How to boost retail sales and encourage therapists to sell

Founder of Diamond Spa Consultancy, Abigail Strickland, gives her advice on boosting retail sales and encouraging therapists to sell.

Poor retail sales are a common spa problem and turning this around takes time and patience. Therapists don’t normally receive retail training in college and therefore selling can be very daunting for them, particularly in their first job. 

One thing that can help is ensuring that the therapists you hire are passionate about the brand(s) your spa stocks. If a therapist loves the products they use, promoting them to clients is much more natural to them than trying to sell something just because they have a target to reach. 

Continued education is key to getting the ball rolling on achieving retail sales. This can be done in-house, by the spa manager, or via an outside expert. Such training can normally be covered within one day, depending on the size of the team, with minimal disruption to the spa. 

Once therapists have the right tools to sell, they are more likely to apply their skills if they are rewarded with an incentive programme. Having an in-house incentive programme to go alongside a brand initiative can doubly help motivate therapists. 

Setting up charts or games in the staff room can be a fun way to get therapists more involved and also create some healthy competition. Setting realistic but challenging targets and then having an incentive box filled with prizes can also inspire enthusiasm. 

Some therapists will start selling very easily, whereas others will struggle. It is important that the spa manager monitors this and offers extended learning and support to those who need it, as well as acknowledging and praising those who are doing well. 

Selling will not come naturally to everyone but with the right tools, guidance from management, continued education, and a supportive and positive work environment, therapists will soon conquer their fear of selling and retail sale figures within your spa will start to grow. 

Abigail Strickland is founder of the Diamond Spa Consultancy. She has a wealth of experience in the five-star spa sector, including the management of the spa at Sir Richard Branson’s private retreat Necker Island.