach. I like the hypodermic needle option.
How does a jewelry salesperson sell a $20,000 engagement ring? What I found that worked best was to start with the diamond itself. When you isolate several diamonds in a price budget range to present to a couple or buyer, you find three that meet their cut, carat, color and clarity. But you have one of the three that slightly exceeds their expectations; one with a wow factor. The one you’d select if money was no object. And you show it last. But only after you talk about the rarity of their investment. What is the wow factor in your sign business?
All diamonds, like a custom sign, are unique. When you do a rendering, show two or three options (and always show a free-standing sign with an electronic message display option whether they asked for one or not.) People like choice. And they really like it when they feel you are on their side of the table with their interests in mind. When they favor or choose one option from several they like, they are often already making a buying decision based on their inner vision.
When I showed a loose diamond under a gemology microscope, I pointed out flaws and glorified them. These inclusions were going to make the diamond unique among any other in the world. When you point imperfections such as feathers, cavities, crystals, clouds, needles, chips, etc. you are being transparent (pun intended) to the client. It builds trust, and the discussion can lead your customer to understand that they are natural, unique, and part of nature’s fierce process of creating a diamond. Internally flawless diamonds are a sight to behold. And they carry a hefty price tag because they are one in 5000 jewelry-worthy diamonds.
When you talk about a quality of a custom sign, do you prepare your client on the industry standards of viewing for finish, fit and graphic registration? Signs are not made to be viewed from three inches but from feet away. For an ADA sign, there is a closer eye standard than for a high-rise highway flexible face sign that is 75 feet from grade. But it is incumbent that you set the stage before they see the finished product. During my career, it’s viewing from 15 feet minimum for a wall or free-standing sign to evaluate finish, fit, and other quality measurements. You are the expert; you must educate your client on what to expect. Tell them upfront that if they want a monument sign that must pass all physical inspections from a foot away, it will cost 3-4 times the industry standard. Can one be built like that? Sure, just like a flawless diamond and just as rare and expensive.
One of the greatest lessons I learned in selling expensive diamonds (the ring mounting always comes last) was the easiest way to close. When we found THE ONE diamond that was clearly the favorite and made pupils dilate, I would quote the standard price. It was usually more than their budget upper range. But one or both clearly wanted THE ONE.
Learning how to read your customer’s body language is critical. Eye contact will tell you how engaged they are. It is probably one of the most powerful nonverbal clues. Body posture will reveal how comfortable they are. I never started a sales interview, demonstration, unveiling of artwork or proposal until I knew the client was comfortable. Facial expressions will let you know how they feel so play close attention. Dynamic hand gestures will let you know if they trust you. And don’t forget to mirror body language to build rapport; it is a powerful tool and makes they feel relaxed and at ease.
I also learned a jewelry closing technique that I use now for custom signs 40 years later. I discounted the stone and offered a percentage off predicated on one favor from the customer. “I will sell this for you today only (call to action) for “X” if you will do me one simple favor,” I said very earnestly. “Sure! What do we need to do?” they asked as they leaned forward. “Can you send me three customers? We build our business on referrals, and I know you will love this so much you will gladly tell your friends, coworkers, and family.” I smiled. And it worked more than 80 percent of the time.
Do you currently close 80% of your custom sign sales? If you are above 50%, you are in the minority. If not, try this close. Even if they only send you one referral, did it more than compensate for any discount you offered? And you’d be surprised that some people send many more than three. And some or all may become customers for life. Don’t forget to do this with each referral. The synergy of this is staggering. And the call to action makes it easier for the client to do business now instead of thinking about it and putting you off.
So once the diamond was selected, we’d start the process all over with the setting and wedding band. And then the other’s band or ring. It was like finding the right shoes for the perfect outfit. After adding in a great setting plus the loose diamond (THE ONE) it was uncanny that the average increase over the highest possible budget was another 20%.
How did I resolve that, so it was palatable to the customer? I broke the extra amount down into small pieces over the lifetime of ownership. Example: if the couple was 25 years old and you conservatively took them to 70 years of age (or life expectancy), that is 45 years of ownership. If you take $4000 extra dollars over their budget and divide it over that period, it cost them $88.89 per year or $7.41 per month or roughly $.25 per day. “Isn’t your soulmate worth a quarter per day to have a one-of-a-kind unique piece of jewelry that shows your love?” In fact, it doesn’t cost you a quarter at all. Because the data shows that the price of a diamond has increased by a minimum of 4% every year. It pays to know your product.
Cost of ownership works with signs the same way. Learn how to break the investment into bite-sized chunks over a conservative life expectancy of seven years for an electronic message display; 10 years for a wall sign and twelve years for a pylon sign. Or pick your own depending on what part of the world you live since climate, days of sun, environmental issues, nearby irrigation, and other factors vary. Get creative but realistic.
In retrospect, I wish I’d had known the saying Don’t Settle for Good and Leave Great on the Table as a close in the jewelry business those many years ago. But it opens a fresh perspective now that I’m in the sign industry. Would you want the love of your life to go around and show off their new engagement ring to their friends and family and say with a frown, “Look at my new ring. I settled for good.” Of course not. You would want them to say, “Look at my new ring! Isn’t it great? I got exactly what I wanted!” This is how you create raving fans. And you can do this in your sign business because the principles are the same.
My wife (and business partner and best friend) Nita has mentioned more than once over the years that some of the special signs we designed and produced were like jewelry. I never connected that to my old career until my friend David made a random connection possible with a great phrase.
So, don’t forget to educate, be great at reading your audience, glorify your wow factor, break down life of ownership, and ask for referrals. You’ll have more business than you can handle. Now, let’s go out and sell some jewelry.
