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Who doesn’t want to earn a little extra each month? In this blog we will talk you through our tips and tricks to make Selling Retail in the salon feel easier and more achievable for those who dread the thought of up-selling products to their clients.
Selling retail in your salon is a fantastic way to boost your profit margins and it really isn’t as scary as it first may sound!
1) KNOW YOUR WORTH
We understand that as Salon Owners and Stylists your main priority isn’t to sell products and in fact just the mere thought of turning into a ‘salesperson’ can make you shudder.
We often hear salons saying that consumers aren’t buying from them, but when our account managers have spent time with them we actually find that stylists aren’t encouraging customers enough to buy in salon.
It’s important to recognise that your clients trust you with one of the most important physical features on their bodies, they know you care about their hair and they respect your knowledge. You’re not a dodgy salesman you’re a professional with qualifications and often times years of knowledge behind you, use that to your advantage.
2) IN-SALON INCENTIVES
If up-selling is causing anxiety amongst your staff you can try combat this by having an in-salon incentive set in place.
For example, every stylist that sells 5 products in a set period of time could take home a free product or a gift voucher of their choice. Offering incentives is a fun and easy way to make selling feel less scary.
3) SAMPLES
Giving free samples out to your clients not only shows that you believe in the product, but it gives a sense of legitimacy to your recommendation. It shows that you’re not recommending it just for monetary gain, but because you genuinely believe in it. Think of it as a tester in a supermarket, you probably wouldn’t have purchased that £6.00 tub of ice cream if you wasn’t handed the little taster pot to start with…
On-brand sachet stands can be purchased and displayed neatly on your reception area, these are often the first and last thing your clients see which makes it the perfect opportunity to offer your client some take home samples. Research shows that sampling brings a return of 60% - for example, if you purchased 100 sachets you could bring in a profit of £274.75!
4) PRODUCT PLACEMENT & INTERIOR
There are a few things to consider when positioning take-home products around the salon.
Here are a few:
- When stocking your shelves, remember that the eye-level shelf is the most important of them all, position the products you most want to sell here to optimise the chance of clients purchasing.
- Clients entering your salon will naturally look towards the right of entry, try placing your retail shelves here.
- Ensure your shelves/any product areas are clean and free from dust – after all dust gives the impression of untouched and unwanted products. Also, be sure to have multiple stock levels for each product, people tend not to be attracted to purchase from low stocked retail shelves.
- Remember to include eye catching decorations/point of sale placements around the salon. Examples of this are posters, shelf talkers, counter stop stand, consumer brochures – these will all keep consumers thinking about buying without you having to directly upsell.
5) CONSULTATION
The consultation is arguably the best part of the whole service for you to up-sell products, after all it’s where the magic starts! ‘What would you love your hair to be?’ is the perfect question to open up the conversation so that you can set your clients expectations and recommend products they need before even starting the service. Simply asking a client "tell me about your hair" can kickstart a huge opportunity for treatments and "take me home" products without you having hard-sell a thing!
6) DURING SERVICE
During service is also a great time to talk your clients through the products you’re using and the benefits of them.
Washing someone’s hair at the backwash? Rave about the yummy scent and how amazing their hair is going to feel after using it. This sparks up conversation and gives you the opportunity to offer recommendations on after-care/take-home products.
Creating a relaxing experience and atmosphere from the moment they walk in the door is so important. A useful tip is to place the Neal & Wolf Spa Range diffusers or candles around the salon, because they have the same scent as the entire product range it gives you the opportunity to upsell products when your client compliments or asks about the scent.
7) UP-SELLING
Always remember to use the products you want to up-sell, showing the benefits to your clients is much more effective than telling them the benefits.
Handing out product leaflets as a standard before your client leaves the salon is a great way to not only spread knowledge on products but it’s also a great way to ensure that they won’t forget about it as easily.
8) PRICING
This is the part no-one wants to talk about, but it doesn’t have to be scary! Tell your clients what they need rather than ‘asking’ for a sale. Clients are less likely to quibble something being added to their bill if they know it’s going to maintain their £120 hair colour.
Clients can sometimes get stuck in a rut of thinking they can source products elsewhere for cheaper, but it’s not always that simple. Counterfeit products online are rife, especially on websites like Amazon and on top of that, professional products usually aren’t sold in your local shops. Remember that pricing isn’t everything, clients trust their stylists and recent surveys have shown that people want to support local businesses more than ever. With a small nudge, they’ll likely purchase directly from you so they can take the products home on the day.
Price your products competitively/fairly and advise your clients the downside to purchasing elsewhere. The promotions we run here at Salon Promotions can help to support you with this. For example if we are running a 10 & 1 FREE deal, you could offer 10% off in salon!
9) KNOWLEDGE
This one may seem like a given but it’s important to mention, you must have full knowledge on the products you stock.
For example, If a client comes in and briefly mentions that their hair is un-manageable and frizzy you will be able to immediately recommend a product you have in the salon. This then works to your advantage as you can use it during the service, showing them the benefits/outcome as you go.
If you feel you need to brush up on your knowledge, there are a wide range of different exams you can take for brands such as Olaplex, Neal & Wolf and KeraStraight. For more in-depth learning, here at the Salon Promotions Academy we offer in salon education and online training – you can also find a host of information on our Facebook page. Remember that knowledge is power!
For more information on Education at the Salon Promotions Academy, follow this link Salon Promotions Education
10) LOYALTY SCHEME
Having a loyalty scheme set in place can be a great incentive for clients to re-purchase products directly through you.
For example, each time someone purchases a product you could stamp their card and on their 6th purchase you could offer them a free take-home product of their choice.
Having the same client purchase products on 6 different occasions may sound frightening or un-achievable but it’s much easier than you may first think. Running promotions can be a huge incentive to get people buying, after all if they can purchase a product at a cheaper price than elsewhere AND take it home on the same day then why wouldn’t they!
11) MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS COURSE
The Mind Your Own Business Course is a Salon Promotions own that consists of four different modules. Each module will cover different elements of the business world.
The course navigates you through the ever changing business landscape of the hair industry and highlights growth opportunities for the modern salon to thrive. Designed by our fantastic National Sales Manager Nick Riley, this course is there to help you capitalise and maximise your market share in every key area of the business.
For more information on our Mind Your Own Business Course, follow this link "Mind Your Own Business" Course (salonpromotions.co.uk)
12) NEAL & WOLF AFFILIATE SCHEME
A final option for those clients who still want to leave without making a retail purchase is to sign up to the Neal & Wolf Affiliate Scheme.
Being a part of the scheme means that even if your client doesn’t want to purchase on the spot, you can still offer them either your unique code or a direct link for them to purchase through. This way you still make a percentage of the sale if they want to purchase online in their own time instead.
For more information on the Neal & Wolf Affiliate Scheme, follow this link Affiliate Portal (nealandwolf.com)
