July 2008:
Press Releases for June 2008
July 2, 2008 - Custom Sales Training Program Hits the Ground Running
June 15, 2008 - American Gem Society™ Names 2008 Liddicoat Award Winners
July 2, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CUSTOM SALES TRAINING PROGRAM HITS THE GROUND RUNNING
Inaugural classes earn enthusiastic reviews
LAS VEGAS – What if there was a tool that could serve as a motivating “shot in the arm” for sales associates – and a long-term boost to the bottom line of retail jewelry businesses?
That’s what the American Gem Society began offering its members this summer, when it held the first Custom Sales Training: Measured Results classes at its Las Vegas headquarters on June 4 and 5, and in Asheville, N.C. June 15-19.
Feedback was positive, and the sold-out classes were, as one Las Vegas attendee put it, a “shot in the arm” to help refresh and refine his skills. Participants engaged in real jewelry sales scenarios, including customer objections, and learned how to identify and respond to their customers’ needs.
“Our instructor’s enthusiasm reminded me of why I love this business,” said Linda Mantalas, a store manager for Minnesota’s R.F. Moeller Jeweler. Agreed another attendee, “The course content was easy to apply. It was very specific to our industry, and the instructor provided concise, positive criticism and reinforcement.”
Some participants, like Yosef Poplack of N.E.I. Group, said the interactive learning helped them fine-tune their own sales style. “I think I’ve seen some of my weaknesses,” he said, “and now have the tools to correct them.”
The Custom Sales Training: Measured Results program, which launched officially at the American Gem Society 2008 Conclave in April, was developed exclusively for Society members.
The program includes options for both classroom and online learning. Instructor-led training classes include a two-day course for sales associates and a one-day coaching class for managers and trainers. The Web-based course, which focuses on critical skills training for sales associates, can stand alone or serve as an introduction to or ongoing support for the instructor-led courses.
“Everyone in the fine gem and jewelry industry knows competition is fierce,” said Ruth Batson, executive director and CEO of the Society. “And as the challenges to growing a business increase, I can’t think of a time when it’s been more important to have a trained and focused sales team.
“Imagine the impact of sales associates who arrive at work each day armed with the passion, knowledge, and motivation to turn today’s ‘just looking’ browser into tomorrow’s lifelong customer.”
The online, critical skills training course is always available and open for enrollments. The next instructor-led courses will be held at the Society’s Las Vegas headquarters during August and October. Custom Sales Training will take place on Aug. 18-19 and Oct. 6-7; Custom Sales Coaching will be on Aug. 20 and Oct. 8. Class size is limited to 20 students and seats are filling quickly.
For more information about Custom Sales Training: Measured Results classes, contact Melissa Spence at mspence@ags.org.
The American Gem Society, founded in 1934 by Robert M. Shipley, is a not-for-profit trade association dedicated to proven ethics, knowledge, and consumer protection within the jewelry industry. The American Gem Society is the international professional organization awarding credentials of Registered Jeweler (RJ), Certified Gemologist (CG), Certified Gemologist Appraiser (CGA), and Independent Certified Gemologist Appraiser (ICGA). Members are held to the highest ethical and professional standards in the industry and must pass annual recertification examinations to maintain their American Gem Society titles. Less than five percent of jewelers in the country have met the exacting requirements necessary for membership.
For more information regarding the American Gem Society, please call 866.805.6500, or visit their Web site at www.americangemsociety.org.
July 15, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AMERICAN GEM SOCIETY NAMES 2008 LIDDICOAT AWARD WINNERS
Journalists to be honored at Ninth Annual Circle of Distinction Dinner
LAS VEGAS – The American Gem Society announced today the winners of the 2008 Richard T. Liddicoat™ Journalism Awards, to be presented at the Society’s Ninth Annual Circle of Distinction dinner July 29 in New York City.
Jennifer Heebner and Carrie Soucy will be acknowledged in the Industry/Trade Reporting category for “Seal of Disapproval,” from JCK Luxury Magazine. Russell Shor will receive the award in the Trade Journal category, for the Gems & Gemology feature “From Single Source to Global Free Market: the Transformation of the Cultured Pearl Industry.”
“As we celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Richard T. Liddicoat Journalism Awards, the American Gem Society is proud to honor these outstanding trade journalists,” said Ruth Batson, executive director and CEO of the Society. “Jennifer, Carrie, and Russell have each made exceptional contributions to the gem and jewelry industry this year.”
The Richard T. Liddicoat Journalism Awards were founded in 2003 in remembrance of “The Father of Modern Gemology.” Liddicoat was the longtime president of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and editor-in-chief of Gems & Gemology, which was first published by GIA under his leadership. He was a prolific author, and his Handbook of Gem Identification is a standard for gemological research.
The awards are given to those journalists who make an exceptional contribution to the understanding of gemology and the jewelry industry, and who uphold the Society’s ideals of ethics, education, and consumer protection. Each article is acknowledged with a $1,500 cash prize and an etched crystal award inscribed with the author’s name. The American Gem Society also makes a $1,000 contribution to the Richard T. Liddicoat Scholarship Fund at GIA in the name of each winning article.
Heebner and Soucy’s “Seal of Disapproval,” from the Winter 2008 issue of JCK Luxury Magazine, investigates heightened consumer interest in product origins due to recent issues on imports – like high lead counts in jewelry – and a federal law mandating disclosure of origins. The article claims the industry has largely ignored the law, poising it for legal and retail woes and consumer distrust.
Shor’s article, “From Single Source to Global Free Market: The Transformation of the Cultured Pearl Industry,” appeared in the Fall 2007 issue of Gems & Gemology. The piece documents the cultured pearl industry’s
dramatic transformation in the past 15 years from Japan being the lone producer – offering only white and round cultured pearls – to a truly international business creating an ever-growing variety of products. Shor, a two-time Liddicoat Award winner who was acknowledged in the Industry/Trade Reporting category in 2006, is the only author to have fully documented these changes in print.
The American Gem Society will honor Heebner, Soucy, and Shor at the Ninth Annual Circle of Distinction Dinner, held July 29 at the Rainbow Room in New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza. The Society will also induct industry leaders John J. Kennedy, Hugh Glenn, and Anna Martin into its Circle of Distinction that evening. Tickets are still available; contact Peggy Campbell at 866.805.6500 x1005 or pcampbell@ags.org for further information.
The American Gem Society, founded in 1934 by Robert M. Shipley, is a not-for-profit trade association dedicated to proven ethics, knowledge, and consumer protection within the jewelry industry. The American Gem Society is the international professional organization awarding credentials of Registered Jeweler (RJ), Certified Gemologist (CG), Certified Gemologist Appraiser (CGA), and Independent Certified Gemologist Appraiser (ICGA). Members are held to the highest ethical and professional standards in the industry and must pass annual recertification examinations to maintain their American Gem Society titles. Less than five percent of jewelers in the country have met the exacting requirements necessary for membership.
For more information regarding the American Gem Society, please call 866.805.6500, or visit their Web site at http://www.americangemsociety.org/.
