When customers know more about watches than the person selling to them, you know there’s trouble. Unfortunately, with websites, blogs, magazines and more, many customers come into the shop armed with information that might catch the salesperson unawares. It’s hard enough to stay on top of the watch lines you sell, it’s even harder to be aware of all the competition has to offer.
There is only so much time in a day and often salespeople don’t feel like seeing another watch after a long day, much less do research. So, when that ‘whale’ (industry parlance for big spender/collector) walks into the store, many salespeople will find themselves at a distinct disadvantage, as the customer might be more knowledgeable about the lines the store carries, the competition and even the industry itself. Add to this the fact that many customers are the victim of disinformation, and you have a recipe for disaster, from the store’s perspective.

Europa Star and Keith W. Strandberg, international editor, are out to remedy this situation by offering the first industry-wide training program for watches.
“We came up with the idea for the Knowledge because of what I was hearing from the retailers themselves, who were bemoaning the fact that their salespeople were behind the eight ball when it came to information on the brands,” says Strandberg. “I remember attending a training session by TAG Heuer and it was fantastic – an all day affair, but at the end of the eight hours, these salespeople were well trained on TAG, but they had 20 other brands they had to master.”
The Europa Star Knowledge, a four day watch training program to be held right before Basel in 2011, is designed to arm salespeople with the essential information they need to talk knowledgably with customers. “We will give these people a general understanding of watchmaking, as well as in depth knowledge of the brands they carry and sell against, from an objective point of view,” Strandberg explains. “Brand training is great, but it’s focused on one brand, while we are objective and can talk about any and every brand.”

In addition, Strandberg and his trainers will offer workshops on watchmaking, history, trends in the industry, complications and much more.
The goal of the Knowledge is to arm the retail salesperson with the latest and most complete knowledge on watches and the watch industry available. “We want our Knowledge Masters to be able to help every single customer that walks through the door, no matter what they are asking about and what they know (or don’t know) about watches,” says Strandberg.
The four day program will talk about trends in the industry, how watches are made, how watches work, analyze key companies and their competition, all tailored to the students’ needs. In addition, the class will visit a watch manufacture and the famous International Watch Museum in La Chaux-du-Fonds.

The nuts and bolts
The inaugural Europa Star Knowledge will be held in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, prior to the 2011 BaselWorld, so retail salespeople can attend the four day workshop, then go on to BaselWorld. The dates are March 20 – March 23, 2011 (with BaselWorld starting on March 24, 2011).
At the end of the workshop, there will be a test and all who pass will be officially certified as Level 1 Masters of Watchmaking Knowledge by Europa Star.
This first Europa Star Knowledge Retail Training is limited to just 20 participants from around the world. Sign up today, on-line, at www.europastar.com/the-knowledge.
For more information or any questions, please e-mail [email protected]