Ms. Curtis

Spas, Health & Fitness

Spa Retail Management: Sales Training for Spa Associates

By Nina Curtis, Founder & President, The Nile Institute

Why does the word "selling" get such a negative response? Mainly because no one really wants to talk about it in the spa world where we believe it is only our position to make people feel good, well at least when it comes from the therapist's mouth.

I had this thought at one time as a therapist but only because during my basic cosmetology training no one presented sales as a part of my soon to be career. The same was true of my massage training. Nowhere during my training did any of my instructors present the importance of product selling in one of their lessons.

It was not until I started working at 'the Best Me' in Oakland, California where my boss told me that I would have to sell this cream that was to change the face of the American woman. The cream was called Le Mer. This was way before Estee Lauder purchased the company. I would watch as she presented it to every woman that walked in her salon and they would buy it. But she knew them I would contend. She was older (oops) and could speak on their level, I could be their daughter, why would they listen to me? I didn't even use the cream, I could not afford it! Why on earth would any of these women listen to me? My boss kept pushing me to sell it but I just did not feel comfortable, confident and had no prior sales training.

Now I had worked at McDonald's, Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken during high school and we were definitely trained to sell burgers and chicken but this was different...we were talking skin care here and expensive skin care at that as I based it compared to what I had in my purse at the time. So much for my success at selling Le Mer in those days.

I left the Best Me and ventured on to Adrian Arpel in Macy's. Here's where I obtained my first formal product knowledge and sales training experience. My manager was a very sharp woman and during product knowledge training she sold the products and it made me want to buy them. For the first time I was getting a taste of what sales was all about. It was not something separate from the facial treatment I offered at Adrian Arpel but instead a very important part of the whole process. How was I to give the client a great facial, new improved skin and then send her home to the old products that really didn't work, or at best worked very little to maintain what I had achieved with her skin.

I liked what I was learning and I ran with it. To my surprise I was good at it and it showed in my commissions. This was icing on the cake to me. I was already doing what I loved and then just by recommending the 'right' products to my client made such a difference in the overall picture and it had clients coming back for more. Even if they did not have a treatment booked at the time they would come in for products and I had the chance to book them again or confirm their existing appointment. This was great!

I went on to Elizabeth Arden Red Doors, Lancome Institute de Beaute and Nordstrom with a sound appreciation for my responsibility to sell and it proved positive. Each company had their own approach to selling so I just kept learning different aspects. Much was the same, just delivered differently. Even if I didn't sell a client product each time I was mentally trained to go through the process.

It wasn't until I went to a privately held spa where I found sales were not so emphasized but I sold anyway and it really got the attention of my boss. Once I really knew my products and the services I offered, I was able to sell and re book clients with little effort. I also noticed a difference in the private spa to the other companies I worked with, at Elizabeth Arden and the all the others, I was given sales quotas to achieve. Here is where I learned what gets measured gets done!

A few years later, I went on to become a sales manager with a very well known skin care company and here is where I really learned that it's not so easy to expect other people to sell if they don't have a strong sells foundation. I signed up for a Dale Carnegie Sales Training program and the rest is history. Here I learned how to train others to do what I had been doing so successfully.

I even took my sales team through the sales course and then reinforced the training during our actual work days. This proved very effective and showed in the bottom-line.

Here's what I know to be true when it comes to developing a successful sales training program for your associates:

Know thy vision, mission and intent

Everyone in the organization must understand the vision, mission and intent of the company, why you exist and why you do what you do. And most importantly what part each person plays in the success of the organization.

Know thy product

This is so key if you expect your team to sell products. Not just the tangible products but also the intangible products such as the treatments offered and most importantly the 'experience'.

Train, train, and more training

This is an on going endeavor. Sales, product and communications training is so important to the success of your implementation process. The more you train and practice, the better the performance. This will include developing a full training program within the company and creating an alliance with your vendors to ensure that their product knowledge and sales training is consistent with your needs and message.

Open communications

Keeping open communications with your team is essential. The 'open door' policy really counts here. So often your team can fill you in on the real climate of the day-to-day business and what guest are buying and why. They have ideas that you should listen to and be flexible to incorporating. If you have someone on your team who really gets the sales concept you should put them in a lead position to work with the rest of your team. Regular meetings and check- ins are important to keep motivation and inspiration up.

Measure, evaluate, reward

What gets measured and evaluated gets done and incentive programs always stimulate growth and achievement.

The selling process is comprised of the following:

1. Approaching the guest
2. Gathering information
3. Presenting appropriate products
4. Making and closing the sale

5. Building future sales Effective Selling includes:

6. Knowledge of all products offered, both tangible and intangible.

7. Listening closely to the needs of the guest.
8. Probing for more information of the guest's needs.
9. Handling objections openly and with confidence. WIIFM (What's In It For Me?) Guest buy benefits not features:

Benefit: a specific need that is satisfied when the guest buys the product.

Advantage: this links the feature to the benefit the product provides, specifically for the guest.

Feature: a product's qualities or characteristics that provide benefits to the guest.

The aforementioned are just some of the key aspects included when developing a sound sales training program for your organization.

By now you should be able to see that a sound sales training program is a solid investment that will reward your company handsomely. It may take some time to develop a program that fits your specific needs, climate and culture but is truly a component for success.

Founder and President of the Nile Institute, Nina Curtis has worked in the personal care and spa industry for more than 25 years. She holds certifications in aromatherapy, reflexology, acupressure and color therapy and was instrumental in developing of training programs for salons and spas across the country. As principal of Curtis Communications, she consults for leading companies in the personal care industry. Ms. Curtis earned a MBA from Pepperdine University, and sees the value of learning business skills that are directly applied to the spa a nd hospitality industries. Ms. Curtis can be contacted at 310-275-6453 or curtiscomm@earthlink.net Extended Bio...

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