Like most things in life, there are good and bad things about being a wholesale jewelry rep. The good leans towards the fact that a vast variety of retailers carry jewelry as part of their overall store assortment.The bad weighs heavily on the fact that there are a ton of jewelry wholesalers, therefore making your competition tough. To help support your goal of being a leading wholesale jewelry representative, the following tips can help you when cold calling potential accounts/retailers.

1. Be quick while concise in the introduction of both yourself and your product line. Retailers are busy, and phone calls from reps often flood them daily. Respect their time by concisely identifying who you are, your product and / or brand name and what you want from them. If you are simply looking to gain contact information to send them an informative sales packet, let them know this. If you want to stop by for a face to face appointment, tell them this. There’s no time to beat around the bush.

2. Respect their response. If a retailer tells you no, don’t react with a quick hang up. A simple “I understand your hesitation” or “I’d be happy to send you a sales packet to give you more time to think about (your product name here).” While I’m not suggesting you give in to their “no”, I am suggesting you ease your sales push a bit. No one likes a pushy rep – even if you know (okay, so you think this at least) you are a great jewelry wholesale rep who has fabulous product!

3. Consider when you are calling. Is it a Monday? A Saturday? Or how about 5pm? Hopefully you answered NO to none of the above! Retailers don’t have the traditional working hours of 9 to 5, so consider when you think their busy times are with customers and do not call then. In addition, certain days of the week are more busy than others. If you no a particular retailer is around the corner from a high school and gets busy when schools released around 3, avoid calling them. The scenarios are endless, so take a unique look at each perspective account. A good time to call is typically after lunch and before 4. Mondays are never usually good – and the same goes with Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

4. Know who you are talking to. Don’t just assume someone who answers the phone will be your point person. Try and gain the name of the owner / buyer of the store prior to your call, then ask specifically for that person so you know you are talking to someone who can make decisions.

5. Be nice. Yes, nice. Believe it or not – not everyone is! And a gentle reminder is often necessary to be a nice phone person. Sometimes how you sound on the phone is not how you intend to be perceived. Consider if your voice and tone are courteous and gracious, allowing your phone audience to feel comfortable talking to you. Make sure to say please, thank you and all the manners your parents taught you – even if you don’t like who you are talking to!

Finally, keep track of the phone calls you make. If you call a store and they tell you to call back next month, make sure you call back without a delay in their requested time frame. Good notes is the only way to ensure you will remember names, conversations and all other details to help you secure an appointment to make some sales!