Spa Professional Corner: Sales, it’s a survival tool for your spa

No matter how much we try to escape it, sales is an essential part of running a business, even a spa. No one likes to be “sold” and as business owners, its tough to put on the hat of a sales agent or sales manager. But, the reality of the situation is that without sales, your spa business will never generate the revenues it requires to profit or even stay affloat. Sales is a part of our life., Whether we are selling a product, service or even ourselves, we are always selling.

When you take a step back and assess selling techniques, you’ll find that its not a scary subject. You just have to approach it with the right mindset. Rather than looking at it as “selling,” we can more easily relate to sales if we see it as a needs assessment proposition. When approaching clients to initiate a sale for a product or service you provide at your spa, you must ask the right questions. If the right questions are asked, you can gauge more accurately the wants and needs of the person you are presenting to.

Proper sales techniques are simply a series of steps that involve asking the right questions and coming up with the appropriate answers that will solve a problem. The next time you are faced with an opportuntiy to sell or “present” to a potential client, follow these steps and your presenation may go much smoother than you anticipate.

Step 1
Earn the Right
This step is simply an introduciton. The fact that a potential customer has walked into your spa or shown interest in your products or services has already earned you your right to introduce yourself and present to them.

Step 2
Need Development
This step is probably the most important part of the sales process. In this step you are asking the right questions to better assess a potential problem that you are trying to solve for your client. Depending on what you're selling, your question may simply be “How can I help you today?” Other examples of questions may inlude:
- What is your main goal for gettting a facial?
- What is the purpose of you getting a massage with us today?
- How active is your lifestyle?

Step 3
Awareness
In this step, you are thinking about what specific products or services you can provide for the potential client based on the answers you receive from the prevous need development step. This step is known as a “silent” step as you are thinking in your mind about what possible solutions may benefit the prospect. In this step, you are thinking about the right combination of spa treatments and at home products that will best fit the individuals needs.

Step 4
Solution
In this step, you are presenting the solutions that you can provide for the potential client’s that specifically meet their needs as they present themselves to you in the needs devleopment step.

Step 5
Close
This is the second biggest step in the sales process that many of us simply forget or fear to do. ASK FOR THE ORDER! You have gone through all the appropriate steps to get to this point, it would be a shame not to get the order after all that work. So simply ask: “how many jars/bottles would you like today?” or “when can I put you down for an appointment?”.

If we take the sales process and break it down in these simple steps, it will become less like selling and more like helping someone solve a problem. Try these techniques out the next time you speak to a potential client. You will be pleasantly surprised with how simple selling can really be!

SPOTLIGHT: Meet one of resource partners

Meet our resource partner BodyWerks Spa – Rated one of the top spas in Orange County

BodyWerks was created by husband and wife team, Dennis and Gina Loya, who reside in Orange County with their four children. Dennis is the Healer while Gina handles the business end of things.

BodyWerks Spa Extreme Pampering Perfected!

Internal Spa Treatments: Oral beauty products to enhance your client’s spa experience

With a relatively new way of looking at skin care a new word has emerged for the personal care industry, Oral Beauty Products. These products are new to the industry but have shown a significant growth from health conscious consumers seeking solutions to better health and natural healing. Sequence XO, has taken the philosophy of internal beauty and incorporated a product line of internal spa treatments. Our products are specifically formulated to enhance and extend your client’s spa experience. Click on the read more tab to learn about our product line and how easy it is to incorporate these new products into your client’s lifestyle!

Incorporating Spa Nutrition is Easy!

Have a spa café, smoothie or juice bar?
Radiance is a delicious citrus berry flavored beverage powder easily mixed in a water bottle or shaken an exotic smoothie! Advertise on your menu as the new Age Defying Smoothie.

Radiance Benefits:
SXO’s age defying citrus berry phyto-nutrient beverage enhances the natural beauty of your skin, hair and nails. But what you may not know is this wonderful product has many benefits for both men and women!

