How To Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy

1. Selling The Invisible

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: When selling luxury products in a sluggish economy the best thing you can do is find people who are least affect by the economy; namely the affluent. They buy no matter the economy.

2nd when you find these people you do not sell them the products per-se you sell them what your product represents.

You sell them confidence, courage, certainty and status. This is what affluent buyers want from their high-end purchases. Present your product in this manner and you will sell a lot of luxury

Thanks To: Johnny Campbell - The Transition Man of The Transition Man

2. Follow Monopoly.

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: In this economy a $32 organic t-shirt can seem like a luxury. But if a board game sells like hotcakes during the great depression (Monopoly), then it's all about value added.

Here's the trick: don't expose yourself to too much negativity about the economy, even if it's a trusted source. A positive mental disposition is still the key to success. It's all about what you can offer, the only difference in a "less bullish" environment is how diligent one has to be in communicating.

Thanks To: Adrien Edwards of TheNakedHippie Eco-Tees

3. Stories Sell

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: The best tip is to use STORIES to sell. It's not enough anymore to simply sell the feature/benefit bullet points of a product, especially when it comes to luxury items. Potential buyers need to hear emotionally-charged stories that connect them to the product. These can be stories of previous buyers and what the product has meant for them, meant for their lives. Stories that make them FEEL something - FEEL like "I need that." In tough times, emotional appeals are king.

Thanks To: Kindra Hall of Kindra Hall Tells All

4. Old News New Results

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: Since the days of phone books, I have taken the old school and made it work for me. I looked through the yellow pages (100 mile radius) and called all wineries and/or wine merchants. Upon the phone call I would quickly notice if the current company was still in business. My entire focus was to locate the wineries that have gone out of business. I would purchase the phone number in the phone book that was related to that specific winery. People didn't care who it was as long as we had product.

Thanks To: Anthony Hicks of Classic Winemakers of Lacey, Wa

5. Quality Is Never Out Of Style

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: So many of the fashion items available today are disposable and not made to last. I've found that people are willing to pay for excellent quality - it never goes out of style.

Thanks To: Chief Princess of A Little Indulgence

6. You Can Afford It!

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: Wear your luxury items and drive your luxury car. If you own luxury items is much easier to sell luxury items.

For example, I was wearing a pair of shoes that looked expensive and looked like a luxury item. A lady in line in front of me commented on my purple shoes, and I told her they were from the company that I was self employed with, she wanted my business card.

Thanks To: Sheila A Caruso of AVON

7. Exclusive Deals

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: Don't be afraid to offer customers huge, exclusive deals. In return customers are fiercely loyal and aren't afraid to buy - a lot.

Thanks To: Eva and Scott Kerschbaumer of ESSpa Kozmetika Organic SkincareSpa

8. Honor Your Customers

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: The luxury customer is more careful about what she buys, looking for high quality products with very personal value; she's more selective, less impulsive. Make sure you understand & speak to that quality & value.

Thanks To: Ann Skidmore of Arte Italica

9. It's Never Been Easier

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: Sales are up and still growing. Selling luxury products in today’s market has never been easier. My competitors are so busy buying in to the fact that it could be ‘particularly difficult in this climate’ , they portray this fear to clients, end up overselling, apologizing for the high price or discounting like a street market vendor. They THEMSELVES kill the sale to luxury seeking clients. Before seeing every client, ensure your headspace is clear of negative market news.

Thanks To: Sally Keasler of Premier Window Coverings

10. Surprise & Delight Your Client

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: What will help you survive this economic down turn is to understand that to simply provide a high level of service or product to your luxury clients is no longer enough. That is expected. What you must do is surprise and delight them. The client experience must be both positive and memorable.

Thanks To: John Kelsey of Wilson Kelsey Design

11. Sell To The Affluent Obviously

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: I think it is important to spend marketing dollars on the affluent customer. This takes a lot of targeted marketing. Many people feeling this recession are truly broke and are not buying too many luxury goods (for the exception of clothes, shoes etc.)

Thanks To: Zanade Mann of Online & Off Marketing and PR

12. Try Patriotism!

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: Emotion makes us act and right now many people with plenty of money feel it is unseemly and insensitive to spend. Combat that reluctance by appealing to a different emotion. Try patriotism! Prosperity is money in motion! Buy the luxury goods you desire and put your money in motion. Save jobs, stimulate the economy, and enjoy your purchases - all at the same time!

Thanks To: Ann Latham of Uncommon Clarity, Inc.

13. Make Them Love You

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: In this economy it is more about customer service than it is about the product(s). Focus on creating an "experience" for your clients not just "selling" them products.

Thanks To: PETRA CLEARY of ARBONNE International

14. Tell Me A Story

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: Know how to tell your story. Even if your product
looks, feels, or tastes exactly like your competitors, the narrative behind the product can help differentiate it.

Thanks To: Brent Ridge of Beekman 1802

15. Appraised At More Than It Costs

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: Send a free appraisal with every luxury item you sell (works particularly well for collectibles and jewelry). It gives customers an added level of satisfaction to know the luxury item they are buying is high-quality and valued at a price that is greater than what they paid for it.

Thanks To: Jacqui Pini of Museum Way Pearls

16. Brands Being Loyal

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: Remain loyal to your customer base. If you maintain that loyalty by continuing to provide quality product
with innovation, at the level that is expected, your consumers will also remain loyal. With luxury brands it's all about this promise of quality and the brand promise is what keeps consumers loyal to specific luxury brands. If these brands can continue to earn trust, they will be successful... long term.

Thanks To: Stephanie Somogyi MIller of Spread PR a miller/hamiton company

17. Relive The Last Good Experience

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: The key to selling luxury items, or any item for that matter, is tapping the emotions. In this economy luxury buyers are becoming more logical, doing more cost/benefit analysis. The key to successful selling is to find out why they made their earlier luxury purchases. In the process they'll relive the excitement, joy, pride or whatever emotion that drove those prior purchases. That's how you remind them of what they're really buying.

Thanks To: Dale Furtwengler of Furtwengler & Associates, P.C.

18. 5-1-1 Is The Magic Formula!

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: The best strategy for selling luxury products, in this current economy is to follow Votre Vu's 5-1-1 plan, which is to touch 5 people each week with product or samples, have a team meeting weekly, and have an event or party to attract the masses and sign up a new consultant. When I stick to that formula and follow through, magic happens because people would much rather pay more for high end products and be happy than be dissatisfied with poor quality products.

Thanks To: Arlene Lizarraga of Votre Vu

19. Stop Selling, Start Renting

Sell A Luxury Product In This Economy: Look beyond your traditional target market to expand your reach. If clients can no longer afford to buy your expensive product, they may want to start renting it. You can do this with the obvious luxury products like cars and vacation homes. But you can also do it with the less obvious things, like jewelry.

Thanks To: Laura Carrington of Adorn