Pulse November 2017 | Page 42

everything from educating, helping, recommending tools or even coaching the guest, when it comes down to it, our therapists and service providers ultimately see it as selling. Outside of the one percenters who are selling dynamos, at a subconscious level, most of our service providers fear rejection. They fear offering something they perceive is highly priced to someone they perceive cannot afford it. They take rejection personally. Most of all, they fear not being liked and, therefore, not being booked. So, they subconsciously do everything possible to be liked and avoid the discomfort of rejection—including recommending retail products. I’ve learned this from traveling to spas around the world and administering my Subconscious Test to service providers, which has them self-evaluate and reveal their limiting beliefs that hold them back from making efforts. More often than not, it reveals a fear of selling. In essence, fully relying on our service providers to be the voice of our spa has its limitations. Although they are passionate about education, your service providers subconsciously fear being seen as sales people and losing the authentic connection or trust they have built with the guest. With a focus on creating a personal connection, they might even unconsciously miss the buying signals their guests offer in the form of wishes or complaints. Employees can also be transient and the time for them to gain the product knowledge required to create a sale can stagnate profits. All the while, our guests are still walking out the door without the proper homecare programs or worse, buying them over-the-counter or online without a professional opinion. time for a New approach: develop a conscious salesperson “You cannot solve a problem with the thinking that created it.” Albert Einstein 40 PULSE ■ November 2017 said that and it’s one of my favorite quotes because it applies to our industry now more than ever. It’s time to apply new thinking to solve this old problem and truly take an innovative and conscious approach to create the quantum leap breakthrough we desire; not just a new action plan, but a totally new way of thinking. In the spirit of Albert Einstein’s wisdom and the help of the ISPA team, I’ve created four free educational videos committed to empowering spas and “you cannot solve a problem with the thinking that created it.” salons to reach their full potential. This brand-new concept helps premium spas and salons like yours drive sales. This authentic and purpose-driven approach strengthens your guest connection and organically increases their spending without putting more pressure on your teams and without being salesy. It’s called Creating Your Conscious Salesperson. If fear is in the subconscious, then we need a conscious approach to meeting our goals and authentically awaken our guest’s buying desire. Instead of looking at your marketing as a one-dimensional call-to-action or advertisement, imagine your guest communications are being delivered by your “ideal employee.” One that has a defined personality and represents and inspires them with the philosophy of your spa. That’s your Conscious Salesperson! Your Conscious Salesperson is not a real human, although it communicates to your guest as if it were, instead it’s the inspired voice of your spa. your conscious salesperson: 1. Engages your guest in meaningful dialogue to stimulate their appetite to consume self-care. 2. Teaches from your spa’s unique core values and inspires guests to embrace their benefit. 3. Plants seeds and guides your guest through the four stages of buying to purchase more of your products and services all on their own. 4. Most importantly, encourages your guest to make the first move to ask questions of your service providers, so the fear barrier is broken and authentic conversation can occur. Your regular guests are loyal to you; they would still come if you changed brands, changed service providers and even changed locations. So, why not leverage this connection and have more of an intimate dialogue with them with your own simple marketing materials throughout the spa? Harness your ability to influence your guest’s behavior. Define your spa voice and practice thought leadership to consciously guide them along the four stages of buying. Connect to your purpose and your passion and reclaim your power to lead your guest. n taNya cHErNova, I n 2003, tanya focused on her passion for education and business success with North America’s largest corporate training company, SkillPath Seminars. For three years, she taught 30 soft-skill topics on leadership, management, communication, sales and more. In 2007, she launched her own training company, educating organizations to build the power of their brand. For more information, visit tanyachernova.com.