I wanted to conduct an
interview with an affiliate of a luxury brand.
He or she would specialize in negotiating and deal making. I figured that if I want to involve myself in
wholesaling diamonds, pearls, and gemstones, I needed to speak with someone in
the luxury brand business to develop my own negotiating skills. But before I get into the interview I want
you to get a taste of how weak my negotiating skills are, currently.
Even though the event
happened in 2003, the skills I displayed on one particular day are the same
skills I possess until I began studying negotiating…
I was living in New York for
a brief moment and during this time; I wanted to purchase a gift for one of my
sisters for, Christmas. I lived in
Brooklyn and decided to take the train to Wall Street, since I had passed a
jewelry shop that intrigued me and I figured I would get her gift from
there. When I walked into the store,
there were no other customers there.
(Perhaps this was a sign) It was
possible that no one was there since it was so early in the morning. At least that’s what I thought. Out of an assortment of beautiful jade rings,
I spotted one. And thought my sister will love this, especially since jade is
known to be for good luck. It was a jade
cabochon ring, with a thick band made of sterling silver. There was no price on the ring so I asked the
only jeweler in the store how much it cost.
She said 45 dollars. I thought
what a deal; it’s beautiful and inexpensive.
I told her “I would like this one.”
She took the ring out of the display and neatly wrapped it in a box for
me. I was soooo excited! As she was ringing me up the young lady then
said, that will be 65 dollars.
I thought to myself, didn’t
she just say that the ring was 45 dollars?
Not realizing, Mona you are in New York, this is where prices are
negotiable; you‘re not in the South anymore.
Wanting this one of a kind gift for my sister, I recklessly paid for the
ring anyway. I walked out of the shop
happy for my sister, but upset with myself.
That was my first lesson that nothing is written in stone, things are
negotiable or either you walk away.
In my studies I am learning
that things are negotiable and you don’t have to walk away. A negotiation can be a Win-Win solution for
everyone involved. This leads to the
interview that I conducted. I wanted it
to be a luxury brand affiliate and someone who negotiates everyday and knows
what they are doing. I thought what
better person to interview than a Mercedes-Benz car salesman. Genius!
The first group of questions,
I asked Mr. Bill Ingram was, “How do you separate people from the problem when negotiating?”
and “What negotiating tips do you have in trying to do this?”
He told me that he makes as
much information available to the customer as possible, by showing the invoice
and the market price. He wants to make
sure that the customer is aware of every available choice. The advice that he gave is to make sure that
while speaking for the car that it is the right voice.
The next question was, “How
do you handle potential bargaining tactics?”
Mr. Ingram told me that in
handling bargaining tactics, “you have to be an extremely good listener.” “Building value…that’s handled before the
negotiating phase.” He said that in
selling cars that you present the final numbers, be quiet and see what will be
presented on the customer’s behalf.
The last question that I
asked Mr. Ingram was, “Give an example of how you have worked toward mutual
benefit when negotiating a deal?”
The very words that Mr.
Ingram told me were, to “Be respectful of everyone. And being a good listener
is a way of showing respect.” By his
listening, he is able to pick up on how the vehicle will benefit the customer and
he said that everything basically “Comes down to crunching numbers.”
I had some more words with
Mr. Ingram, kindly, thanked him for his time and the information he gave
me. And we hung up.
So, in my quest to become
one of the best distributors of priceless gems, Mr. Ingram’s answers to these questions
made me realize that selling gems is not just about selling a product but it’s
about selling a product that is right for the customer. For example, making explicit the 4C’s for a particular
customer. It may not be perfect to
someone else, but it will be perfect for that one customer.
One thing that stuck out for
me is building value, which begins before the negotiating phase. Mercedes-Benz has built value for their
brands and it is recaptured once a person goes to a Mercedes-Benz car lot and
speaks with a salesman. The first
impression that the salesman gives the customer is his chance to build upon
even more value, before making the sale.
That is what I must do with
my own brand. Build value of the jewels
and gemstones before I actually make my negotiations and let them know that
they have a choice. While negotiating, I
need to listen to what the customer wants so that I can make that
delivery. I didn’t make myself heard in
that Wall Street jewelry shop, but I need to communicate with my future
customers so that they will not walk away from one of my sales upset or unclear
of what just happened. So they will come
back.
