The Story of the Jewellers’ Sales Training Program

The objective of The Jewelers Sales Training Program is to develop outstanding retail jewelry sales personnel. The program was produced as the result of extensive research that involved some of the most outstanding retail jewelry store- owners, managers, executives and retail sales professionals in the country. The research that began in 1975 is still ongoing and the discoveries it produces are constantly used to update the program by its chief author Dr. William Colbert, a learning specialist and former jewelry store-owner for many years. Three-areas of emphasis are identified by Dr. Colbert and his associates. These include (1) Positive customer interaction, (2) Understanding the selling process, and (3) Using product knowledge in the sales transaction. The electronic coaching feature included with the program makes certain the manager or designated store trainer using the program has help using the program on a 24/7 basis via e-mail, telephone or many of the other technologies available today. The coaching feature keeps the program developers and the retailers in constant touch. This close association provides the basis for the constant improvement of the program—through the identification of new training needs and new exciting sales promotion ideas. The format of the program provides for the diagnosis of the needs of the sales group, active participation of the sales group, problem-solving opportunities based on their store, and many opportunities for turning training sessions into new sales promotions.”

About the Author
Dr. William P. Colbert
As the chief researcher and author of The Jewelers Sales Training Program, Dr. Colbert comes with a rich background that includes education and retail jewelry management experience that is told in detail in The Story of the Retail Jewelry Sales Training Program. He received his undergraduate teaching degree at Minnesota and Masters and Doctorate at Columbia University in the City of New York. He has taught at all level of the educational ladder. For many years he was a retail jeweler. Many of the training sessions and sales promotion ideas included in the program were originally tested in his jewelry store. Testing and improving are constant activities for the program creators. Dr. Colbert has also worked on a consultant with some of the leading jewelry buying groups in the U. S. He loves to hear from jewelry retailers. His e-mail address is [email protected].