Tag confidence

Tag confidence

Every Spa Guest Has a Story

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When training spa therapists I’ll use story-telling to measure where they are with engagement, and recommendations for products and services. If you are a spa manager or director try presenting this case study to your staff. Read More

Why your New Spa Product Will Probably Fail

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My friend Cheryl developed a beautiful line of organic body products. She sent me samples and I was thrilled to discover that her creations where some of the best I’d ever used.

When it won a best new product of the year award in New York City, she and I celebrated with a champagne lunch. I remember screaming in delight when it was later selected as one of the swag bag items for the Emmy Awards.  A Five-Star hospitality group  in Asia began carrying her line at their chain of spas. Her product was unstoppable. Read More

Linda Harding-Bond Interviewed by Bon Accord Creative

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If you read our blog or follow us on Facebook, you already know a lot about us. But we want to take some time to get to know all of you! Each week we will be featuring a different small business or entrepreneur. This week Bon Accord Creative is meeting Linda Harding-Bond from Moontide Consulting. Read More

Ten Ways to Please Your Global Clients

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Social media and news outlets are bringing us closer together minute by minute. Air travel is faster and more frequent; most areas of the world can be accessed within 24 hours. Opportunities to conduct business with a global clientele are increasing exponentially. So what can spa therapists do to help build a brand which attracts and maintains the attention of  treatment lovers from around the world?

What’s guaranteed to work every time and garner rave reviews on social media sites? Check this out-

Smile. A smile is a universal welcoming signal that crosses all boundaries and immediately puts your client at ease. Further engagement with the guest is mandatory and serves to benefit the therapist as well so make sure that the charm is dialed on high.

Interview your client. Use that intake form to begin your conversation.with your client.  Everyone’s situation and reason for visiting the spa is different. Give men the same amount of time and respect for discussion as women, their needs are often just as pressing. Don’t assume anything, ask questions and listen well.

Don’t categorize your clients. When it comes to skin and body care, knowledge of the  Fitzpatrick Classification Scale is not enough.  Multi-ethnicity is everywhere and creates some very interesting characteristics that probably weren’t covered in your massage or aesthetics classes.  Gather as much information as possible, this will help to ensure great service.

Make the client comfortable. People come in all shapes and sizes. Have a plan in case a plus sized or small person walks into your spa. Be sensitive to the hairstyles of your clients. If she (or he) has a lot of hair offer her two headbands rather than one. Don’t assume that the hair is all hers. Ask if its OK before plunging your hands into someone’s mane to perform a  head massage.  If you are performing facial services on a bald man give his head some love too. It’s exposed to the sun and needs care.

Cleanse, remove and check.  When I worked as a makeup artist for a spa, I would frequently have to remove leftover makeup from my client’s  neck or traces of masque from their nostrils, post facial. If a man has facial hair, masque may cling to his face. Check your clients in the daylight before sending them back out in public. They’ll  appreciate your attentiveness.

Use your loupe. Don’t trust your lying eyes. Examine the skin closely under a magnifying lamp and report your findings to your client.

Be gentle. You will never go wrong if you treat all skin with respect. There is a commonly held belief that darker skin tones can tolerate more aggressive products.  The opposite is true. Here’s the rule of thumb: If you are causing pain to your client, you are probably causing damage. This will get your name on social media quickly but not in a good way.

Avoid extractions.   A good practice is to focus on providing clients with skin that is polished, luminous and smooth to the touch. No one on vacation wants their skin to look damaged. If your client returns to you often, you can then create a schedule for deep cleaning and extractions.

Make product recommendations  Almost no one travels a distance and gets a treatment to not take something  home with them. Therapists have problems selling because they fail to initially engage with their client. If you have a product  that you really believe in or that worked incredibly well during treatment share the knowledge with your client. Recommend that they buy another for gifting, especially if it’s unique to your spa.

Make care recommendations   One of the ways to show true interest in your client is a final written recommendation for body and skin treatments once they return home. Create a three month schedule for them to follow, include a sentiment thanking them for visiting the spa. Send it to their email address. They will  appreciate the reminder to take care of themselves and likely follow your expert advice.

