Salon Success Secrets

Retail Rescue

• Lindsay Lowe & Jen Booth

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Unlock the secret to transforming your salon's retail strategy and reclaim your share of the retail market from giants like Ulta. This episode of Retail Rescue promises to shift your perspective on retail sales, showing you how the right approach can enhance your services and empower your clients to replicate salon-quality results at home. We dive into the world of salon retail, highlighting the crucial role these products play in boosting client confidence and satisfaction. Discover how to turn each product into an opportunity that benefits both your clients and your business.

Join us as we explore the subtle difference between persuading and convincing, and learn how empathy and understanding can revolutionize your sales interactions. Through relatable anecdotes, we emphasize the power of listening and tailoring your approach to fit each client’s unique needs. From introducing clients to the products you use during their appointments to offering them expert advice on maintaining their look, this episode is packed with practical tips and insights to help you redefine retail success in your salon. Equip yourself with the tools to create more meaningful sales experiences and foster lasting client relationships.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Retail Rescue, the podcast episode where we breathe new life into your salon's retail strategy.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and if you're thinking about, okay, I don't know about retail sales, you know there's Ulta, now there's, you know, all the big box stores like we don't even sell retail in our store anymore, and so we're going to give you, we're going to give you a new perspective today, a huge opportunity if you're selling retail or if you've even canceled selling retail, to help you understand really, like, how to rescue, how to bring it back into your salon space and how to ramp it up to really create new opportunities for the clients that you serve.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, because here's what we know you wouldn't do any of the services that you offer inside of your company without the retail that best supports that guest or client's total look. You know, whether it's hair, skincare, makeup, anything that is beauty related, there is some sort of a product that that customer needs in order to recreate that look at home, and so when we're diving into this, it's it's no longer hey, I'm just going to rely on everybody else. No, you have to be able to offer that so that they can get started right away. You know you're, you're serving them by selling them something that's really going to make a big difference inside of their daily life and totally aid in their overall confidence inside of the world. Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2:

So the first thing we need to do is to really understand the difference between persuade and convince. So we talk about definitions a lot. So if you understand the word convince, which means to bring over by argument, you know, example of this would be like Lindsay, you need this product because it's going to help, you know, repair the bonds in your hair. This product because it's going to help, you know, repair the bonds in your hair. And so when we, when we're doing convincing, a lot of times we're looking at the logical side to win a client over.

Speaker 2:

Now, persuade, on the other hand, means to bring over by talking, and so, like, isn't that so simple when you really think about it? Like, really, when we're serving and selling to guests, we're really just using a technique called persuade, which means to bring over by talking. So that that would mean like truly understanding what the client's needs are. If Lindsay's my client, like what's most important to you, like you know, um, how do you want your hair to look and feel after our visit today? Like that is so different than trying to convince someone to buy just because of the benefits. That really helps you to get to the emotion side of things, which puts things in motion.

Speaker 1:

I love that, janet. It really reminds me of a time where I overheard this was years ago, thankfully, and so now it's, you know, something that we include in our training. But I overheard a stylist in our salon company when they asked somebody you know, what shampoo are you using at home? And I think that the guest said a suave or something like that, and the stylist was like, oh, that's terrible. And I was like Whoa, whoa, whoa, I didn't, you know, correct, right there in front of the guest.

Speaker 1:

But, um, later I just said, you know, hey, um, let's have a conversation about this, because you know that guest, or that that client, was making the best choice for the knowledge that they had at that time. You know, and, and now, truly understanding the difference between convince and persuade, you know, I just said can I share another idea on? You know how we could approach this conversation, you know, by just saying, okay, so you're using Suave, you know, thank you for letting me know like, why did you choose that product? Or how is that working currently for you? And let the guest talk to them, and then you can start to share some of the benefits about the product that you're using and how this could really, you know, change the trajectory of their hair.

Speaker 1:

You know, okay, well, just so you know, today I'm going to be using XYZ shampoo and I chose this, you know, based on our conversation earlier where you mentioned. You know you have trouble with frizz, or you know you have lack of volume or lack of shine or whatever it is. You know, and then you're just bringing them over by talking. You're never judging or arguing with anything that they're doing. You know, and it really makes all of the difference in the world. You know, because people just perceive that so differently and and like you mentioned, jen, you're really tapping into, you know that, that emotional connection and building that trust, trust versus just making it logical, because that's people don't buy based on logic.

Speaker 2:

That's so good, so good. And I love when you really understand those words convince and persuade. Because, like, when you work all day behind the chair, behind the table, and you're trying to convince people to take the opportunity to add on treatments, or convince people to take the opportunity to add on treatments or convince people to buy products, like you kind of feel exhausted. Actually, you don't kind of you feel exhausted by the end of the day because you're like feel like you're working so hard to prove to them that they need this and so like it's such a more simple way when you can really just get connected to that person through a conversation, understand, you know what's missing from them or what their greatest problems are, and be able to, you know, listen, learn and return an opportunity for them. Like, wow, that just makes you feel so much free and so much less chaotic at the end of the day.

