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Written by Jane

Published: 19 October 2019

I know that as therapists we probably never woke up and said that’s it, I want to be a sales person.  But retail is a very important part of our role and can be (and should be) a massive contribution to the profitability of your business.

But for, to be successful in our industry, being an amazing therapist  is not enough to secure success.  There have been many businesses that have failed because they didn’t know how to sell.

But do you honestly think you are not a sales person?  Think of the times you have wanted to do something but your friends/partner are not interested but you have persuaded them to do it.  Is this not selling?  You are selling your want, your need and they are buying into it.

I am reading a book at the moment and they list some of the most successful ‘sales people’ on our planet.  Love them or hate them:

• Steve Jobs
• Martin Luther King
• Nelson Mandela
• Sir Alex Ferguson
• Richard Branson
• Oprah Winfrey
• J.K. Rowling

 

Would you associate any of the above as sales people?  I bet you 90% of this group so no but these are all decorated professionals who SELL.

If you think about the typical adjectives around the word salesperson:

• Pushy
• Greedy
• A con man
• Obnoxious
• Overly friendly
• A liar
• Annoying

 

Are these all words you would associate with a typical salesman?  Is that what you think when you are retailing?  Is that what stops you retailing as you fear you will be perceived in this way?

YOU NEED TO STOP THINKING ASSOCIATING WHAT YOU DO IN YOUR RETAIL PROCESS TO THE ABOVE!

 

So turn that on its head and what are the adjectives you would associate with a good therapist:

• A good listener
• Problem-solving
• Empathetic
• Genuine: Only retail the products the clients require
• Ethical: Only retail the products the clients require
• Knowledgeable You need to know your products inside out and the skin (for skincare)
• Helpful
• Responsible

 

I would point out that salon owners need to allow their staff time to become knowledgeable about the products you retail.  BUT you may have people on your team who don’t retail the products you use so do you use this as a screening process when you interview staff?

We are faced with two options for acquiring new customers:

• Be reactive: wait for people to come to you
• Be proactive: take steps to make things happen

 

In the past we could afford to be more reactive but in this social media frenzy world we are in today with the addition of the power of the consumer’s voice, we must stand out from the crowd and to me, that is knowledge, knowledge, knowledge.  Not only knowledge on our chosen treatments and products, but knowledge on the clients sat facing us.  We must ask questions:

• ASK, ASK, ASK questions and drill down
• What are their concerns and why
• What are they currently doing for those issues
• What products are they using and why is that still a concern: You now know what they are using isn’t cutting it
• Then retailing in an ethical way

 

Success in sales in all about building a process that allows YOU to direct and steer your clients down YOUR path and you can then build a business with far more control.  If you have staff, you need to train them on the path so that every single member is following that ‘flow diagram’

 

I will continue this series and there are more gems up my sleeve!!