 

5 Shocking Secrets of Spa Therapists  

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I am based in Asia however it seems that when it comes to the spa industry in general, “don’t ask don’t tell” is the policy that folks often operate from. I had a massage the other day at a Five-Star hotel in my neighborhood. It was serviceable enough and I left feeling better. It was everything else that happened around the service which made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Read More

1st 10 Days of Spa Tips-Quick Review

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Here is a recap from the 30 Days of Spa Tips Series on the Moontide YouTube Channel (hey, please subscribe while you’re there!). So far we’ve discussed … How to increase sales, customer engagement and therapist confidence in 30 easy to follow steps.

1. Retail Mantra- Tell Touch Smell Sell-   Four little words to remember when recommending products.

 2. Managers Set Your Expectations with Your Therapists-    Begin each day letting your team know the previous day’s results and which products are the hot item of the day.

3. Following Your Retail Road Map-      Begin your day by determining which services you’ll be performing, select your retail products based on those services and envision yourself selling.

4. Therapists-How to Deal with Your Fears and Intimidation-    Control nervousness by remembering that your customer is semi-nude. They are probably more nervous than you are.

 5.Therapist Communications with Guests and Intake Forms-   If you don’t understand what the intake form says get clarity before you begin the service.

 6. Can you Retail for the Stars?-    What’s your global skin I.Q? Which products work best for multi-ethnic or different skin types?

 7. Recommending vs. Selling-    Hospitality means providing  your client with suggestions for an appropriate product to take home  with them.

 8. Positive Thinking for Retail Stars-    Don’t talk yourself out of success. Envision yourself making lots of retail sales. 

 9. Is Your Spa Prepared to Sell-    For managers, receptionists and therapists’ proper preparation at the start of each day will help to bring success.

 10. So You Know Your Personal Brand-   Match your personal preferences to the products at your spa. They will be easier to sell.

 

Watch 30 Days of Spa Tips on YouTube on the Moontide Consulting Channel

 

 

 

For Spa Therapists the Struggle Is Real

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Growing up as an introvert I learned to adapt to an extroverted world. It wasn’t easy; sometimes it was just plain difficult. But I discovered that the axiom is true; what doesn’t kill you does truly make you stronger. Acting like an extrovert has had its rewards; it was necessary to develop that muscle and flex it hard if I wanted to be successful.

And successful I was. But after 15 years in corporate America as a training manager, it became too exhausting to play that game every day so I decided to switch gears and work in the spa industry. Read More

No Training Budget= Bad Business

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I live in Bangkok on a soi (street) in a thriving business district. The soi is lined with vendors selling everything from mangoes to crickets. There are exactly 5 massage businesses and one spa. From time to time my husband and I get a foot massage that is quite good. The therapists are friendly and chatty. When we close our eyes to just enjoy the massage they are sensitive enough to stop talking. This service costs 400 THB or 15 U.S. dollars. Read More

30 Days of Retail Spa Tips  

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When you ask spa therapists “what gets in their way of selling products to clients” their answers paint a compelling picture. Read More

Therapists Can Sell- Your Spa Retailing Tip # 3

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In the previous blog-post (Therapists Can Sell-Your Spa Retailing Tip-2),  your therapists were given an overnight assignment. They selected their favorite retail product sold at your spa which they use on a daily or regular basis. They needed to familiarize themselves with the product and develop a presentation describing the smell, look, texture and benefit.

Tip #3 Today, again in groups of three, each therapists will give a presentation of their product. Their teammates will rank their presentation on a scale of 3-10; 3, the lowest simply means that they can improve and 10 means very well done. Don’t begin the ranking using “1 or “2” because the mere willingness to make a presentation is worth a “3”.  The presentation should be judged by the therapist’s description of the product’s smell, appearance, texture, customer benefit and knowledge of active ingredients. Confidence, body language, animation and excitement level will also be graded.

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After the presentation team members should feel free to ask any questions which they feel a customer might ask pertaining to the product. The therapist should feel very comfortable answering their questions, if they don’t,  more product knowledge is needed.

Provide your team with forms which they can use to write the number of their assessment on the areas being rated. Here is a template-

Presentation description  Rating
Product Smell
Product Look
Product Texture or Feel
Product Benefit
Active Ingredients
Body Language/Confidence
Tone of Voice
Excitement/Animation Level

This process should be fun and not cause stress. Impress upon each team member that this process is a simply a measurement for improvement and can be performed among themselves. If any of your therapists receive high ratings in all areas, discuss why this occurred as it can be duplicated. Respect the personality type of each therapist and don’t expect to get the same level of animation from an introvert as from an extrovert. Keep in mind that listening, not talking, is the key to up selling services and higher retail sales.