Add-ons for Your Summer Services – Fuller

by Denise Fuller

Summertime can be a wonderful opportunity for spa therapists and technicians to become busy with summer-inspired upgrades to treatments. By combining your awareness of your client’s needs and preferences with knowledge of the products you offer, you can easily “up sell” a treatment. You help a client decide to purchase a little extra something or “upgrade” a level before starting the treatment. It does not have to be a major change, just an adjustment to the plan.
In some areas, summers tend to be a slower season, mostly due to the migration north of those spa clients who are snowbirds. These clients come south for the winter and go back up north for the summer. They get the best of both seasons in two different locations. However, this is an ideal time to give special attention and personal care to your permanent clients. It is on them that you should focus your attention, with special programs, summer specials, discounts, and upgrades (free or otherwise); let them know that the specials are “just for them.”

When up-selling, keep in mind the three biggest mistakes:
1. No attempt is made to up-sell, so you lose the opportunity.
2. The therapist or employee comes across as being pushy, thereby diminishing the “especially for you” effect.
3. The up-selling is made in a clumsy, unconvincing manner, so the customer is turned off by the offer and refuses it.

Add-on services or treatments can be tricky. The therapist may not understand the value of the extra add-on and decides to not sell at all. The clients may misunderstand the value of the up-sell and feel like they are being taken advantage of financially. No one likes to be nickel and dimed. It is up to the spa to:
4. Have a diversified and flexible product line.
5. Be sure the therapists know the product line well.
6. Teach and train them in the approaches and the language to be used when offering an up-sell.
7. Develop clear and concise verbiage conducive to the introduction of an additional value to the guest.

There are many companies that consistently do a fabulous job with up-selling. Have you ever stopped at a fast food place? When ordering, have you noticed the predictable questions you are asked? Do you remember being asked “would you like fries with that? Or an apple pie? Or do you want to super size it?” How many times have you found yourself saying “yes” and later enjoying the fruits of your impulsiveness?
Do not assume that all your clients know exactly what your spa has to offer and what they specifically want or need. It is part of your responsibility to make them aware of what is available and appropriate for them. If the client has never enjoyed the particular treatment or modification you are offering, that is the perfect time to offer a discount “so that you can try it and see if you like it.” It is of the utmost importance for therapists to ask and be able to really fine tune what the client needs and is looking for. If the particular treatment they booked is not for them or does not match their expectation of results, recommending changes is part of your job and a good moment to up-sell them a more beneficial service, while explaining the difference. If the clients feel that your true interest is for their welfare, not just hitting them for a more expensive treatment, they will likely purchase the added benefits willingly. But, you must be honest in the process.