Macmillan Coffee Morning

A good day was had by all at the Macmillan coffee morning  

Clients enjoyed coffee and cake while in the commercial salon having facials with file and polish 

Ellie collecting money from the sale of coffee and cake

Week 3 (23/9/15)

Ellie & Alana completed Eve Taylor facials on clients. Both will use their blogs to reflect on their experiences 

During feedback we discussed what they had found out about their clients skin care routine and identified gaps for retail 

After 2 week of offering ibd polish and only one paying client we discussed ideas to promote our service. The outcome of this was to offer it at the earlier time of 12.15 which is during lunch instead of 1.45 when the heart space is quite 

Offering free hand and arm massage in order to promote ibd nail services

Jasmine and Chloe practiced micro-current facial

                                     

Takings 23/9/15

                                 

Bosom Buddies Event

Every year Jane Buchanan takes part in an event arranged by members of Bosom Buddies, which is a cancer support group from Calow Hospital. We went along with three level 3 students to provide manicures, pedicures and facials for group members. It was a great day much enjoyed by all involved. Plus, we recruited some new clients for college’s commercial salon and retailed over £100 worth of Eve Taylor and ibd products.

from left to right Jane Buchanan, Alana Westran, Alisha Salt, Ann Hodgkinson, Beth Gittins

All set-up and waiting to do facials

Pedicure Stations

Retail stands

Alisha made the most product sales of the day

Week 2 (16/9/15)

Week 2 

At the end of the session I asked everyone to use their blogs to reflect on their experiences during the session; specifically, with regards to customer service, retail and sales. For example, how did it feel to recommend products to clients, did you feel pushy, were you nervous or did it come natural? Most people do find it difficult to sell so that’s why it is important to practice and reflect in order to improve. We’re aiming to demonstrate that retail is an important part of the service we offer as beauty therapists.

Promo Ad for  ibd

Offering ibd nail polish in the heart space

Promo Ad for Looks Radiant treatment

Offering Eve Taylor facial plus hand and arm massage

Well Done

Setting Up Blogs

The Level 3 Advanced students are currently doing a 10 work experience session which focuses on Retail and Customer Care. In order to reflect on their progress they have created their own blogs.

Selling

Selling Products

A successful beauty therapist who is fully booked with clients can only increase their earning potential by retail sales.  Retail sales are those which relate to purchases of products sold in the salon.  The products may be purchased by clients following a treatment, or by customers who come into the salon solely to get professional advice and buy the products.

GOOD PRACTICE

The more time you spend educating your existing and potential clients about the treatments and product s on offer, the more likely it is that they will be interested in trying them.  Once they have tried and enjoyed them, the more likely it is that they will come back for more.

REMEMBER

You may be given regular performance targets to reach in relation to the income you generate through treatments and retail sales.  These targets are important and contribute to the financial planning of the business.

These days, clients can buy beauty products in all sorts of retail outlets, even supermarkets!  When a client has enjoyed the benefits of one of your treatments using products available for purchase in the salon, it does not make sense for them to go and buy different products somewhere else.

Most salons supply ‘professional only’ retail ranges.  This means that the products are only available through approved salons.  This gives you an advantage, as the client will not be able to purchase the products from a general retail outlet.

REMEMBER

It is usual for a special rate of commission to be paid for retail sales and treatments on top of the basic wage.  The profits from retail sales are usually higher than for treatments.  You should ensure that your clients’ beauty care remains firmly in the hands of the professionals!

The three important elements of selling are:

•                    Knowing your products

•                    Knowing your customers

•                    Being able to describe the features and benefits of the products and match them to the needs of the customers.

Product knowledge

The first step in successful selling is knowing exactly what it is you are selling!  This may sound obvious, but it is surprising how extensive your knowledge needs to be in order to promote across the whole retail range in your salon.  It is important to keep up to date, attend any product training courses available to you and take time to read the literature supplied with the products.

