How to Sell Custom Engagement Rings

  Custom engagement rings are a growing trend in the jewelry industry. Social media has changed the way consumers find and design their dream wedding ring, and having a reliable custom vendor is a great way to make their dream a reality. We recently interviewed a top salesman at an engagement ring store in Utah. He illustrated many of the reasons custom jewelry is making an impression on their store and customers:

 How to Sell Custom Engagement Rings

“I love selling custom engagement rings. In fact, I prefer to sell custom made rings over our stock rings! In today’s technological age, it is extremely rare that a customer walks into my store without half a dozen pictures on their phone of rings from Pinterest, Etsy, Google images, etc. Rings which they are already in love with, and rings which I do not have! Every customer wants something different from everyone else, something beautiful that represents them personally. In their minds, how can that perfect ring exist pre-made in a store? Creating something entirely from the ground up with unlimited options is extremely enticing to today’s engagement ring customer.

In my store, I make sure I mention custom as an option very early on in my sales presentation, usually introducing it by saying “Something unique about our store is that we have many full time goldsmiths, which allows us to make any ring with a very fast turnaround. In fact, about half of the rings that leave our store are fully custom made rings.” And its true! Our store sells as much custom jewelry as we do inventory items. Further along the presentation, if the customer expresses further interest in custom or they like certain aspects of one ring and a few others on a different ring, I will continue to sell custom by saying “You know, it actually doesn’t cost any extra to do a custom ring. If you handed me a ring out of my showcase that was $3,000 and told me to custom make it, the custom ring would still be $3,000.” Which puts them at ease. When someone hears the word “custom made,” the word “expensive” usually comes to mind. If it appears budget is an issue, I will explain that we can actually take that same $3,000 ring and make modifications to fit their price range (10K gold, smaller diamonds, lighter gold weight, etc).

Another concern usually associated with custom is time. In today’s world, instant gratification is king. People want things, and they want them now. I usually overcome this concern by telling the customer something like “Of course, custom does take longer than buying something right out of the showcase. But, our turnaround is much faster than the 6-8 weeks it can take a box store to do a custom ring. Our turnaround is only about 3 weeks.” And if the client is leaning towards a custom piece, I will add “Isn’t it worth it though? I mean, you’re going to wear this the rest of your life!”

Finally, a concern that is sometimes a barrier is the possibility that the customer might not like the finished ring! At this point, I will always show them a CAD on a custom ring that I am currently working on, usually something in a second or third revision, and also a wax model from a previous ring (Which we keep handy at every single showcase) thus assuring them that they can make as many versions as they would like before casting, and that we will, if they so desire, print them a wax model to try on also.

In my store, custom doesn’t stop at engagement rings either. We regularly make custom pendants, earrings, men’s rings and the like. The custom capabilities of my store have greatly increased customer satisfaction, our customers regularly send us referrals (Who come in and the first thing they say is “I need to talk to someone about making a custom ring”). Our closing ratio is incredible. 60% for our store on average, and 70% for myself. How can you not sell to each serious customer when you have the ability to make anything, in any price range? We have less stagnant inventory because we no longer have to stock overly unique pieces that take forever to sell, we just custom make them. And finally, our overhead is much lower and our cash flow has increased tremendously, we don’t pay for anything custom until it is already sold.”

– Brandon, at a Utah based retail jeweler.

Offering custom jewelry options in your store is great way to round out your inventory. What you don’t have in a showcase is no longer a problem when you can say. “let’s make it for you.” Customers are less likely to shop a competitor when they start the custom process with your store, especially when you collect a down payment. In doing so, you have simplified their buying process and delivered the perfect product. Silk & Company provides these custom services to retail jewelers at a price point similar to mass-produced engagement lines. Because we offer free 24-48 hour CAD renderings and a delivery time of 2-3 weeks, starting the custom process is simple with no buy-in risk.