Issue link: https://www.ascpskindeepdigital.com/i/70637
The spa is one of the few places where a person can escape and relax, away from today's constant bombardment of advertising—a place where it's all about the client's needs and desires. Sales practices need to be handled in a way that feels compatible with the esthetician's identity as a professional healing arts practitioner who considers and respects the customer. Traditional Sales: What's Missing? Traditional sales theory is based on a simple strategy: find a need and convince people to choose your solution to resolve it. In our industry's version of traditional sales, estheticians are usually taught to follow four basic steps: 1. Ask questions. Find out what needs and challenges your guest is having with her skin. Her answers are the foundation for the products you will use and recommend. 2. Inform and educate. Talk about each product you use during the service, and why you chose it. 3. Show samples. Take a bottle of each product you used during the service and line them up in front of the client. Summarize each product's features, how you used it, and how it will benefit her to use it at home. 4. Ask for the sale. Simply ask, "What would you like to get started with today?" and wait for the client to respond. This is certainly better than nothing. But selling is more than a formula; it's an art. The above model doesn't offer the best opportunity to discover the answers to some important questions: IS YOUR CLIENT READY TO BUY? The average customer needs answers, choices, and results before she can comfortably accept your recommendations. She may decide not to buy, no matter what you do. But if she does buy, she will buy when she has reached a clear understanding that what you're offering fits her needs. The only way to ascertain her readiness, or her need for your solution, is to ask questions and present possible options. WHAT OTHER FACTORS AFFECT YOUR CLIENT'S DECISION TO BUY? She may have a lifestyle habit or belief that needs discussing to determine whether she is willing to make a change to get the results she says she wants. Once you understand the risks and challenges she may be experiencing in considering this new solution, you can explore options that are realistic and sustainable for her lifestyle. Help, Don't Persuade Sharon Drew Morgen, author of Selling With Integrity (Berkley Books, 1999), teaches a system that uses helpful and facilitative communications in place of the traditional sales tendency to push, convince, persuade, and influence. The process of selling, in and of itself, is irrelevant. According to Morgen, effective communication is all about helping clients discover a solution so that they can organize their own buying decision process. KNOW WHY A CLIENT BUYS Buyers don't necessarily buy the way you sell. They have their own belief systems, buying patterns, habits, and preferences. Before initiating a sales dialogue, you must first be a neutral navigator, helping your clients pass through the labyrinth of internal factors that influence their attitude toward your recommendations. These factors are personal to each individual buying experience. Discovering the answers will give you an opportunity to either cultivate a customer for life, or to make a decision to focus on sales to other clients who are more interested in what you offer. OBSERVE, AND ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS This will help you master your primary challenge: uncovering the client's habitual behaviors, belief systems, and status quo. This is actually a very natural process. It's similar to the way you listen to a problem a friend is experiencing. But the professional setting adds an extra layer to the process, and that's where the sales part comes in. Questioning your client can help you uncover a few pertinent facts: • She might have a hard time saying no. If this is the case, she'll buy, then resent it and experience buyer's remorse—never to return. • She may need more time to make a decision, preferring to make Internet purchases where she has ample time and no pressure. • She might have previously spent a lot of money on products that still sit, unused, in a drawer. • She may feel overwhelmed by so many choices, and fear incorporating these changes into her routine all at once. Get connected to your peers @ www.skincareprofessionals.com 23