Mastering the Art of Retail (Salon Owners)

If your salon retail is more pain in the neck than cash in the bank, stay tuned for my five tips on giving your salon retail a bit of a shot in the arm. Hello, hello, hello my salon friends, Phil Jackson here, your queen of salons, coming in your eyes and ears again with another dose of Wise Owl Wisdom. How on earth are you? Achingly well, I hope, as we march towards the end of July, heading into August, and August in my salon was always the sticky bit of the year, it was always the season when things got very, very quiet, because most of my customers were mums, so as soon as the kids broke up and they were struggling with childcare, salon visits became less of a priority. But I know that that's the opposite case for many of the salons that I coach. Lots of them see this as the big cash season before things quieten off again in the autumn. So how is it for you? How are we doing? I've had a funny couple of weeks, to be honest with you. Been all over the place. I've been up to Manchester with my mastermind group. Very nice to see them. It's lovely to spend some time in the room with people when most of my day is taken up with Zoom calls. And I also had some photos done, which has been an interesting one, because I'm sure I'm not alone, but I'm somebody who doesn't generally enjoy having their photo taken. But I had some photos done, and I have to say it was an absolute pleasure. A lady called Rachel took some shots for me. I'm sure I'm going to be sharing them with you very, very soon. And then I did more photos because I was doing a selfie workshop. A lady called Bori, who's in a business networking group with me. And basically her premise is that we all need so many photos now to keep our social media content fresh, that we should get much more comfortable in front of the camera. And she was superb, telling us how to pose, what settings to use on our cameras and so on and so on. And what I've come to the realisation is that basically this is a quantity game. Nobody takes one selfie and immediately loves it. We just have to get used to taking lots and lots and lots of photos very quickly and then taking the best of what may be a bad bunch. But what's your relationship with selfies like? I must admit, I've hidden behind my brand an awful lot, but no more. Well, Phil is stepping up and stepping out. Anyway, we're here to talk today about salon retail.

And salon retail is something that I get lots and lots of questions about. And when I'm going to salons as a business coach, it's one of the things that we have lots of conversations about, too, because I think there is a feeling in the industry that we should be doing more and this should be something that's really profitable for us. And yet for so many, it's a real struggle, particularly if they've got team members, they struggle to motivate them to sell retail. They struggle to get the products moving off the shelf at all. And I have to say, and I've said this before, that our manufacturers and suppliers, of course, we need to be in partnership with them. But we also need to recognise that they are competitors. They are competing for profit margin with us. And I don't think there's anywhere that we feel this more acutely than in our salon retail, because not only are they competing on profit margin and our bit of profit, I have to say, I think is a little bit mean, bit stingy, Mr. Manufacturer. Come on, we can do a bit better than that. But also the fact that they're allowing these products to be diverted into online marketplaces and people are selling lots of these products on eBay and Amazon and so on. And literally, you know, I'd like to think that my salon is pretty strong on retail. But even in my salon, we have people sitting while their colours are processing, scrolling through, seeing if they can get those products elsewhere cheaper. So come on, Mr. Manufacturer, time to step up. Look after the people that put your products on the shelf in the first place. We need a bit more profit and a little bit more work done in the way of diversion, if we may. So why do we retail at all? Well, there are a lot of people who feel that you're not doing a complete service unless you're also retailing products for aftercare. And I think that's true to a certain level, though I have to say maybe now that these products are so readily available, perhaps we don't need to necessarily stock the products ourselves. Maybe there's an argument for saying that we could recommend the best product for them to go and buy online. And if we can get some sort of affiliate commission, perhaps we don't need to stock those products in the first place. So if you've made the decision or if you're in the process of making the decision not to stock retail at all, I'm all for that. If you can make that work and put your thumbprint on the marketplace by saying that actually we're not going to stock retail, we're going to recommend what's best for you, not necessarily what we have on the shelves. I think that's a strong marketing argument. I think there's a strong pillar being built in your business there. But I'm going to assume if you're watching or listening to this episode, hello to everybody over on YouTube, by the way,

