Pamela Hill Institute

Selling retail products can be one of the most challenging things for any spa or beauty business, but it is truly important to your financial success and how your customers view your services and products.  However, it is true that no matter how great or effective the products might be, they can be difficult to sell.  So, get creative and put together visually dynamic product displays to give your products their best chance possible for revenues.You need to create displays that attract the eye and entice clients to want to buy the products.  While this may seem like an impossible task, you can start by keeping product displays clean, dust-free, and fully stocked at all times.  Dusty shelves just tell clients that products aren’t moving and missing inventory tells them that products are sold out, even if that isn’t the case.Change out displays on a regular basis to give them a fresh, new look.  Coordinate the seasons or holidays with your product displays and tie in the services you provide with specific products.  Limit the number of products you place out on display in order to highlight a specific line or type of product.Trying different methods and seeing what works best can turn into product sales you might never have seen if you just lined the bottles up neatly on a shelf.We found an excellent online article at Spa Trade that ties in nicely with this topic:

Catherine Feliciano-Chon, author of A Visual Merchandising Guidebook: Health and Beauty (CatchOn and Company, 2004), shares these all-too-common beauty mistakes spas often make in their retail area.

Retail As An Afterthought

Many salons today still give retail only token consideration. Display fixtures are often crammed into hallways or entrances, and shelves are built into blank walls.

Built-In Display Units Without Adjustable Shelves

This is a rigid system that doesn’t allow for the merchandise to change. Make sure you can easily adjust shelf heights in proportion to the products they hold. Smaller bottles don’t get lost in a wide expanse of space, and tall products don’t look crowded.

Inadequate Lighting

Usually, focus is placed more on ambient lighting to enhance the overall mood of a salon than on the functional lighting needed for retailing. When it comes to lighting, think of retail as an entirely separate zone from the rest of your space. You might consider consulting a lighting specialist.

Small Signage With Script Typefaces

Script typefaces are popular for self-made signage, but they’re a headache to read. As a rule, sans-serif typefaces (those that don’t use small lines on the ends of each character) are bolder, cleaner and easier to read.

Products Displayed In Locked Cases

Locked shelves serve one purpose: storage. A shopper needs to smell, touch and try a product before she will buy it.

The ten rules of outstanding spa client services should be practiced  by everyone who works in the business - from the spa manager right on down the line. They are:

1. Always treat the client with respect.
2. Always be honest with the client.
3. Always promote your business.
4. Give each client the best possible service.
5. Always smile and be polite with the client.
6. Keep your skills current and ensure your staff do the same.
7. Take advantage of continuing education to improve/expand business services and offerings.
8. Always be on time for appointments.
9. Only sell and recommend products that you truly believe in.
10. Always say “thank you” and mean it!

In following these rules you will keep your clients happy, make them feel special and encourage them not only to come back and patronize your business but they will also encourage their friends to come to you, making them a steady source of referrals, the best way to acquire new clients.

Treating the client with respect and always being honest with the client are naturals. Making the client understand that you appreciate them and are working with them as a partner in their aesthetic care, that you will always give them honest information and that you respect them will keep them solidly on your side.

Always promoting your business is also a natural. If you don’t promote your business, who will? Giving the client the best possible service is also a natural. You want to do your best when assisting them because each client is in effect a billboard of your skills  professionally. The same holds for always smiling and being polite with the client. You want the client to like you because people do business with people they like.

Keeping your skills current and always taking advantage of continuing education means that  you will stay ahead of your competition. You will never become out of date and will always have the knowledge of new techniques that students fresh out of school have.

Always be on time for appointments, or if possible even be a few minutes early. This goes along with showing respect to your client. This shows that you respect their time and will go out of your way to make sure that they get the services they need in the time period they have requested.

Only sell and recommend products that you truly believe in. Your clients respect you and trust you. You owe it to them to only recommend or sell items that you are sure will do them well. If you recommend an inferior product now because you make a few cents or dollars from it, it will cost you more in the long run from clients who no longer respect your judgment when the products don’t do what you said.

Finally, always say “thank you” because this solidifies the relationship. It tells the client they are special to you, and you appreciate them.

Different brochures for different spa services is a very good rule that should be a firm rule for your marketing and promotional department. In a small spa, that department is probably you. The temptation may be to minimize printing expenses and try to come up with one brochure that handles all functions for the spa. Printing expenses after all can be rather high, especially if you use four color process printing and slick, enamel paper for the best possible impression. But if you do so then you will be hurting your business in the long run.  Niche marketing, as pointed out years ago by Alvin Toffler in his book Future Shock, is the most important thing to keep in mind when planning a marketing campaign.

The days of marketing to everyone at the same time has gone to the wayside. Take a look at broadcasting. Cable and satellite television have fragmented the viewing audience, but it is now easy to advertise to specific demographic groups to reach the small group that is best for you without having to use a shotgun approach to reach everyone. The same is true of radio. If you want to reach the early 20’s demographic there are radio stations that reach them well with music, and if you want to reach men who own or manage businesses and are in their 40’s then political and news talk radio is probably the best choice, followed by sports radio. In magazines Life and Look are gone, but the stands are full of small magazines that reach particular markets. Paula Dean reaches those who like cooking. Motor Trend reaches car enthusiasts. Star Log reaches science fiction fans. The same philosophy holds true with your brochures.

