Watch Training for Pawnbrokers Course
Combining Customer Service, Valuation & Authentication

NEW - Watch Training for Pawnbrokers
Combining Customer Service, Valuation & Authentication
A Two Day Course

Watches within the Pawnbroking industry is a complex and multifaceted business, with the need to combine authentication and valuation, with retail and customer service skills. This new course brings together those three elements, teaching the skills Adrian Hailwood and The Watch Scholar have provided to Pawnbrokers for more than fourteen years.

The three aspects of the course naturally interlink. You cannot place a value of a watch until you know that it is genuine, but the client may not agree to a detailed inspection until they have agreed a value in principle. A meaningful interaction with the client may result in a completed loan, a purchase or a sale, but at the same time it may provide the clues to identify a potential fraudster.

Benefits to you?

By the end of the course, you will understand how to engage positively with clients to create a strong rapport and increase the opportunities to complete a purchase, sale or loan. You will be able to use these skills to identify and avoid high-risk transactions. You will be able to recognise and screen out obvious counterfeit watches while noting those requiring further investigation. You will understand the different routes for watch disposal; the valuation processes associated with them and the data sources available to you to make these decisions.

Benefits to your organisation?

This training will allow your team to gain the maximum value from client transactions whilst protecting your bottom line. Upskilling your store teams builds engagement and reduces staff turnover, while decentralising authentication and valuation reduces the pressure on head office staff.

Who is this course for?
This course is suitable for anyone who handles watches within a Pawnbroking and/or Asset Lending environment.

Location

Courses are held in London, Birmingham, and Manchester. If you require the content of any of these courses tailored to your organisation or have more than eight people to train, it may be better for you to host a private event. Please do not hesitate to get in touch to discuss this.

What will the course cover?

The course opens with a focus on Customer Service, as it is the foundation of any successful business, but also a crucial filter as to whether a transaction is safe to proceed with. We look at information gathering and red flags, as well as more conventional selling skills, updated with the latest thinking in sales negotiations.

This 'hands-on' authentication section covers the essential first checks. This methodology will screen out the majority of counterfeits and even clone watches, although the full two-day course on authentication is more suited to team members wanting to specialise in watches.

Once you are satisfied the watch is authentic, you will need to arrive at a price and the following section of the course looks at the current state of the watch market.

We consider the various options for disposal and how values vary depending on the expected disposal route. The difference between RRP and secondary market prices are explored as well as when watches are worth no more than their bullion weight.

Day One - Customer Service

Good customer service = good security

The information you gain from a successful client interaction will help you agree a loan, close a sale or purchase, or avoid a fraud.

• The meta signals – time of day, need for speed, distracted or distracting
• Rapport – mirror and match, showing interest, finding connections
• The conversation – analysing what they say, how they say it, and what they don’t
• The power of ‘no’, the power of ‘we’

Authentication

Confirmation that a watch is correct is essential to support the value of a loan or purchase. While the full ‘Authenticating Watches’ course goes into tremendous detail, there are some key checks you can do to screen out the blatant counterfeits and assist your colleagues without opening the watch.

• Cues from the client, the box, and accessories.
• Identification before authentication

Day Two - Authentication & Valuation

Authentication continued

• What is ‘quality’ and does your watch have it?
• What you can learn from the dial and case back.
  
  

Valuation

The watch market can be confusing. Some brands and models fluctuate wildly, some stay stable, others depreciate heavily. This section will guide you through the changing landscape.

• Loan or purchase, for retail or auction. While your company will decide the level of loan, you need to supply the raw data
• Where are your comparisons coming from? How to ensure they are like for like
• Box, papers, age, condition and rarity – all the factors that can influence value
• Dealing with depreciation and valuing for 6 months’ time