You need to be able to:

•             Describe the product, how it is used and for what purpose

•             Understand particular features of the product, for example any special ‘active’ ingredients and their effects

•             Explain the features of the product in such a way that the customer sees the benefit to themselves of buying the product.

Knowing your customers

Successful selling is built upon good customer relationships.  To be good at what you do, you need to be able to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and understand what motivates them.  You can then begin to understand them as individuals, and make selling and buying more of a two-way, mutually rewarding problem-solving experience.

What we know generally about customers:

•             Customers buy for their own reasons.  Often, it is for emotional reasons, for how it will make them feel

•             Customers do not buy products or services.  They buy what those products and services will do for them, or the feeling they associate with owning the product or experiencing the service

•             Customers resent high-pressure sales techniques.  A professional low-pressure approach is much more effective.

Successful selling therefore relies on very good communication skills, particularly questioning and listening skills.

Creating sales

There are several ways of stimulating the initial interest, which helps in creating the sale:

•             giving outside talks and demonstrations

•             promoting special offers in the salon and in the local press

•             maintaining clean and attractive displays of products at reception and in the treatment areas

•             sending mail shots using information in your client database

•             ‘Launching’ a new treatment or product range, possibly in liaison with the supplier

•             Providing product and treatment information for clients to read in the reception and relaxation areas

•             Maintaining clean and attractive display material and point-of-sale information

•             Giving thorough client consultations and detailed home-care advice

•             Listening to you clients during treatments and recommending other services and products which would benefit them

•             Using the products yourself and talking from experience.

REMEMBER

The more you understand your customers, the easier the selling process is likely to be.

Making the sale

Nothing reassures a customer more than a salesperson who is positive and enthusiastic about a product or service, and confident that the customer will buy it.  On the other hand, nothing worries a customer more than a salesperson who sounds doubtful or uncertain.

Here is some advice for making the sale.  The techniques should be used by everybody who deals with clients in the salon:

•             Find out exactly what the client needs.  This means asking questions and listening carefully to the answers

•             Use closed questions to get short, straightforward answers (usually yes or no), for example, ‘Do you have a regular nail-care routine?’, ‘Have you ever tried wearing a ridge filler basecoat under your nail enamel?’

•             Use open questions to invite fuller and more detailed answers, for example, ‘How do you normally look after your hands?’, ‘Can you describe the problem to me?’

•             Give the client advice: always relate the benefits of the product specifically to the client, for example, ‘By using this enriched cuticle cream regularly, you will prevent these splits occurring [indicate them] and your nails will not be as brittle.  You will soon notice a great improvement in the appearance of your hands’

•             Always smile and talk confidently and positively about the product you have chosen; where possible, tell the client about your personal experiences with the product

•             Explain how the product should be used; if possible, let the client feel, smell or hold the product

•             Closing the sale: look for signals that tell you the client has decided to take your advice and buy the product

•             Where appropriate, explain the benefits of the different sizes available in the product: these will usually be linked to price

•             Gain agreement with the client: this is achieved either immediately or after a short period of ‘thinking’ time.  Do not be afraid of silences at this stage.  Just keep quiet and wait patiently for the client to make a decision

•             Use link selling to encourage your client to buy complementary products from the same range, for example cleansers and toners, eye creams and eye gels, nail enamels and base-coats

•             One you have sold the product, wrap it up and process payment; as you hand over the purchase, check once more that the client understands how to use it

•             Enter details of the purchase on the client’s record card.

REMEMBER

If the client touches, feels and smells the product, then asks the price, the item is practically sold!

REMEMBER

Head nodding in agreement, smiles and friendly eye contact are positive buying signals.

GOOD PRACTICE

Be confident when giving the client the price.  Hesitation or reluctance to mention the price will give the client the impression that you consider the product too expensive.

REMEMBER

Do not talk yourself out of a sale!  Clients will be put off buying if you sound ‘pushy’.

Welcome to my work Experience Blog

Welcome to my work Experience Blog

In this day and age it’s not enough to be a fantastic Beauty therapist. You need to be able to sell products and yourself, this is one way of advertising!