It is an all too common occurrence in the beauty industry to hear salon/spa professionals say that they don’t want to be “salesy” or “pushy”. While being aggressive is a turn off, if service providers are being asked to recommend products that can benefit their clients look and health, that’s far from pushy, it’s actually good customer service.
Here’s the thing, how one goes about it is important. So is the perception of the person having to make the recommendation so let’s break this down.
First up, it’s best to explain to a client during the consultation that, throughout the service the products that are being used to create and enhance the finished look or achieve the result needed with one’s hair, skin and nails, will be recommended. Let them know up front the commitment to serving them. After that it’s up to them to make their choice. That’s it! Nothing deceptive, tricky or pushy here at all.
Second, perception is critical. Typically, if someone has had a bad sales experience, the last thing they want to do is be a pushy salesperson which leads to people not making any recommendations. Who is that all about? The service provider, not the client. If this is the case, be aware of your opinions and set them aside. It’s not our job to make up our clients minds about something. It’s simply our job to recommend something we believe in and, again, it’s their job to choose.
At the end of the day, we are selling three things to our clients: a commodity, the experience along with it and our expertise. There’s nothing wrong with any of that unless you think there is. It begins and ends with your approach. Notice it, shift it if you need to and stand behind what you sell and the impact it has on the people you serve!
