Jeni Giles
Well-Known Member
Mrs. Geek posted a poll for 2006 about how we were going to improve or make a living. So far education is in the lead, as it well should be, and retail is running a close second.
I thought I'd put my 2 cents in and maybe help a few fellow geeks put a little more cash in their pockets.
Retail, the only employee who doesn't call in sick, never takes time off, requires little or no supervision, and has no family committments. It quietly sits on the shelf (maybe collecting dust) and just waits, patiently until someone remembers it sits there.
Ok, so how do you go about selling retail....EDUCATION! Educate yourself about the products you carry, as you use them educate your clients about the products you are using and educate your staff about what is available as well. You do not have to be a salesperson, a quiet reccommendation will usually do.
Take somethings into consideration:
1. How many of your clients use lotion or hand creme?
2. How many use cuticle oil?
3. How many use Shampoo or hair care products?
Here's the biggie
4. Where are they buying these products from?
If you answered number 4, from me, then forget this post and move along to something more fun, like chewing nails, so you have something to do later!
The typical mark up on professional products allows us to easily replace our investment by selling one or two items. Even if you offer a discount instead of using the manufacturer's reccommended price, it will replace itself and pay for part of another.
Professional retail products are higher quality and less diluted with wax and other fillers than products that are available to the general public at a discount store or pharmacy. There are more uses per ounce or mililiter when using professional retail products than over the counter products.
Professional retail products are formulated to support and enhance our work. The manufacturer's have realized that we need at home support and aftercare products to keep our work in prime condition until it grows out or needs to be rebalaced or replaced.
All righty then, we've mentioned education, I even gave you some hints about things you can educate your clients about (cost per use, quality, personal recommendation) now lets talk about that display....
Where is your display? Do they have to look at it or walk past it on the way to your table? What does your display look like? Is it dusty? Is it themed? Decorated? Well stocked? Does everything have a price sticker or shelf talker? Do you have impulse buy objects, you know those cute files with cartoon characters on one side and your salon info on the other?
When you buy your retail when do you do it? A good piece of advice here, save up and buy when it is on sale. Keep track of what you sell a bunch of and when your distributor has a sale buy a little extra. You can pass the savings on to your clients or you can store it and put it out as needed. You may want to stock up on things and do a sale or retail night...I think a Creative Party was mentioned once, that would be kind of fun!
Create a stable, friendly relationship with your distributor. If you pay your bills on time and support them, they are better equiped to help you achieve your goals. A good working relationship with your distributor will also open doors for when sales are coming up and when education or manufacturer's classes are coming up. Distributors work for us, but with out them we would not be able to do our jobs.
What about your nail table? Do you have anything for sale there? A sample bottle of lotion or a tester of hand creme? Anything for the client to open and smell, ask questions about? When you use something explain what it is, what it does, why you use that product and hand it to them. Human instinct when someone hands you something, you take it, usually with out thinking and you look at it. (try this with anything, while having a casual conversation, hand something doesn't matter what, to the person you are talking to, they look at you a little strange depending on what you hand them, but they take it)
When your client gets ready to pay for their service do you just take their money or do you offer them some of the products you have used or reccommended? A good phrase to use: would you like to take the__________ home today? ask them while you are handing it to them. They will usually look at the product and make their decision. They may say I'll get it next time or something to that effect, but the seed has been planted and a carefully tended garden grows well.
Keep track of what your clients have purchased so that you know when to offer an item or if one of their favorite products goes on sale. Knowing when they are out, what scent they liked or what products they use helps us to maintain a professional relationship that is considerate and caring. Kind of like when our distributors contact us and let us know about upcoming education or product sales.
Retail doesn't have to be hard, it really doesn't take much work, and it can effectively raise your bottom line with out putting in any more hours. If your profit margin is 3 dollars (don't know the conversion..so maybe a pound?) for one retail item and you sold 1 item to each client you did you may come close to making enough that it would be like adding another new set to the end of the day.
I realise that you won't sell a retail item to every client, every day, but remember to plant the seeds, let them know about the products that are available, remind them each time they come in, and eventually your retail "garden" will grow and blossom. In fact it will grow and blossom so well that you'll be able to fly over and have an American Geekmeet!! While your garden is growing keep investing, don't forget to replace what you've sold!!!
