Want to sell more retail? Cultivating a sales-focused front desk team is a great place to start. Your front desk is one of the most important parts of your business – the team sets the tone for your guest experience, keeps your business moving throughout the day, and has an enormous impact on productivity. They are also the very last point of contact your clients have with you before walking out the door, and as the people who process the transactions, their role in the retail sales process is critical. So what are the most effective ways to turn your front desk into a powerful retail salesforce?
Create a training plan
Empower your front desk staff to speak confidently about your retail offering by providing them with in-depth product training on a regular basis. It’s important for them to feel passionately about the benefits of each product, and be able to sell its value. Although the stylist should take care of the majority of this during the consultation, the front desk team should be able to answer client questions and make recommendations where appropriate.
Equip your team with a script
Providing your team with a loose script is a powerful way to ensure they are maximising retail opportunities at every transaction, while also maintaining a consistent experience for your guests. Obviously you want the conversation to still flow naturally, and for them to bring their own personality to every interaction, but you can guide some key points to hit with each and every client.
Harness client histories
When checking out a client, train your team to view past retail purchases, and, when appropriate, prompt them for feedback on the product and/or repurchase. If the client did not like the product, this gives you a second chance to recommend something different instead of losing that client’s retail revenue altogether. And if they did like it, a gentle reminder to stock up while they are in the salon could avoid them spending those retail dollars online if they run out in between visits.
Motivate by setting goals
Setting specific, measurable goals for your front desk staff individually and as a team, is a powerful motivator to keep them focused. Drill down in your reports to see how individual team members are performing, and use this data to develop realistic KPIs for your staff. After you’ve set the goals, the key is to monitor the progress of your team on an ongoing basis, and provide individual coaching/tweak your retail strategy as required.
Provide incentives
When it comes to encouraging a shift in behaviour, positive reinforcement is key. Once your team does hit their targets, be sure to recognise their contribution. You can do this by setting certain rewards for staff who hit KPI milestones, or by running regular competitions (such as retailer of the month/quarter). You may even choose to build in a retail bonus component to their compensation structure.
