Selling Luxury

Foreword by Alain-Dominique Perrin xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction xv Part One: Initial Thoughts 1 1 The Vital Role of the Sales Ambassador 3 2 In the eyes of the customer, the Sales Ambassador is the brand 5 3 Loyalty begins with the fi rst contact 6 4 Keep in mind how you like to be treated 7 5 There are customers behind customers 8 6 The incredible loss from one lost customer 9 7 The emotional side of the purchase 10 8 The island vacation or the earrings? 11 9 The price is only one of the factors 12 10 The “Wow” comes when you go beyond expectations 13 11 Discretion and confi dentiality 14 Part Two: The Frame of Mind of the Sales Ambassador 17 12 Be a person before being a Sales Ambassador 19 13 Turn every contact into an experience 20 14 Get inside the customer’s story 21 15 Congratulate customers 23 16 Compliment your customers 24 17 Every complaint is an opportunity 25 18 The other competitor 26 19 Service costs nothing 28 20 The great danger of prejudices and preconceived ideas 29 21 Work as a team player 30 22 Relationships and mistakes 31 Part Three: The Savoir-Faire of the Sales Ambassador 35 23 The successful selling style 37 24 Life is a celebration 38 25 Use each contact to inform and educate 39 26 The power of timing 40 27 Time is a precious sales tool 42 28 The art of using silence 44 29 Music as a metaphor for selling 45 30 Select the words you use carefully 46 31 Tones, rhythms, and volumes 47 32 The competition, your customers, and your advantages 48 33 Personalize your service 49 34 Pleasure comes from consistency 50 35 Maintain your energy 51 36 Make someone’s day 53 37 Each telephone contact is another opportunity 54 38 Analyze the sale you made 56 39 Analyze the situation when the customer did not buy 58 Part Four: Preparing to Sell 61 40 The impact of the right atmosphere on customers 63 41 Luxury is in the details 65 42 Keep the service level up even when things are busy 66 43 Prepare your selling tools 68 44 Know what you have in stock 69 45 Learn how each creation was crafted 70 46 Know what is happening in your city 71 Part Five: Welcoming and Discovering the Customer 73 47 A greeting needs a smile 75 48 Your body language speaks louder than words 76 49 Listening with your eyes 77 50 The importance of discovery 79 51 The gift purchase 81 52 The power of questions (quality over quantity) 82 53 Be a careful listener 84 54 Find out how your customer feels about your brand 85 55 Make statements to obtain information 86 56 Introduce yourself 87 57 “Just looking” 88 58 The art and importance of reformulation 90 Part Six: Proposing, Romancing, and Handling Objections 93 59 Keep your proposals simple 95 60 Create curiosity 96 61 Handle everything you sell as a precious object 98 62 Position the offer 100 63 Make clever use of the light 102 64 Romance your creations to enhance the emotions 103 65 Storytelling 104 66 Invite the customer to try on the model 106 67 “Wrap” the price as if it were a gift 108 68 The art of exploring “Let me think about it” 109 69 Prepare for dealing with objections 111 Part Seven: Concluding and Making Additional Sales 113 70 Be aware of buying signals 115 71 Tips to conclude 117 72 Suggest the best solution 119 73 The importance of reassuring when concluding 120 74 “Picture” the purchase 122 75 Advise customers about maintaining their purchase 123 76 Suggest ways of offering a gift 125 77 The additional sale 126 Part Eight: Building Customer Loyalty 129 78 Loyalty comes from offering gifts linked to the purchase 131 79 Offer two business cards 132 80 Make a good last impression 133 81 Every departure is a preparation for another visit 134 82 Loyalty comes from remembering your customers 136 83 The database is an essential tool 137 84 Celebrate the newborn 138 85 Build loyalty by staying in touch 140 86 Ask for a referral 142 87 Customer after-sales service and the broken dream 144 88 The ideal after-sales service scenario 146 Outcomes of the Eight Stories 149 Conclusion 153 Index 156