With a nod to Oprah Winfrey, Moontide Consulting will regularly present an interview with a hospitality, spa, beauty or customer service professional whose dedication to excellence has propelled them to the top of their industry. We begin with hair stylist and entrepreneur, Ted Gibson.
Ted Gibson is a critical force in the beauty industry. As a master hairdresser who coifs the heads of Hollywood glamour girls from Anne Hathaway to Kerry Washington to Angelina Jolie he is in high demand. Read More
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.
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.
In my first blog your task was to have your therapists select their favorite place, food or person. They described their selection to their team members who should have been paying close attention to the body language, tone, animation and excitement level of the speaker telling the story. You should have been taking notes on each therapist to record their particular level of enthusiasm as no two people are alike. This exercise would help you to determine and set the emotional baseline of the therapist who is selling your retail products. Read More
I’m going to give you three powerful tips in this series. This is number one and make sure you stay tuned to get the other two because together they’re magical.
When I consulted with spa management in the United States they would often tell me that their number one problem was getting their staff to sell retail products. But my experience in Asia has shown me that the same challenges exist, although they may be amplified by language differences. The primary cause is the same all over the world. Most therapists are introverts. They are shy people who don’t feel comfortable selling products. Read More
