The Importance of Retailing, Upselling and the Elephant in the Room

Almost every Spa or Salon I have worked with, I have found that the teams struggle with retailing and upselling. Having been a very strong retailer when I was a therapist, I have tried to educate teams in the simple steps to retail that I found to be the most effective.

There are only three ways to grow any business as outlined by Peter Thompson. 

1. Increase your number of clients. There is no getting away from it, all businesses are marketing led. Whether it is by referrals, client reviews, filling last-minute gaps or advertising in its many forms, increasing your profile and driving call to actions with your database is foundational to developing your business. Being consistent with your marketing will underpin your entire operation. 

2. Increase your frequency of purchase. If there is one thing spas and salon do not do consistently is rebook!! You have the client in front of you, you’ve just performed a great treatment and you let them walk out the door without even asking for the next booking? You will always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take – ask for the next booking, it will drive your diary. 

3.  Increase your average transactional spend. Upselling is one of the key aspects to growing your business. Turning a facial into a premium facial, adding a mini treatment onto a booking when you have a gap afterwards, even if it is a half price offer on the day is all extra spend that could make a big difference to your end of month performance.

In simple terms; more clients, more often, spending more.

Getting the Therapists Head in the Game

Retailing is nothing more than an extension of the treatment and experience there’s no point in the client having a beautiful facial every 4/6 weeks and going home and using soap. They are not going to see the results they came to you for in the first place. And your client will probably blame the facial and not rebook.

Find out what makes your therapists tick in terms of retail, it’s not always money, but if they do want a nicer car, then selling £2k of retail each money (we pay 10% of retail from zero), will go a long way towards that.

If your therapist is a strong retailer, they can earn twice the commission without doing any more work  - why wouldn’t you even try?

Give them all the tools to retail and keep those shelves stocked. Then there are no excuses.

Retailing from the Start of the Treatment

Every client who comes in for a treatment starts their retail journey from the minute they walk into your salon or spa – not simply asking them at the end. If you do, it will sound too clunky and you will more often than not get a no.

Never judge a client's appearance as a measure of whether they can afford, or want to invest in their skin. I have been surprised so many times that I don’t even think about prejudging clients. In my mind, they all need to continue their treatment and value their skin enough to invest in it.

Greeting a Client

It’s a bugbear of mine, but I cringe at a lettuce leaf handshake, followed by a “would you like to come with me”. Greeting your client professionally and with confidence relaxes them and sets the tone for the treatment. 

A neutral (straight) handshake always work for me. Match their pressure and intensity to start the rapport building process. 

Consultation

The first rule of consultations – is to always complete one. Even when you have previously treated the client, things change and you are derelict as a professional if you do not complete this process.  

Staying vocal in consultations

The most important questions to ask are: 

1. Why have you come in today? Or If I could wave a magic wand today what is the one thing you would like to improve? It could be an event, holiday, skin concerns (you need to know where to start).

2. Do you have/what is your main concern? (remember you can’t treat everything in one go). This allows you to set-up the concept of multiple treatments and is a precursor to the rebook question at the end.

3. Tell me about your skincare routine at home, ‘You wake up in the morning and? You get home from work and? Listen to what the don't say. What are they missing, where can you retail at the end?

4. Explain the treatment from start to finish, including retailing, tell them you recommend products to help them continue their treatment at home. By doing this, when you do retail it won’t be a shock and will feel part of the process.

5. Don't be afraid to change the treatment. Tailoring the treatment to the client and explaining why you are doing this is an integral part of you being a skin care professional. 

Product Knowledge Breeds Confidence - Be confident in what you say (practice). 

Know your products and prices 

Name, price, what it does Don’t say the price last as that is what the client will remember, not the benefit. There is nothing worse than the client asking how much something is and you having to check. Know your bestsellers inside and out.

Get ready to retail

•    Know what they use

•    Know what they don’t use

•    Know what they need

Fire the Senses

Fire their senses when demonstrating the product you intend to retail; sight, smell, touch are all part of the process of getting to know the product and understanding how it can help them.
Use the Tester Stand – It’s not just a dust collector! 

Do Not Sample – it’s the death of a sale! 

Demonstrate 3-4 products minimum to give the client a choice and a price range. They will feel they are more in control. In actual fact, you have assumed they are buying, the choice of what they want is theirs.

Gift Wrap their purchase and so they get that buzz at home when they unwrap their present for themselves.. 

Notes, Notes, Notes,

Make quality notes on what you have retailed and why and what you have recommended for future treatments and products.

The Elephant in the Room “You know they sell cheaper online”

It is assumed that clients will only buy retail from internet sites because they are cheaper – but that is not always the case. On the positive side, it’s great that they are making our jobs easier. They develop strong brand awareness which is a platform to initiate conversation. If no one knows about a product they won’t be coming in to have a treatment or buy the product.

There’s no point having a beautiful brand in your salon or spa if the world has never heard of it. 

Is buying online just an excuse not to try and retail? 

Yes

How to compete with the online deals

Most product houses offer exclusive deals online that salons can’t provide due to different product sizing or packaging.

Offering a loyalty scheme allows you to reward repeat clients and compete with online offerings, also see if you can offer a gift with the purchase, work with your product house.

Remember, Clients buying online don’t always buy what they need, so they don’t get the results. The more knowledge you have on skin and your products the more your client will trust and invest in you.   

Think positively not negatively.