What People Are Saying: ODI Testimonial

We are proud to work with family-owned jewelry vendor ODI as they bring their sales meetings online with BOSS Logics Live. In nearly 60 years of business, ODI offers retailers an innovative and extensive fine jewelry line with superior manufacturing and quality control. We sat down with Jeff Weinman, Executive Vice President of Sales to discuss how his team adapted to a new sales approach amidst the pandemic using BOSS Logics Live. 

BOSS Logics: What were some of the challenges that led you to BOSS Logics Live?

Jeff Weinman: The jewelry industry is a relationship-based industry. Physical interactions and relationships are paramount and generally, physical is better than virtual. With that in mind, before COVID, there was a challenge or opportunity in primarily dealing with independent retailers. For example, if one of our independents lives in North Dakota, there was a cost-benefit analysis of physically traveling to see them (other than when we would see them at trade shows) versus the benefit we would derive from that visit, which can get costly. This presented an opportunity for an alternative way to transact business with them throughout the year. When all travel was shut down during the height of COVID, there was a new challenge presented to us in transacting our business and we needed to find alternative ways to conduct meetings.

BL: What were the options presented to this challenge? 

JW: Starting in the spring, we tried to be creative in how we conducted meetings. We used some video chat mechanisms out there like FaceTime and Zoom. I would schedule a meeting and Zoom with customers and we were able to see each other but problems would arise when I wanted to start showing them jewelry. I would either share my screen to show pictures of jewelry or I would go to my office  where I had jewelry trays that I would normally bring to in-person meetings. I would lay out the trays on a table in my conference room, taking my phone and showing individual pieces via video. It was challenging for the customer to see what I was trying to show them.

BL: How did you evaluate your options before deciding to use BOSS Logics Live?

JW: When we started to explore and evaluate other options, we tried to find a platform that took the best pieces of Zoom video chat capabilities coupled with the best features of a sophisticated website and blend those two together to create a robust platform that was interactive on both sides, allowing us to meet with customers and sell to them. BOSS Logics Live met all of those requirements and criteria. Having BOSS Logics Live salvaged what was otherwise a disastrous year. What makes the platform so great are all of the awesome features and benefits that the system offers compared to other platforms out there. When I think of  BOSS Logics Live, I think of video chat on steroids.

BL: What did it take to implement BOSS Logics Live into your business strategy? 

JW: While working through the platform with the BOSS Logics team, we saw how easy it is to set up appointments and upload contacts, high-resolution images, and videos into the system to create our inventory library. It’s great that there are also places for us to put content like proposals, catalogue pages, and design presentations. When it was time for a meeting with a customer, BOSS Logics Live proved to be the most seamless platform to video chat while simultaneously interacting with products, which was so important to us.  

BL: Was BOSS Logics Live well received by your sales team? 

JW: Whenever new technology is introduced, there’s always some skepticism, but BOSS Logics Live is so intuitive and user friendly, making it so easy to prepare for a meeting that the platform was very well received. It exceeded the expectations of the sales people who might’ve been skeptical at first. It’s really the next best thing to actually being together. 

BL: Did the new strategy with BOSS Logics Live increase your sales performance?

JW: It was a down year due to the pandemic, but our sales would’ve been disastrous without  BOSS Logics Live. We are primed for post-COVID for success and increases in sales because of  BOSS Logics Live.

BL: Did BOSS Logics Live make the sales team more efficient? 

JW: Our sales team is exponentially more efficient. There is no travel time, less prep time before meetings (since all inventory is uploaded into the platform), no inventory suitcase to build, and no product limitations. We can do so much more with less effort. 

BL: Did BOSS Logics Live help you save money in travel this year?

JW: In general, BOSS Logics Live can help reduce travel budgets. Due to the pandemic, our travel budget was virtually zero this year, but I think in the future the platform will help us reduce  travel expenses because there will be opportunities to have meetings virtually rather than in person. 

BL: Were retailers accepting of this new sales method? 

JW: Retailers had similar reactions to our sales people – they were a little skeptical at first but once they saw the ease of use and howBOSS Logics Live offers such an interactive way of doing business while still seeing each other face-to-face, they loved it. The overall feedback we received was very positive once retailers got over their initial skepticism. 

BL: Any final thoughts?

JW: I just want to reinforce a few things I’ve said. BOSS Logics Live is the next best thing to physically being together. The foundation of the jewelry industry is based on personal interaction but BOSS Logics Live offers a very viable opportunity even in a post-COVID world to either replace travel or augment travel. Instead of seeing a retailer physically four times a year, you can see each other twice in person and three times via BOSS Logics Live Meetings, increasing exposure and reducing the travel budget.