Speaker 1:

Yes, you couldn't leave not feeling wiped out and exhausted. I love that, Jen. That's great, so good. So let's talk about some retail rescue strategies that you can share with your team, Because, you know, number one is helping to reframe selling as serving. So what you really want to start to reframe for your team is to really think of retail as a way to continue caring for your clients even after they leave the salon. You know, because that is one thing you know, that we see inside of our industry, People choose this industry all the time because they love helping other people. And the truth is, you know, none of us would, you know, perform any of the services we do as well as we do without the added benefits and care of the products, and you know tools that we use to create the looks. So helping your team to see, you know, hey, retail is a way to continue caring for your clients Even after they leave the salon totally changes the way that they see retail.

Speaker 2:

Love that, um. Another strategy that you can use is the power of storytelling. You know, like teaching your, your team, to share in transformational experience with the products to help build trust. And you know, I like to say to you like, when we're telling stories, like to take away the words I, me or my and use the word you, because really, when you're telling a story, you want them to be able to see how it relates to them. And so, like you know the power of storytelling, you know like, when you've heard a good story, you're locked in, you're, you're ready to listen to it. The same thing can happen when we're, you know, serving our guests and making that connection to what's going to be the best home hair care, home skincare for them.

Speaker 1:

I love that, jen. The next thing to share with your team is to really help just create a retail journey. You know you want to position retail as part of the whole salon experience. It's not just an afterthought. You know so really. You know talking about it in that moment. You know, using the power of storytelling, like Jen just said like this is what you will notice. You know, when you're at the shampoo bowl, what you will notice when we get back over to the chair. First of all, you'll smell this amazing fragrance, but you'll also notice these benefits and I chose this based on our our conversation earlier. You know, so really just creating a journey to where it continues in, through the whole entire service and not just like randomly putting lotions and potions on people's hair or skin and wondering, well, I don't know why they don't take it home. I don't know why they're going to XYZ retailer and buying it instead of here.

Speaker 2:

Yes, so good, so good. Another strategy you want to make sure that you do with your team as well as track and celebrate wins Like this is so huge. You know, like think about how can you gamify the selling a retail daily, like you know, giving a shout out for the first person that makes a sale for the for a home hair care product for the day. Or like keeping a you know something in the back care product for the day. Or like keeping a you know something in the back room that just celebrates all you know best yet retail sales for the day. Or you know even, like we like to promote teams of putting your, your team, into groups of smaller, like groups of two or groups of three, and then like having a retail contest to you know see who can do the most sales or the most treatments or whatever it may be. So you know, I think that's an important part of it is to really make sure that we celebrate um the success that we create when it comes to retail.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, you know, and just a few thought provoking questions you know to think about, um, you know, and when you're creating the space that your retail lives in, what would your retail space say about your brand If it could talk? You know what? What does that space look like? What are clients feeling when they walk into that space? Is it an inviting space, you know? Do they feel like they can touch the products? They can ask questions? You have some shelf talkers on there to help kind of guide that experience or what is missing?

Speaker 1:

That could really help elevate your brand, um, and and the, the product brands that you choose to partner with in that space, so that clients want to buy. You know, because, truly, you know, when we're we're thinking about selling, all we're doing is trying to create the environment where people want to buy. And so, you know, you might be thinking, okay, lindsay, I have an older space, I can't, it's not the most perfect, up-to-date retail space and I don't necessarily. We don't necessarily mean the space itself, we also mean the words that you're choosing to use with that and, and using a persuasive way versus a convincing way, you know. And so, thinking about that all encompassing space, what is it creating for the client when they walk into your, your salon or spa and, you know, does it create the environment where they want to buy.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and you know with your team when you think about that.

Speaker 2:

You know how to set this up as well as, like, it's very common to see service providers work with a client and just say what do you want to do today? And like, so we really, if we're going to persuade for good, we really have got to understand and get connected to that client by asking questions, collecting more data, like ask more questions and more questions. I've really worked on that with my team. What we know is that data equals dollars and so, like, if you're not collecting enough data from the client to understand what's important to them, it's going to be hard to prescribe the perfect, you know, take home product for them. It'd be like going to the doctor and you say I have a headache, and they say, okay, just take this prescription here, like, without truly finding, like, what is the root cause of the headache. And I see this happen in salons all the time, and we wonder why consumers are buying their products elsewhere. Like Lindsay was saying, it's because we're not even educating and serving them to their heights.

Speaker 1:

Good, um, it's cause, we're not even educating and serving them to their highest good, Mm, hmm. So, uh, if you had some amazing takeaways from our time together today, uh, we would love for you to uh give us a leave us a review on this podcast, or comment If you're catching this on YouTube or on another platform. Uh, we're just so grateful for the time that we get to spend together with you. If you know another salon owner that could benefit from any of the free resources that we have, um, please share. We appreciate your time together and we look forward to seeing you on the next episode.