8 tips for achieving add-on sales

If a customer starts wandering or browsing while a store employee is making a repair or gift-wrapping their purchase, this can be a great time to approach an add-on sale, Debbie Fox, of Fox Fine Jewelry in Ventura, Calif., said. 

She gives an example of one regular customer who was looking around while his purchase was being wrapped, presenting the opportunity for Fox to try for the add-on and resulting in the customer leaving the store with seven pieces of jewelry. 

“Go to where they are and answer their questions,” Fox said. 

Practice with staff. Stephenie Bjorkman, CEO of Sami Fine Jewelry in Arizona, said that her sales mantra is to assume the sale and see what else she can add on with every interaction on the sales floor.

She practices add-on techniques with her staff in regular employee meetings. The store has 15-minute meetings every day and a longer meeting once a month.

Other store owners reported making add-on sales a regular part of store memos that are distributed monthly, weekly or even daily. 

Incentivize. Along the same lines, Bjorkman said that because she teaches her staff to go for the add-on sale every time, they have competitions and she provides rewards for the employee that can obtain the most. They respond well to that. 

During a three-day contest, Bjorkman won with 38 add-ons, but she gave the cash prize to the employee that managed almost as many, achieving 36 add-on sales.

Isolate a case. J. Dennis Petimezas, owner of Watchmakers Diamonds & Jewelry in Johnstown, Pa., is trying something new this year.

He has designated a case 80 percent off and filled it with unsellable merchandise--pieces that haven’t moved for one reason or another and were marked to be melted down at the end of the year. 

Though he isn’t advertising it publicly, when customers come into the store this case is where he has his staff direct people for add-on sales. “It’s actually working,” he said.

Petimezas admits that while he doesn’t make much more off the sale of these remarkably-marked-down pieces than he would if the just scrapped them, it’s a way to pass along good will to this customers. “If we sell half of it, we’d be happy. It’s a good bonus,” he said. “It’s a win-win for everyone.” 

Look ahead to the next holiday. Suggest that clients buy the gift now and put it aside for an upcoming birthday, anniversary or the next holiday, such as Valentine’s Day. Fox said that trying to get a consumer to think ahead to the next holiday can be especially effective for one-of-a-kind creations, which might not still be available if they wait. 

Abell, of Sarah Leonard Fine Jewelers, said around this time of year, they call clients who have December/January birthdays and anniversaries to remind them they can take care of all of their presents with a trip to the store, and to offer suggestions for each occasion. 

Encourage customers to share the love. At Manfredi Jewelers in Greenwich, Conn., owner Roberto Chiappelloni said they sell a lot of high-end watches to men. 

When they do that, they, very kindly, make a suggestion to the men: it might be nice if your significant other had something nice to open as you enjoy this expensive new watch. And it works. 

Chiappelloni said they recently sold a $54,000, 18-karat gold Audemars Piguet chronograph to a gentleman. When they suggested he pick up something for his wife he obliged, in the form of a $38,000 18-karat rose gold and diamond ladies Audemars to complement his. 

“I find that, with (my store), because they buy such extravagant watches for themselves, it works very well when you suggest the ladies should also be remembered,” he said.