Having a brochure that emphasizes the benefits of waxing alongside a brochure that shows the good effects that come to a client from facial treatments, and other brochures that emphasize hair removal, microdermabrasion and alpha hydroxyl chemical peels will all catch the eye of clients who have different needs. If those brochures are out on a counter where they can be seen, picked up and taken home, they can become up sell and cross sell piece that will interest your clients in even more of your services.   You can almost think of these brochures as timed delivery marketing devices, since they will be taken home, looked at later and at times will bring clients back in to you for other services.

Talk to your local print shop about discounts for multiple setup of several brochures. You may also save some money by doing the layout and pre-press work yourself if you are talented in that area, or find a family member who is and can assist you. But don’t skimp on your printed marketing collateral materials, your brochures, because they will bring you business in the long run.

For aestheticians, there has never been a better time to be looking for a job. So many wonderful opportunities are available across the nation and around the world. As a matter of fact, resorts in remote global locations are hungry to hire qualified and experienced clinicians from the USA and Canada because of advanced levels of training and expertise.

There is one good site to look for quality positions, often located in North America but sometimes abroad:

 
GetEstheticianJobs.com:

http://www.getestheticianjobs.com 

Current Sample Position:

Description:

Be part of a culture built on caring for others, honesty, fairness, integrity, trust, respect, commitment and accountability…….

Position Available: Medical Aesthetician

Sona is the industry leader in laser hair removal and skin rejuvenation. Due to our rapid growth, we are looking for talented professionals to join our team in Houston.

Ideal candidates must:

• Have a valid, current, license as an Aesthetician in the State of Texas.
• Have a minimum of 5 years experience in the medical aesthetics industry and be passionate about the wellness industry.
• Have the skills necessary to provide safe, effective medical aesthetic skin care and body treatments.
• Be extroverted and sales oriented.
• Have the ability to work in a collegial relationship.
• Have the ability to work on Saturdays and/or some evenings.
• Possess a strong work ethic.
• Be energetic, take ownership of their jobs and demonstrate the ability to go the extra mile.
• Have a strong sense of urgency when it comes to delivery of exemplary customer service.
• Have exceptional interpersonal skills and a desire to serve people.
• Be a team player.
• Have the ability to portray a positive, progressive image and exemplify dedication and commitment to the achievement of Sona Houston’s business objectives.

Compensation:

• Market-related base salary, based on experience and skills set.
• Great benefits which include health plan, dental plan, vision plan, short-and long-term disability, and paid time off program for eligible employees.
• Free employee treatments.

We are seeking staff members with high energy, winning personalities, excellent customer service skills and those who love to be in an environment where great products & services are sold!

If you meet the requirements, are eager to experience the vision of progressive leadership, live the values that will shape your life, feel the pride of the community and be a part of the fastest growing segment of the service industry, please send us your resume.

A clinician’s resume used by an aesthetician should be able to pass two tests: 1.) will it be scanned or glanced at and 2.) will it be read?  

Many spa managers just don’t have the time to read every resume they receive, so having your resume done in an 'at a glance' format, where information can be gleaned from a quick glance will benefit you.  However, if it is a truly good resume and you have the qualifications, the spa manager will go back and take a second look, actually reading the resume.

Remember that the word “resume” itself means summary, and not biography.  The one purpose the resume has is not to get the job, but to get the interview. Then when you are in the interview you have the opportunity to sell yourself and get the job.  Think of the resume as doing the same thing the Yellow Pages ad for the spa does, but in reverse.  The Yellow Pages ad makes a client come in to see you.  The résumé makes a spa manager want you to come in and see him or her.

When composing your resume be sure that your name is bold and noticeable. Centered or flush left, in a font larger than the rest of the resume so that your name stands out is desirable.  Then make sure that the first thing the spa owner sees is an indication of the type of job you want and are qualified for.  That can be the professional or career objective, or simply an eye catching headline.  For instance, if the resume itself is in 11 point Times Roman type, a very common font, then the name could be in 16 point, and a 14 point headline centered underneath could say “Skilled Aesthetician – 5 years Spa Experience” or the equivalent.

You’ll need to list your education and professional training and any licenses you hold.  If you have a college degree be sure to list it, but don’t go into a lot of detail listing every school you’ve attended if you’ve moved around a bit.  Always ask yourself if the information you are providing is relevant to the position you are going after, and if it will actually make you look good to the spa manager.  

Be sure to list jobs you’ve held in your profession in reverse chronological order.  The years of employment are fine, no need to list months and days. Many people can’t remember them anyway and the employer just wants to make sure that you are dependable and stable.

Also have a section called Accomplishments, or Qualifications, or Credentials, or something similar where you can give the employer reasons to consider you over someone else.  For instance, a dedication to providing quality facials, or extensive experience in waxing.  

If you are in your 20’s or 30’s a one page resume is probably sufficient.  As a person gets older and has more years of experience they often need a two page resume, but a one page is quicker to read so if you can get by with a one page, do so.