if you're watching and listening to this episode that you want to be selling more retail. So you want retail on sale. But here's the argument, I think, for keeping retail. And that's about column space, because our success as salon business owners is defined by the column space that we have available. There is a ceiling on the amount of success that we have. Even if we're charging super, super premium prices, there is only so much we can earn in a day, we can earn in a year, because we're restricted by time. As soon as we start looking at retail, of course, all bets are off, because it doesn't take any more time to sell 10 products than it does to sell one. It doesn't take any more time to sell 1,000 products, if we're really clever, than it does to sell the one. So all of a sudden, we're taking some of the limits of the potential of the business. And I find that very exciting. So where do we get started? And honestly, I know that for some of you, we are just getting started. I have been into salons as a business coach, where it's an event to sell one product. So if you're starting at zero, how do you get started? How do we start to get some product shifting? How do we get out of the habit of not retailing? Well, my first tip is to have a look at the products that you have on the shelf, and make sure that your brand and your manufacturer's brand is aligned. And sometimes that means shifting products, maybe even putting performance of the product to one side for a second, while we figure out what we're going to be retailing. Let me give you an example. And I'm going to give you lots of hair examples, because my salon is a hair salon, even though everybody that I coach one-to-one has a beauty salon, I have a hair salon. And in my salon, we stock Goldwell products. And Goldwell have a number of retail ranges. One of those retail ranges is called KMS. And you may be aware of KMS products. And it's a real tension in the business. There's a real strain in the business. Because KMS branding is very young, very fresh, very urban, very funky. And that's not our salon brand at all. We're much higher end. We have a slightly more mature audience. We're looking for performance of the products and prestige around products as well. So there's a tension in the business, which actually slightly limits our potential around retail sales. So have a look at what you're selling. The way that we get around it, by the way, is we stock KMS products.

We show people how to use them. We retail them. We never use any of their point of sale. You will never see a KMS poster in my window because it just doesn't fit with my brand. So have a look at your brands. Make sure that their values and your values are aligned. Make sure that your customer priorities are being serviced by your manufacturers too. For example, I've just brought in a range of products into my salon. And I'm hearing more and more people talking about friendly products. They want eco-friendly products. They want animal-friendly products. They want vegan products. So I've made sure with that brand that we're moving in that direction. And all of the products we brought in are vegan because I think that's going to become more of a priority for my customer as we go along. So we need to know what our customers want from products, what they're prioritizing, and make sure that's a priority for your brand too. Tip number two. If you're literally starting from zero and you've got that cultural habit of not retailing, look at maybe bundling some products in with your services. Make it not an option. Perhaps when you're putting promotions together, start to bring one or two retail products in just to get some products into your customer's hand. It breaks that cycle of them not associating your business with professional retail. And we do this a lot, particularly if it's a service where aftercare is absolutely essential. So in a hair salon, I'm talking about things like hair extensions. If you've ever had hair extensions, carried out hair extension services, you know that the wrong choice of shampoo and conditioner can cause an awful lot of headaches for the client and an awful lot of headaches for the technician carrying out the service too. So we include our hair extension shampoo and conditioner with every set of hair extensions. I want to make sure you've got the right stuff in the bathroom. The easiest way for me to do that is to include it in the price. Another example from the hair world would be something like colour correction. If you've done lots of work on a colour correction, you know how quickly that can be undone by using the wrong shampoos and conditioners at home. So let's price it into the colour correction. Make sure they're taking the right products home. Similarly, in a beauty vein, I'm thinking about things like post-procedure aftercare.

If you've done something like a peel or needling, you know how vital it is that people look after their skin in the days and weeks that follow. Price it in. Give them the products, not just a little sachet to take home. Give them a decent-sized product, perhaps a travel size or even a full-size retail product, and price it in. It makes it harder for you to compare like for like when you're looking at service prices, but it makes sure that we're getting the right products in our customers' hands too. In a similar vein, tip number three is going back to, I don't know where the episode is, I will see if I can find it in link in the description below, but going back to our new client package. So I did a whole episode on this. If you want me to do another one, reach out, let me know, phil at buildyoursalon.com. But I did a whole episode on the new client package because in my salon, you pay more as a new client than you do as an existing or regular client, which I know flies in the face of what most salon businesses do. And part of that is because we include a full-size retail product. Because in my research, over half of our new customers, in fact, it was in the 60-odd percent, had never tried a professional retail product. So we needed to get a product into their hands and it's our choice of products. So we prioritise either care or styling, depending on where the customer is in their journey and what they're using at home already. We give them a product that gets a product into their hands. Sometimes they buy another product off the back of that. So if we give them a shampoo, sometimes they will buy the conditioner that goes with it. So we've got a sale straight away. But I think more importantly, we've got an opener for a retail conversation on visit number two. Because the first thing I can say is, how are you getting on with that shampoo? You must be running out by now. Did you want to try it? Was it too heavy, too light? Did it do what we said it was going to do? Do we need to swap it for a different one? Do we need to take the conditioner, the mask this time? So we've got a very non-embarrassing opener for retail on visit number two as well. And it makes a huge difference to our retail sales over time. Tip number four is to have the retail conversation much earlier in the client visit. And I'm looking at you beauty people now, especially those of you that are running spas. Because the number of times I've gone to a spa, I don't very often pay to have a facial. I'll be really honest. I'm not a regular facial client. But when I go to a spa, I nearly always have a facial. And the retail conversation is basically a leaflet thrust at me at the end with a few ticks in a few boxes.

