Jessica Turner Working in the aesthetics industry, it’s not only your retail stock that needs to fly from the shelves. Being able to up-sell services, as well as keep clients coming back for more treatments, is equally important. This is why it’s worthwhile to brush-up on the the most pertinent customer buying objections and how to overcome them.
Business mentor and sales strategist, Cherie Stokic, says you should not only understand these objections, but love and embrace them. She says you need to be confident and ready to tackle any road-block that may be holding your client back from investing in their skin. Cherie shares her top objection handling sales tips with SPA+CLINIC:
What are the most common buying objections from clients in aesthetics businesses?
Price is the number one buying objection in the aesthetics industry. There are two reasons your clients may give you the “I can’t afford it” objection. The first is that they haven’t been given enough education on why they should spend their money looking after their skin or body. The second is, they may need more time to make a decision. As an aesthetician, you are responsible for educating your clients on the risks of not purchasing.
- The risk of not going ahead with a purchase that could help with the health of their skin
- The risk of purchasing an inferior product online and the harmful effects that could have
- The risks of not getting started today and what the delay in their decision could mean to the long-term effect of their skin
In the aesthetics industry people are making informed decisions about the health of their skin. Thus, if they haven’t understood the risks of not going ahead with the purchase of a product or treatment package, then they are likely to use “money is tight” as an objection to get out of the sale. If your team has done enough in their sales appointment and informed the client correctly at multiple points in the process, they can often “educate away” the objection.
Some people just need time. Many just take a long time to make a decision, especially if the product or service they are purchasing is expensive. In these cases, it’s imperative that your team follow-up.
How can you encourage your staff to be better sales people?
The mindset of the team is important for clinic owners to know and understand. Working with clinics over the years, we have found that if the team members think “I wouldn’t spend that sort of money on that product or service” – then you need to start by educating your team and changing their mindset to truly see the value in what they are selling
Interestingly, however, your staff may not blink at spending the same sort of money on a night-out or fancy shoes. Yet having beautiful skin (that people comment on) may be the most important thing to your client. Educate your team that people spend money when they feel they are most informed.
Members of your team will also have different selling styles. It is important to remember that they can easily adapt the sales tools you develop for the team, to their own style. You need to have versatile scripts in-place to support your staff at every step of the selling process.
What tools can help you overcome buying objections?
Educating the client is key. That means providing the necessary printed materials/brochures to help them make a decision. Sending this information to your client before their appointment may help get them over the line at the final stage of the sales process.
Before visiting your business, most people have already decided what they are willing to spend that day. To overcome this, educate them on an up-sell to their treatment – perhaps a peel or microdermabrasion – prior to seeing them. You can share an information article or even before and after pictures. This way, you plant the seed in their head.
In terms of up-selling, it’s best not to make a habit of booking appointments back-to-back. Not allocating enough time to spend with a client post-treatment to help them decide which products to buy because you need to rush to the next appointment is a common mistake. It will help them make an informed decision on the day as opposed to delaying the sale.
Not everyone will buy from you that day, however, 46% of people will buy a similar product or service from someone within the next 12 months. So why can’t this be you? This is why you need to keep in touch with your client and be absolutely vigilant with your follow-ups.
How do ensure you don’t come across as pushy?
There are many softer approaches that you can use. Many people dislike feeling pushed to buy, especially if they don’t need the product or service and they can see that the therapist is just trying to get their sales quota up!
Once you understand how your client responds when someone is selling to them, you can adapt the wording of your script to best resonate with them – sales will skyrocket. People will feel like they’re speaking with a friend. I will discuss how you can easily profile the personality of any client in my workshop at Beauty Expo.
* Cherie Stokic has been training and mentoring businesses for over 15 years. Her focus on the beauty industry came from owning her own clinic in Sydney and growing it from one into two successful businesses. Having owned her own clinic, she knows all too well the challenges business owners face in this industry. She spent a great deal of time learning the strategies and skills her team needed to be successful at sales. Cherie and her business partner now train practice owners and their teams in Australia and around the world, how to sell successfully using various sales strategies and advanced techniques. They have become the go-to teachers for sales and marketing in the beauty industry.
She will be speaking at Beauty Expo Australia in Sydney on Saturday 26th of August and Sunday 27th of August. Her topic is ‘Teach Your Team To Sell’.
