Commit to Your Goal

Selling spa products is like exercise: you know it’s good for you and you feel better when you’ve really got it going. Ah, but when you fall off of the routine it can be hard to get back in the selling groove. Sometimes, it simply takes a short-term challenge that is fun and achievable to get back on track. Committing to do local 5K walk or run can magically provide the push you need to get you to the gym. Likewise, committing to an achievable goal can get you out of your retail rut and on to improving the health of your business.

And no, you don’t need a drill sergeant telling you to drop and give them 10; you are your best source of motivation.

You know you can do it. As a savvy spa manager, you know how to sell those products. It certainly isn’t a matter of not having the skills. Imagine back to when you got your first shipment of a product you were waiting on tenterhooks to arrive. How many people did you tell about this product BEFORE you even received it? And how quickly did you move it once you had it? I’ll bet you were excited for weeks and that product just flew of the shelf. This is the beauty of enthusiasm and the human psyche. Being excited about something is contagious and your clients are just like that lady next to Meg Ryan in the diner from the movie “When Harry Met Sally.” Your clients want whatever you are having so that they can feel the same way.

Your clients still like to buy. They haven’t changed their taste for the latest cutting edge product that can solve their problems. It may be cliché, but it is true: people don’t like to be sold to, but they love to buy! And by putting a little spring in your step when recommending a product to your clients, you can create the emotion of desire in your clients for that product. When a product creates an emotional feeling of happiness, success, or beauty, your clients will seek the product without a lot of encouragement from you.

You just need a game plan. Excite yourself and get yourself back into the game of retail! So, at the risk of sounding like a drill sergeant, let’s get going! Here are some steps that will pick up your (and your staff) enthusiasm for retail and make it fun again!

Step 1: Pick two products. Choose a product that you really like, and perhaps use in your own personal regimen. The other should be one you don’t sell very often, but would like to move off your shelves.

Step 2: Get excited about them! Looking at the first product, the one you gush about to your mother, and ask yourself some questions.
What’s really great about this product?
Why do you like it?
How do you feel when you use it?
What makes you feel enthusiastic about it?
What would you tell someone else about it that would excite him or her?

Now, for the product you are longing to move off your shelves. Is it slow moving because it is stuck on the bottom shelf? Is it a great product, but lost its “wow” factor now that it is a trusted old friend? Ask yourself the same questions above for this product as you did for the first product and remember the spark you had when your first ordered it. Re-ignite that passion for this product and get those juices going when you think about recommending it to a client.

Step 3: Find your best client for these products. Who among your clients want this item already? All of them? Any special types? If it’s a vitamin C serum then perhaps the buyers have sun-damaged skin or are concerned about aging. Now you, like your clients, are more inclined to buy something fun than something that is just a good value. If you are having fun, it is easier to buy something. So, make it fun! “Not only does this vitamin C serum work to tighten and reduce wrinkles, but your skin will just drink it in like your glass of orange juice in the morning. I know I can’t wake up without having my OJ.”

Step 4: Practice your routine. You know, practice makes perfect! How would you describe this product to a client in a short, fun, and “gotta have it” way?

The face gets pretty dry in the winter because of the cold air outside and the furnace on inside. Let’s not let that happen! This amazing collagen mask will really make your skin feel soft and hydrated. How about adding it to your routine twice a week for the next couple of months?
My clients are just crazy for this alpha lipoic eye crème since we got it in! Can’t keep it in stock! It has this great tightening effect, especially on the under eyes and really makes a big visual difference. What do you think, want to try one?

Step 5: Set a sales goal. You don’t know if you will get there if you don’t know where you are going…so you need a goal. Something easy to start like “within the next two weeks I am going to sell the entire stock (perhaps you have eight) on the shelf of both of these products.” And set your sights on doing it! Visualize yourself recommending it to every client that you know will like it, and feeling GOOD doing it! What you focus on is what you do. Selling is nothing more than speaking enthusiastically about something you like. Perhaps write down your clever descriptions and read it every morning to remind yourself to do this for each and every client. No need to vary what you say…they haven’t heard it before. If you follow through on this for just a couple days, you WILL see results. In fact you may even reach your goal sooner than you think! What a dilemma that would be!

As you find yourself succeeding, check in with yourself. How do you feel? How have you grown? What fears have your conquered? Now that you have accomplished this, what else can you do? You might find that by achieving smaller goals and keep setting new ones that you can accomplish what might have seemed impossible when you started. What if you could clear out the old inventory that would allow you to order some new products that you know will sell themselves?

Step 6: Reward yourself! Now that you have successfully reached both your sales goals and gotten your game back, don’t forget to reward yourself! Go on and get those cute wedge shoes you’ve had your eye on! Or those sexy sunglasses you saw at the mall. It isn’t easy getting back into healthy retail habits, and you deserve some self-appreciation.

Step 7: Find your inner drill sergeant. You are your own best coach! Your mental dialogue should be positive and encouraging because your success is entirely up to you. Every month, find two new products to take under your wing and move off the shelf. If you are a spa manager, create some fun contests with your staff. If you are an aesthetician or body therapist, share your retail success secrets with a friend so they can get their retail game on too!

I know it is hard to push yourself out of old habits. But challenging yourself is the path to growth and personal fulfillment. His Holiness the Dalai Lama said it well:

Challenge can stimulate or promote development and creativity. In challenging circumstances, your creative nature is full engaged, fully realized, whereas if you are in a situation where things are just a routine, where there is no challenge, there is a danger of stagnation, and there is no further development.

Now that you have learned the strategy behind the game of product retailing, go out there and put your game face on and win!

Co-Author: Spa Clientele Solutions founder, Heather Gallegos, spent 12 years in hi-tech marketing, communications and operation roles in the Silicon Valley before becoming a business and marketing consultant to the wellness industry. Her unique perspective as a salon and day spa client, strong marketing and business background, and affiliation with Preston Businesses Solutions complement one another to provide a powerhouse of practical and straightforward solutions. Heather holds an undergraduate degree in business from California State University and an MBA from Santa Clara University.

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