Countdown Calendars

Countdown Calendars are a simple tool. Most of the things I create are simple tools, for good reason: if it's simple, we'll put it to use. The more complex it is, the less likely we do it.

Countdown Calendars are meant to hang in your store, or be displayed on some kind of stand or holder. And each day, you tear off a page. You 'count down' to your departure date.

Each page has some kind of benefit or appeal, or provokes curiosity, or somehow draws people in. The thing is, there are all kinds of reasons why someone should consider having you buy a diamond for him or her in Antwerp. With a different poster each day, you present a different reason each day. And over the course of 30 days, you present 30 different reasons.

All you need to do is find a space for the calendar. A wall. A counter. And then, each day, pull another page off, to reveal yet another reason.

And these are talking points with customers who walk in your store. Point out the calendar. Talk to them about the page that's up. Get them to laugh, smile, relax. Get a simple conversation going. 'Hey, have you seen our calendar about our Antwerp trip?' Break the ice. And few things break the ice like humor. Few things make us let our guard down, like humor. It's why I use a lot of humor in the things I write.

Really, this countdown calendar is all about that conversation. The calendar doesn't sell them on Antwerp. A poster or a billboard doesn't. YOU sell them on Antwerp. And that sell begins with a few words. An opening. A smile. And then you take over.

We also have digital versions of the calendar available. You can post these on Facebook, or on your website.

The calendar is $150 for all 30 pages. Keep in mind that individual 11x17 posters sell for $30. So this calendar is the cost of 5 individual posters. Not that these are equivalent in every way to a poster. In fact, these are bigger than 11x17 posters. These are 13x19. And they 'expire' with each passing day. But be creative with it, too. If you have a wall somewhere that would allow for it, post the previous days on that wall. Make a collection of those 30 posters. Make it something customers wander over to. Point it out. Really, just have fun with all this stuff.

Now, I know I've talked about the Antwerp calendar here, pretty much. As I write this, Christmas is 10 months off, where Antwerp trips are less than two months off. But the same principle, the same opportunity, applies with Christmas. You draw customers' attention to these different reasons, benefits, appeals, for giving fine jewelry.

And, no small thing ... use these ideas in your own conversations with customers. If you like a few pages in particular, use whatever it is on those pages that you like, in conversations with customers.

In the end, and really, all along the way, it's about selling the benefits of what you offer. I hope these calendars help you to do that.

Questions? Give us a call. And thanks for being here.

Michael

View all countdown calendars.