Do you want to increase your income this year by 30% or more? You can, by focusing on delivering a complete client experience in the spa and at home. The spa industry does a great job with performing treatments in the spa, but in most cases, misses the boat with retail opportunities and educating clients about how to take care of themselves at home between services. It is unfortunate, but many spa teams don’t recognize the importance of home care products in the wellness of their clients. You mention the words “products” or “retail,” and everyone panics. The truth of the matter is that you don’t need to sell; you need to recommend.
Why is retail such a sore subject in the spa industry? Some team members don’t give a hoot about making home-care recommendations. It seems many spa teams only care about service income and don’t understand how much money they are losing by not making home-care suggestions. These teams are missing out on significant revenue that can be generated through retail. It’s a fact: Billions of dollars are spent on beauty and self-care products per year. Unfortunately, most spas hardly tap into it.
As a spa professional, you can tap into several revenue streams. In most cases, there are four potential revenue streams: service, retail, gratuity and benefits. Currently, you might be tapping into three of the four revenue streams while completely missing most retail revenue opportunities. How much income are you missing out from home-care retail?
Let’s take a look at typical compensation by revenue stream. Do you know how much revenue was generated by your compensation mix last year or last month? Do the following exercise and explore your opportunities. Let’s assume you made $40,000 last year. Break down your income and see what percentage of it came from services, retail, gratuity, and benefits. This exercise will help you realize additional income potential and assist you in setting new goals.
What can you do to maximize your income? Practice the following 12 retail commandments and experience exponential growth.
1. I will adopt a new professional philosophy: It’s not about selling; it’s about making professional recommendations and helping my clients.
2. I will make it a habit to discover my clients’ concerns and help them—first, by recommending the right treatments, then by recommending the appropriate home care.
3. I will fulfill my professional obligation by delivering a complete client experience, both in the spa and by helping my clients learn what products they need to use at home.
4. I will educate clients about how to take care of themselves between professional treatments.
5. I understand that clients buy and use products from somewhere. Therefore, they need to buy my quality products, instead of purchasing drug store products.
6. I will use and believe in my products.
7. I will learn all about my products’ ingredients, so I can recommend them with confidence.
8. I will use an intake form to help discover my clients’ needs and ensure their safety.
9. I will build trust and strengthen the relationship between myself and my clients.
10. I will not prejudge my clients’ ability to afford my products.
11. I will set goals and strive to achieve them.
12. I will focus on recommending, not selling.
Find out what your retail volume percentage is by using this simple formula. Take your retail-recommending volume and divide it by the number of clients you had last month. Renew your retail system and commit to practicing the 12 retail commandments. Consider this simple fact: “If you help enough people get what they want, you will get what you want.” Your No. 1 priority should be to take care of clients, and when you do, the money will follow.
Dori Soukup is the founder and CEO of InSPAration Management, a firm specializing in spa business development, advanced education and BizTools. During the past 10 years, she has contributed to the success of spa companies worldwide. Soukup is a published author who has been featured in national and international trade publications.