Selling Luxury: Connect with Affluent Customers, Create Unique Experiences Through Impeccable Service, and Close the Sale

179 Pages·2009·1.15 MB·English

by  Robin Lent

$29.95 USA/$35.95 CAN
—continued from front flap— Praise for Connect with Affl uent Customers, Create Unique
L
ENT
(cid:127) Learn about customers through observing
Experiences Through Impeccable Service, and Close the Sale
and discovery TOUR
(cid:127) Create the desire to purchase
“Geneviève and Robin have brought together their talents to create
(cid:127) Deal positively with customer objections
a book that gives all Sales Ambassadors the fundamentals in selling
Selling high-end luxury creations requires a dif-
• Build a relationship of trust and and building customer loyalty.”
ferent set of skills than does traditional selling.
brand loyalty
—Hamida Belkadi, CEO, De Beers Diamond Jewellers, USA Clients have high expectations for the service
The universe of luxury is no place for traditional they receive and base their purchasing decisions

hard-sell tactics. Instead, you have to subtly adapt more on emotion and desire than practical need.
“Selling Luxury is fi lled with ways of exceeding each client’s
to your customer in a deeper way. Doing so takes Whether you are selling diamond bracelets or
a truly personal touch. Selling Luxury shows you expectations through offering a service that surprises and delights.” sports cars, the key to concluding the sale lies in
how to develop these skills and make them a key how well you sell rather than what you sell.
—Aaron Simpson, Group Executive Chairman, Quintessentially
part of your own unique selling style.
In Selling Luxury, Robin Lent and Geneviève
ROBIN LENT is Senior Con- Tour explore every component of luxury sales
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Ambassadors understand how to connect with
the fi eld of luxury. He can be reached at
[email protected]. What does it take to sell high-end luxury creations to the richest customers by discovering their unique moti-
E vational desires. This requires a multitude of
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Geneviève has an MBA in luxury brands universe of luxury. Selling Luxury will show you how a salesperson Im ffl u Lessons from Cartier, Lexus, The Four Seasons,
and twenty years of experience in marketing can acquire Sales Ambassador status by offering the impeccable ser- pe en If you want to succeed in the luxury sales universe,
and communications. She can be reached at cca t C Piaget, Dior, Moët Hennessy, and Other Luxury Brands Selling Luxury is for you. You’ll pick up the skills
[email protected]. vice associated with the world’s most prestigious brands. ble S usto and approaches that work everyday in a multitude
JJaacckkeett DPheositgongr: aWphen: d©y AMnonu Cntutting/Jupiterimages ervice, a mers, Cr o(cid:127)f Csiotunantieocnts .e Ymouo’ltli olenaranll hyo wwi ttoh: customers
n e
d Clos ate Un (cid:127) Exceed your customers’ expectations
e the S ique (cid:127) Turn every customer contact into a
ale Foreword by Alain-Dominique Perrin, Former CEO of Cartier brand experience

R L G ` T (cid:127) Personalize your customer service
OBIN ENT ENEVIEVE OUR
AND
—continued on back flap—
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Additional Praise for
S L
E L L I N G U X U RY
“Today, our customers’ references in terms of service are extremely
high and go far beyond the luxury sector. In the world of luxury,
customers are expecting a top level of service before, during, and
after every contact or sale. Reaching excellence in service is essen-
tial for each Sales Ambassador so that customers are even more
satisfi ed and loyal to the brand. This everyday challenge should
be approached humbly, with the understanding that it is a never-
ending learning process.”
—Bernard Fornas, CEO, Cartier International
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S e l l i n g
L u x u r y
Connect with Affl uent Customers,
Create Unique Experiences Through
Impeccable Service, and Close the Sale
Robin Lent
and
Geneviève Tour
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Copyright © 2009 by Robin Lent and Geneviève Tour. All rights reserved.
Selling Luxury fi rst appeared in 2006 under the title of The Great 88.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning,
or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States
Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization
through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.,
222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the
web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed
to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ
07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permis-
sions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their
best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect
to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifi cally disclaim any
implied warranties of merchantability or fi tness for a particular purpose. No warranty may
be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and
strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a
professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss
of profi t or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental,
consequential, or other damages.
For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please
contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at [phone], outside
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Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears
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ucts, visit our web site at www.wiley.com.
ISBN 978-0-470-45799-3
Printed in the United States of America.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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To Sales Ambassadors
all over the world
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Contents
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
Contents vii
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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
viii Contents
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