In every class I teach, there is one common denominator. Our Technicians don’t like “selling” retail, they know they should yet don’t and/or they are “selling” very little.
First of all, the language needs to change. There is a reason I am putting “selling” retail in parentheses. We don’t “sell”. We recommend at home care products for the safety, care and concern of our clients.
There are numerous ways we can promote retail. There are numerous ways to boomerang back to the non-receptive client. Yet first, there are steps to be taken before you can even consider the idea of paying for your rent from the profits of your retail….which, can be and is, consistently done by many.
#1 CONFIDENCE
I know this is not the first time you have heard this from me, and I’m pretty darn confident you have heard it from others. We must have confidence in ourselves before we can expect anyone to have confidence in us.
The trust and confidence you build between you and your client, will make it so much easier when promoting retail. If they have confidence in you and they trust you, they will not question when you suggest they need a product for at home care maintenance.
In addition, YOU must have confidence in what you are promoting. Believing in what you do, believing in your why and believing in products you use and promote are crucial to the art of promoting retail.
Obtaining the ability to be confident in our brands is easy.
- Use them
- Know them
Understanding your products, the ingredients, their effect, their pricing is so important. I share this story again about personally going into the MAC store to purchase one item I saw on Pinterest. I left with a bag of items for a total of $260.00.
The representative looked the part, acted the part and when I tell you she knew her shit…..I’m not kidding. She knew the kind of hairs on the brushes AND shared with me the best way to maintain them. She knew specific colors she recommended for my skin tone and even though she had smokey eyes with deep blue eyeshadow, she didn’t try to sell me anything she could tell I wouldn’t use. In other words she had a good read of me. In addition, you could tell she thoroughly enjoyed her job.
The #1 ingredient of promoting retail is know your shit. Know the items you are promoting. The ingredients, why they work, who is the ideal client.
The best way to do this is to study one(1) item a week and promote that item the following week. Continue to do this with every product you have. While you are doing this be sure to learn how to match up a product to a client. Is this product an every day product, or is it something which is used only 1-2 times per week?
Know how long the product will last so you can share with your client the breakdown price. In other words, the product doesn’t cost $24.00…..it will last you 3-months. Therefore, if used properly your cost is $8.00 per month.
If you look up the definition of confidence the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust..you see it is all about believing.
You have to believe in yourself, and you have to believe in the products you promote.
Having the combination of the two(2) is the key to success in your clients believing in you.
You do need to go a step further though. You need to believe in what you are doing? Are you promoting products just to make money? Or, do you firmly believe your client need the item you want them to purchase?
In order to believe the client needs it, it is important for you to recognize the need.
- Our feet carry us around for a lifetime.
- Much like the skin on our face, hands or body…the skin on our feet is there to protect us.
- If the skin is not healthy nor hydrated, the skin will break down leaving an opportunity for calluses and open skin.
- Once this happens, we have invited bacteria to enter the skin which, can then enter the bloodstream.
- Once bacteria gets into the blood stream, THAT is not good.
Another important fact to note is not all products are created equal. Do the products you use and/or recommend sit on top of the skin or do they have ingredients which penetrate into the layers of the epidermis, allowing the skin to then naturally heal from the inside out, allowing the top layer of the skin to naturally exfoliate. The important of maintaining healthy skin by natural exfoliation is a very important piece of education your clients need to understand.
This part 1 of promoting retail focuses on confidence.
Gain confidence through knowledge.
See you at part 2 when we talk about communication in pertaining to retail.
CJ Murray, President
You’re right on, CJ. Good article
Thank you Linda 🙂