Making More From Your Retail Products
A Cosmetologist's Guide to the Retail World
As a cosmetologist, it’s likely that you’re primarily focused on providing the best possible services to your clients.
That makes sense, right? Of course, it does. But what if we told you that one of the quickest, easiest, and most advantageous ways to make money had nothing to do with an active service you’re providing?
What if we told you that there are passive ways to bring in more revenue to benefit your cosmetology biz? What if we told you it was a simple, passive, and profitable process?
You’d be interested, right?
Of course, you would. And for those who are interested, we have two worlds: retail products.
If you sighed, we get that. Retail products might have burned you in the past, or you may have approached this tactic without a solid strategy.
But we’re aiming to change the way you think about retail products with this blog. Why? Because when you do retail right, you can maximize your profits like never before.
So, read up! This blog is offering all the insight you could want on why retail products should be a focus for you and how you can maximize your retail product efforts.
Why Retail Products Matter
The reality of the shop, salon, and spa world is this–retail products do matter. And not just because we say so.
Retail can open up an entire world of profit that can do so much for your business.
The extra income you bring in from retail can keep the lights on, pay for your laundry service, create income for your business, and even pay your staff. In short, retail products can bring in a lot of extra bacon.
But that’s not all that retail products do for your shop.
They can also:
- Increase your revenue
- Diversify your income stream
- Create more valuable points of contact with your guests
- Generate a semi-passive income
- Engage customer loyalty
- Push for customer retention for repeat sales
- Enhance customer education
The Top Tips for Improving Retail Sales in Your Salon, Shop, or Spa
So, you get why retail products are a must in your salon, right? Now that that’s out of the way let’s talk about how you can push these products without being pushy. Keep reading for our top tips for improving your retail sales revenue!
Don’t Be Pushy
We mentioned this already, but we don’t mind repeating ourselves. Why? Because it’s so important to avoid coming off as a pushy salesman when you’re trying to share products with your clients.
Listen, you already have clients in the store. They came in expecting to spend a certain amount of money on a specific service. If you jump in and start throwing a pushy sales pitch at them, that’s going to be a huge turnoff and negatively impact their customer experience.
Whatever tactic you do end up taking to nudge customers toward your products, just don’t take a pushy, salesy approach.
Relevant Product Suggestion is Key
What’s your customer’s hair journey? What are their goals? What trend are they chasing, and what transition are they trying to make?
It’s one thing to know what your clients’ hair goals are–it’s another entirely to offer them products to help them meet those goals.
When you know what your clients are chasing, your product suggestions are helpful, not pushy. Explain to your clients why you’re suggesting a certain product to them and keep the pressure off if they buy it; great. If they don’t, no sweat.
Maybe next time they come in, they’ll see the difference your suggested products can make, and they’ll buy!
Keep Your Shelves Stocked
Above all, do not have a cleaned-out retail shelf that can’t deliver when it needs to.
The worst feeling in the world is gradually working a client up to purchasing your retail products and then figuring out that you’re actually out.
Good luck making that sale again next time! Avoid this probably entirely by being fully stocked at all times.
Use Products During Their Appointment
Want to really sell a client on a product to purchase without saying a word? Use that specific product during their service.
The proof, as they say, is going to be in the pudding. And then seeing the results up-front is worth so much more than you just promising them results.
Educate Your Clients
Your clients are smart, and they want to know why you’re using what you’re using. Explain and educate every step of their appointment.
Teach them about ingredients and products and what they do. Educate your clients at every turn so they know that you’re not just trying to persuade them to buy something for the sake of making a sale.
Show them that you care about their knowledge and want them to purchase products they believe in, too.
Got a few of your own retail product tips up your sleeve? We love to hear that. Share what you know with the whole EBS community right here in the comment section.
Trust us, your fellow cosmetologists and beauty pros will flip for this info–and we love to see the community sharing all their secrets with their colleagues.
Want more tips and tricks for maximizing your success as a cosmetologist? Don’t forget to subscribe to Elite Beauty Society so you’ll get regular updates on when we drop the latest resources, hot discounts, and industry deals.
