No one has listened to more commentary about selling bridal jewelry than my dad and boss, Bill Albanese.  Face to face with bridal shop owners and buyers for nearly 40 years, he's heard (and seen) all kinds of success and failure when it comes to accessorizing the bride.

Retailers with good sales practices and replenished inventory will sell thousands of dollars more than their 10 closest competitors - and they aren't necessarily the biggest store in town.  Commit yourself and your staff to the following suggestions and you'll be selling more jewelry than you ever imagined!  

1.  The quicker an items sells, the quicker you need to reorder it.  Makes perfect sense yet the vast majority of retailers don't do it.  They sell it once and it's gone forever.  If you display this pair of earrings on Tuesday and sell them on Saturday, why not to do the same thing next week and the week after that?  Keep the best items in stock and you're likely to sell them over and over again.

2.  When you identify a winner, stock multiples.  Having backup inventory on hot items is better than waiting for them to arrive because you won't miss out on potential sales.  During prom season this becomes even more important as certain styles - like long CZ earrings may run out the door faster than you can reorder them.    

3.  Consider different colors for different customers.  Many of our best items do well in multiple colors because they're suitable for brides, moms and prom.  You can't order a wedding dress in navy and sell it to the mother of the bride but with jewelry, this happens all the time!  For example, these earrings have been excellent in iridescent/silver-tone for brides and champagne/gold-tone for moms.  This bracelet has been a top seller in white/silver-tone, light brown/silver-tone and chocolate/gold-tone.  If the color is doing well in eveningwear, odds are it will outperform in jewelry as well.

4.  Put it on the mannequin.   Something like this two-row crystal and pearl lariat simply demands a mannequin.  The two drops shown in the picture fall down the back - perfect for open back dresses.  Place it on a standard black neckform and it's not going to get nearly the attention.  Put your best necklaces on mannequins to get them noticed early in the buying process.

5.  Put it on the bride.  In most cases, there's only one place the bride can wear her dress before the wedding day.  If you're not showing her accessories when the dress is on, you are missing out - big time.  If she shops for jewelry online or at the mall, she's going to ask herself - what will it look like with the dress?  You have a huge advantage over everyone else trying to sell her jewelry - so take advantage of it!  One sales technique we hear again and again is bringing the jewelry and headpieces out to her on a velvet pad when she has the dress on.  In the bridal business, this might be the easiest money you'll ever make.

6.  Display them like the crown jewels.  If it looks like a million bucks, she'll gladly spend a hundred.  Take a couple of minutes a day and tweak your accessory displays.  Hint: If it looks like the jewelry was thrown into the case, you probably aren't going to sell very much.  Most jewelry displays are very affordable and last practically forever so there's no excuse for your necklace collection to look like a bowl of glittering spaghetti.  Open shelves with overhead lights are a trendy way to display accessories because the merchandise is more accessible, just make sure it's not vulnerable to shoplifting.  Regardless of how it's displayed, make sure it's well lit.  Jewelry in dark corners doesn't get anyone's attention.

7.  Educate your sales staff.  

Mother of the bride:  "I love this crystal necklace but it's a little short, does it come in 18 inches?"  

Sales girl:  "Sorry, this is the only one we have."

She just flushed your $200 sale down a Swarovski-encrusted toilet.  We customize the length of nearly every necklace  and it often ships within 2 business days.  So make sure your sales team knows that items with a Giavan tag can be modified.  And if they're not sure, we're only a phone call away.  The beaded jewelry we assemble in New Jersey is also available in hundreds of colors.  Crystal and pearl color samples are available upon request.

8.  Sell every piece like it's your favorite.  Faking it goes a long way in this business.  Just like dresses, the one you don't like could make you the most money.  So pretend you love them all.  Never assume that because your favorite crystal color is iridescent that your customers feel the same way.  Try different looks and try to sell every one of them, then expand on those your customers seem to be gravitating towards.

9.  Have fun!  Compared to selling dresses, accessories are easy .  Some brides will price shop everything they touch but if you have the right jewelry, you'll be amazed how many customers see it, love it and buy it right away.  The earlier you get them in accessories, the more they'll spend because compared to everything else in the wedding, this is pocket change.  It's a clean sale that can add significantly to your bottom line - so enjoy it!   

Like anything else, the more you put into it, the more you'll get out. By enabling your sales team and showing your customers fabulous jewelry at a fair price, you can add an amazing new source of revenue to your store.  This is far from an all-inclusive list so please use the comments to add your own strategies!