Add It Up
Selling Add-ons with Diverse Menu Options and Customer Service
By Barry Eichner
Originally published in Skin Deep, October/November 2004.
Copyright 2004. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.
Skin care treatments are one of -- if not the -- most expensive offerings in the spa industry. They require technologically advanced products, additional supplies, and costly equipment. In order to recoup these high expenses and maintain a healthy business, spas and independent estheticians must keep treatment sales strong. Maximizing the total revenues from each appointment is key in building overall sales, this is only possible with a proper treatment menu and customer service approach.
What's On the Menu?
To ensure you have something for everyone, it's essential to create a menu of services that includes options for all skin types in your market. To determine which treatments to offer, you need to do a little market research to help determine the demand. Simply visit local competitors and examine their menus. Consider getting a few treatments and ask the estheticians what skin types are most prevalent. Also, surf the Internet and examine the menus of industry leaders to identify regional trends. For example, the current fad is to keep the menu simple and offer a minimum number of basic treatments. This can work well as long as you then build the sales revenues by performing "add-on" treatments, such as peels or masks.
By selling add-ons with a basic facial, you can create a mix-and-match approach that gives your customers options while keeping your inventory costs down, particularly if the add-ons are already part of your menu. For example, your add-in menu can include: exfoliating treatments (enzyme peels, glycolic peels, pumpkin peels, microdermabrasion), specialized masks, eye treatments, or serums. Analyze your costs for each add-on and take an acceptable profit. Keep the menu price reasonable, between $15-$50.
Customer Service, First and Last
High levels of customer service by highly trained estheticians will always increase client satisfaction and build confidence. Show your professionalism by obtaining a complete history, including a customer's current skin care regimen. Clearly establish skin care goals by asking the customer what she would like to change about her skin, why she is getting facials, and then determine thorough skin analyses. These goals are the targets of your skin care presentation, aka your sales pitch. Include that day's treatment, a list of add-ons, a list of products for home care, and recommendations for future treatments. As you discuss these options with your client, explain how each step will help achieve the established skin care goals. Also, clearly identify professional product ingredients, therapeutic procedures, and use of home care items. A client tends to trust her esthetician when it is apparent that she is listening and helping, rather than just pushing additional products and services. The following is an example of how you can build service revenue.
If the customer is booked for a basic facial at $85 and, based on her skin care goals, you offer an enzyme peel add-on at $25 and a specialized mask at $15, the treatment price increases to $125. At the end of the treatment, offer your client a mirror and show her the results of the treatment, pointing out the improvement in areas of concern.
Use this as a tie-in to the presentation of home care products, explaining that regular use of specific products can build on and continue the desired results. When presenting the products, reiterate the skin care goal and, just like with the treatments, explain how each product will help to achieve that goal. For example, you can simply say, "You mentioned you wanted to minimize the lines near your eyes. This high performance eye serum will do that." Cap your presentation by listing specific ingredients in the eye serum and why/how they have a wrinkle-minimizing effect. If this customer purchases two products for a retail value of $75, total revenue from that appointment is now at $200. Finally, recommend the next treatment, once again clearly establishing how this future treatment will work toward that end goal, and encourage the client to schedule the service before she leaves.
The difference between $85 and $200 in revenue is dramatic, and having a follow-up appointment already scheduled helps build on that business and continue a quality skin care regimen. The key is to create a versatile treatment menu that can be layered with additional offerings and provide customer service that is focused on achieving goals through a proper and complete skin care presentation. In addition to the increased revenue, the levels of client satisfaction and repeat bookings will also improve, in effect growing your business.
Barry Eichner, General Manager of 3000BC Wellness Spa and certified yoga teacher, is an industry consultant, writer, and speaker based in Philadelphia. He can be reached via his website, www.3000BC.com, or e-mailed at Barryat3000bc@aol.com.
Copyright 2004. Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals. All rights reserved.
Skin care treatments are one of -- if not the -- most expensive offerings in the spa industry. They require technologically advanced products, additional supplies, and costly equipment. In order to recoup these high expenses and maintain a healthy business, spas and independent estheticians must keep treatment sales strong. Maximizing the total revenues from each appointment is key in building overall sales, this is only possible with a proper treatment menu and customer service approach.
What's On the Menu?
To ensure you have something for everyone, it's essential to create a menu of services that includes options for all skin types in your market. To determine which treatments to offer, you need to do a little market research to help determine the demand. Simply visit local competitors and examine their menus. Consider getting a few treatments and ask the estheticians what skin types are most prevalent. Also, surf the Internet and examine the menus of industry leaders to identify regional trends. For example, the current fad is to keep the menu simple and offer a minimum number of basic treatments. This can work well as long as you then build the sales revenues by performing "add-on" treatments, such as peels or masks.
By selling add-ons with a basic facial, you can create a mix-and-match approach that gives your customers options while keeping your inventory costs down, particularly if the add-ons are already part of your menu. For example, your add-in menu can include: exfoliating treatments (enzyme peels, glycolic peels, pumpkin peels, microdermabrasion), specialized masks, eye treatments, or serums. Analyze your costs for each add-on and take an acceptable profit. Keep the menu price reasonable, between $15-$50.
Customer Service, First and Last
High levels of customer service by highly trained estheticians will always increase client satisfaction and build confidence. Show your professionalism by obtaining a complete history, including a customer's current skin care regimen. Clearly establish skin care goals by asking the customer what she would like to change about her skin, why she is getting facials, and then determine thorough skin analyses. These goals are the targets of your skin care presentation, aka your sales pitch. Include that day's treatment, a list of add-ons, a list of products for home care, and recommendations for future treatments. As you discuss these options with your client, explain how each step will help achieve the established skin care goals. Also, clearly identify professional product ingredients, therapeutic procedures, and use of home care items. A client tends to trust her esthetician when it is apparent that she is listening and helping, rather than just pushing additional products and services. The following is an example of how you can build service revenue.
If the customer is booked for a basic facial at $85 and, based on her skin care goals, you offer an enzyme peel add-on at $25 and a specialized mask at $15, the treatment price increases to $125. At the end of the treatment, offer your client a mirror and show her the results of the treatment, pointing out the improvement in areas of concern.
Use this as a tie-in to the presentation of home care products, explaining that regular use of specific products can build on and continue the desired results. When presenting the products, reiterate the skin care goal and, just like with the treatments, explain how each product will help to achieve that goal. For example, you can simply say, "You mentioned you wanted to minimize the lines near your eyes. This high performance eye serum will do that." Cap your presentation by listing specific ingredients in the eye serum and why/how they have a wrinkle-minimizing effect. If this customer purchases two products for a retail value of $75, total revenue from that appointment is now at $200. Finally, recommend the next treatment, once again clearly establishing how this future treatment will work toward that end goal, and encourage the client to schedule the service before she leaves.
The difference between $85 and $200 in revenue is dramatic, and having a follow-up appointment already scheduled helps build on that business and continue a quality skin care regimen. The key is to create a versatile treatment menu that can be layered with additional offerings and provide customer service that is focused on achieving goals through a proper and complete skin care presentation. In addition to the increased revenue, the levels of client satisfaction and repeat bookings will also improve, in effect growing your business.
Barry Eichner, General Manager of 3000BC Wellness Spa and certified yoga teacher, is an industry consultant, writer, and speaker based in Philadelphia. He can be reached via his website, www.3000BC.com, or e-mailed at Barryat3000bc@aol.com.