I thought I'd put my 2 cents in and maybe help a few fellow geeks put a little more cash in their pockets.
Retail, the only employee who doesn't call in sick, never takes time off, requires little or no supervision, and has no family committments. It quietly sits on the shelf (maybe collecting dust) and just waits, patiently until someone remembers it sits there.
Ok, so how do you go about selling retail....EDUCATION! Educate yourself about the products you carry, as you use them educate your clients about the products you are using and educate your staff about what is available as well. You do not have to be a salesperson, a quiet reccommendation will usually do.
Take somethings into consideration:
1. How many of your clients use lotion or hand creme?
2. How many use cuticle oil?
3. How many use Shampoo or hair care products?
Here's the biggie
4. Where are they buying these products from?
If you answered number 4, from me, then forget this post and move along to something more fun, like chewing nails, so you have something to do later!
The typical mark up on professional products allows us to easily replace our investment by selling one or two items. Even if you offer a discount instead of using the manufacturer's reccommended price, it will replace itself and pay for part of another.
Professional retail products are higher quality and less diluted with wax and other fillers than products that are available to the general public at a discount store or pharmacy. There are more uses per ounce or mililiter when using professional retail products than over the counter products.
Professional retail products are formulated to support and enhance our work. The manufacturer's have realized that we need at home support and aftercare products to keep our work in prime condition until it grows out or needs to be rebalaced or replaced.
All righty then, we've mentioned education, I even gave you some hints about things you can educate your clients about (cost per use, quality, personal recommendation) now lets talk about that display....
Where is your display? Do they have to look at it or walk past it on the way to your table? What does your display look like? Is it dusty? Is it themed? Decorated? Well stocked? Does everything have a price sticker or shelf talker? Do you have impulse buy objects, you know those cute files with cartoon characters on one side and your salon info on the other?
When you buy your retail when do you do it? A good piece of advice here, save up and buy when it is on sale. Keep track of what you sell a bunch of and when your distributor has a sale buy a little extra. You can pass the savings on to your clients or you can store it and put it out as needed. You may want to stock up on things and do a sale or retail night...I think a Creative Party was mentioned once, that would be kind of fun!
Create a stable, friendly relationship with your distributor. If you pay your bills on time and support them, they are better equiped to help you achieve your goals. A good working relationship with your distributor will also open doors for when sales are coming up and when education or manufacturer's classes are coming up. Distributors work for us, but with out them we would not be able to do our jobs.
What about your nail table? Do you have anything for sale there? A sample bottle of lotion or a tester of hand creme? Anything for the client to open and smell, ask questions about? When you use something explain what it is, what it does, why you use that product and hand it to them. Human instinct when someone hands you something, you take it, usually with out thinking and you look at it. (try this with anything, while having a casual conversation, hand something doesn't matter what, to the person you are talking to, they look at you a little strange depending on what you hand them, but they take it)
When your client gets ready to pay for their service do you just take their money or do you offer them some of the products you have used or reccommended? A good phrase to use: would you like to take the__________ home today? ask them while you are handing it to them. They will usually look at the product and make their decision. They may say I'll get it next time or something to that effect, but the seed has been planted and a carefully tended garden grows well.
Keep track of what your clients have purchased so that you know when to offer an item or if one of their favorite products goes on sale. Knowing when they are out, what scent they liked or what products they use helps us to maintain a professional relationship that is considerate and caring. Kind of like when our distributors contact us and let us know about upcoming education or product sales.
Retail doesn't have to be hard, it really doesn't take much work, and it can effectively raise your bottom line with out putting in any more hours. If your profit margin is 3 dollars (don't know the conversion..so maybe a pound?) for one retail item and you sold 1 item to each client you did you may come close to making enough that it would be like adding another new set to the end of the day.
I realise that you won't sell a retail item to every client, every day, but remember to plant the seeds, let them know about the products that are available, remind them each time they come in, and eventually your retail "garden" will grow and blossom. In fact it will grow and blossom so well that you'll be able to fly over and have an American Geekmeet!! While your garden is growing keep investing, don't forget to replace what you've sold!!!
