Racoon X-Tend Magazine Issues 01 | Page 22

How do you get clients to buy your retail recommendations and more importantly – ensure they use them and buy them again?
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How do you get clients to buy your retail recommendations and more importantly – ensure they use them and buy them again?
Just as medical diagnosis and treatment is a doctor’ s area of expertise, hair care is salon territory; never under-estimate the value of your professional recommendation. It’ s easy to assume people know what products to use, what’ s right for their hair, but very often they don’ t and can make the wrong choices. Random choices means there are probably more unused than used products standing idle in bathroom cupboards.
Your accumulated wealth of knowledge is a trusted treasure trove for your clients. About 80 percent of retail sales occur at the styling unit where it’ s important that you take an interest in her regime, explain what suits and works best for her needs. This approach is by far the most encouraging way to convince her to buy – and use – those products correctly at home.
We all like to feel cared for, that someone’ s taking an interest in us; and on top of being image conscious these days, everyone wants to know what to use to make them look better.
It is especially important for hair extensions clients to buy into the retail principle. Our products are specially designed to work in harmony with hair extensions, to keep them in tip-top condition, ensuring clients’ hair looks salon fabulous – always.
Make sure everyone in your team – from assistant to top stylist – is thoroughly familiar with every retail product; what it does, the type of hair it suits, the price. Ignorance isn’ t bliss; it’ s embarrassing for you, awkward for the client, leading to a loss of confidence and a lost sale.
Keep your shelves well stocked. People buy from full shelves, recognising them to be a retail area. One or two products are seen as ornamentation or decorative items.
People read from left to right, so put your bestsellers first in a product range line-up. And don’ t separate products into shampoo / conditioner / styling sections. Keep ranges together; it gives each greater impact and helps to‘ cross-sell’ extra products.
Don’ t assume what your client can or can’ t afford. Everyone has different values when it comes to what’ s cheap, what’ s expensive and on what they are prepared to spend their money. As a general rule, every extension client should be encouraged to buy shampoo, conditioner and a brush at the very least.
Don’ t get involved in answering questions about popular supermarket or chemist brands; you’ ll just end up getting in a muddle and the client losing faith in you. Simply explain yours are the only products you can guarantee to work brilliantly with the service she’ s just had in the salon.

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