Pulse Legacy Archive January / February 2012

Soundbites from the Pros T his year’s Professional Development Sessions (PDS) are packed with expert insights on various topics, ranging from leadership, retail, social media, customer service and best practices, to name a few. Missed all the sharing and interaction? No worries, you still have time to listen to all the sessions by purchasing the PDS audio recordings (Conference attendee rate: $95; non-Conference attendee rate: $275). Here’s a bite-sized highlight of this year’s top speakers and great advice to help you grow your spa business. Why is it important to strive for excellence when leading? “If you condition your team that you only expect and look for excellence, it will become very obvious who does not fit your culture—and that’s good. You want those who don’t fit your culture to stand out because they may not be an ideal fit for your team. One of the fastest ways to de-motivate your best people is when they see their manager tolerate and accept mediocrity from everyone else.” —DR. BRYAN WILLIAMS How can you get customers to trust you? “What the shoppers are looking at in the initial trust factor are: ● Do I like you? ● Do you understand my needs? ● Can I trust you? If these three questions are not answered, in the mind of the shopper, they are not going any further in the sales equation. Bottom line, your business improves when your people improves.” —CAROL PHILLIPS How do you determine if you are managing the right thing? “Sometimes we’re not really managing the right thing. If you find yourself running around, on your email, chasing your staff, putting out fires, and really tired, you might have to re-identify what it is you actually need to manage. Then, how do you actually monitor your staff and what do you do with that information? Motivate is the ‘why.’ Why does someone come to work in the morning? The ‘why’ is what makes people buy. The ‘why’ is what makes your staff get up in the morning and get out of bed and come to work.” —JACLYN HUGHES What best practice is Four Seasons doing to help enhance customer experience? “We are in the business of selling six senses: Sight, smell, touch, hear, taste—and shop. I call ‘shop’ the sixth sense, and you are a fool if you don’t remember that in everything that you do. At Four Seasons, [for instance on an] artwork on the wall, we get asked all the time: Who did that painting? What is it? Can I take it home? We say ‘no’ but they expect the information. The same thing should be for you. I don’t expect you to carry everything that you use in the spa, but you should be able to tell the guest where you got it because they want to recreate the experience when they get home.” —TODD HEWITT 44 PULSE ■ January/February 2012

Pulse Legacy Archive January / February 2012 | Page 46