And they say something like, these products are available at reception. And that's it. Firstly, I'm all chilled out and blissed out at the end of my facial. I don't want to be talking about retail products. But secondly, that conversation isn't long enough. And it shows me that it's not a priority in that business. So what I do, and I actually stole this from my husband because he retails like a demon. He's very, very good at selling. And what he does is brings the retail conversation right into the consultation, right at the beginning of the customer visit. So again, we're a hair salon, so you'll have to do some translating if you're anything else. But he'll say something like, yes, we can give you that style or we can give you that colour. But to keep it looking its best, you're going to need these products. So the customer's already been sold on the products. And if they say, no, I'm not willing to take those products, he will say something like, do we need to look at something that's a bit lower maintenance then? Do we need to look at something that's going to work with the products you've already got? Because this style isn't going to. So that whole conversation is much sooner in the visit. So by the end of the visit, it's basically a case of just bagging them up and sending them home. So bring that conversation much earlier into the process. I do this with the hair systems that I fit for gents. I make sure I'm really clear on the aftercare and that they are going to need to take those products on visit one as well. So they know before they've even booked that first appointment that they are going to be taking products home. They can budget for it. There's an expectation there and they are ready to buy. And my final tip is to make retail mandatory. So how do we make retail mandatory? How can we force people to buy? Well, of course you can't. But what we can do is make talking about retail mandatory. And this was part, I don't know if there's an episode on it. If you want to hear more about my five point promise, my guarantee, my service guarantee in my salon, reach out, let me know, phil at buildyoursalon.com. But one of the points of the five point promise is that we will tell you about every product that we're using on you today, or you get to take them home for nothing. It's a big promise. And that is displayed clearly at the bottom of every mirror in the salon. So what does that do? Well, firstly, it stops me having to nag every team member about talking about retail. They know they've got to do it. More than that, the customer knows they've got to do it as well. So there's no embarrassment around having that conversation. Now, I'll be really honest with you. It sounds like a magic wand. It did need a bit of tweaking because what we got to the stage of was where my stylists

were talking about retail products, but they were rattling through that conversation as quickly as they could. It's like, I'm using this because of this and this because of this. I said, slow down. Let's talk the products through properly. Let's actually make sure that we're doing some sales alongside just ticking a box on our consultation. But the five-point promise has been a game changer for my business, and this was a game changer for retail products too. So there we have it. My five tips on starting to sell more retail in your salon business. What have I missed? What are you doing to make sure that you're selling products properly? I would love to hear from you anyway. Reach out. Let me know, phil at buildyoursalon.com. You know, I adore hearing from my salon owner friends anyway. Also, reach out if you have any questions for my Q&A session, which I do each month. Also, reach out if you'd like to be a guest on a future episode of the Build Your Salon podcast. Don't forget to subscribe. Also, if you're listening on one of the podcast platforms, please, could you maybe take two minutes to give me a five-star review? I don't charge you anything for the knowledge that I'm sharing. We don't have any sponsors or adverts in these episodes either. So I think it's only a fair trade, my darlings. Just take two minutes of your day to swap for 30 minutes of mine. It would make my day, my week, hey, even my month to get a lovely review for you. Just seven short days until I'm coming in your eyes and ears again with another episode of the Build Your Salon podcast. And until then, take care. Sit down and see what's going on with the Queen and more successful tips for business owners. All on Build Your Salon.