• Promotes healthy eye function
• Supports healthy skin, cartilage, bones, joints, hair and nails
• Supports and protects the prostate gland for men
• Promotes a healthy urinary tract for both men and women
• Natural anti-inflammatory
• Free radical scavengers to help protect the body from premature aging
• Enhanced circulation to supply vital nutrients to skin cells
• Provides the body with essential moisture for vibrant looking skin
• Added sun protection from UV sunlight and artificial lights from tanning beds


Do you have a quiet room or offer hydrotherapy?
Providing a product like Calm, our 15-minute distressing tonic, may give your guests that incentive to enjoy your quiet room just a bit more! The scent of fresh cucumber and mint evaporating in a tall glass of water will assist in the relaxation and calming of your mind, body and spirit. Calm is best enjoyed before a spa treatment or at home before or after a luxurious bath.

Calm Benefits:
SXO’s stress aiding fizz tonic takes relaxing to a new level! Some of Calm’s hidden wonders:

• Digestive support
• Provides support for a healthy functioning heart
• Supports healthy brain function by enhancing memory and concentration
• Healthy nerve function
• Supports healthy cholesterol levels
• Aids in energy production
• Provides support for mood and sleep irregularities
• Protective properties against fatigue and weakness
• Immune boosting properties
• Supports healthy blood pressure


Looking for a product that complements your skin care line on your shelves?
Many of us understand the theory of premature aging due to free radicals. Free radical damage disrupts our bodies at the cellular level, which is shown inside and out. SXO’s Fusion is a combination of the world’s most potent antioxidants to complement Radiance, Calm and topical skin care lines!

Fusion Benefits:
SXO’s Fusion creates an enhanced experience to both Calm and Radiance by boosting the benefits of both formulas. Fusion combines the world’s most potent antioxidants to provide health and longevity.

• Supports eye health
• Provides added support for healthy joints, skin and blood vessels
• Supports a healthy functioning cardiovascular system
• Immune boosting properties
• Brain health support
• Slows oxidative stress and supports healthy blood sugar levels
• Cell detoxifier
• Support of healthy cholesterol levels
• Healthy cell functioning
• Supports strong and healthy arteries, veins and capillaries
• Circulation enhancer for nutrient delivery for the entire body
• Powerful antioxidant formula!

Spa Retail – Tough times means creative marketing

It’s no secret that we are currently in an economical slow down. But this doesn’t mean your business has to suffer. Getting and retaining new customers is key to a successful spa business which means attracting them with new products or service upgrades. Of course as less money comes in, there is less money for new, or more, inventory. But what if you could increase you profits by 15-40% with minimal risk? That sounds like a win/win!

Introducing new products with a vendor that cares
Sequence XO is not only a new company to the spa industry but our product line is also beginning a new wave of holistic healing with the use of both external and internal procedures. Internal spa treatments is a new term that explains the complementary science between treating the outside body with nourishing creams, exfoliates, moisturizers and oils, but at a cellular level. Imagine the same care of an external spa treatment that is actually nourishing the internal cellular structures of the body? That is what Sequence XO Spa Nutrition is accomplishing.

No Risk Retail: Creative Marketing For Our Future Spa Partners
Understanding that in slow economical times it may be difficult to add or purchase new products for your spa. We want to make that process a little easier for you. We have developed three programs to help your spa increase revenue and potentially increase client retention.

Sample Day Give Away program. Since you wouldn’t buy a new car without test-driving it, we don’t expect you or your clients to use a new product without trying it first. Sequence XO Sample Days are designed to give your clients a chance to learn more about the product line and to try them out.

(If your spa is in Southern California area we can join you during the sample day to answer any questions your clients may have).

No Risk Retail program. Designed for spa owners to take advantage of the benefits of implementing Sequence XO Spa Nutrition products for their clients without worrying about incurring inventory liabilities. This program is predominantly a referral program with many benefits for both yourself and your client.

Employee Wellness Programs. In an effort to keep your whole staff healthy and productive, Sequence XO is glad to introduce our new wellness program. If your staff is using the products that you either sell or wish to sell the selling process becomes easier and less of a task. By becoming a wellness partner with us you and your employees will receive 10% off the wholesale pricing for your retail or back office use. Plus, you qualify for monthly drawings for your employees and customers to receive a free Spa Nutrition™ Essentials kit.

To find out more about our three programs please call or email us directly at (949) 608-7112 or info@sequencexo.com

Spa Industry Statistics

Did you know?

• The Spa industry is the fourth largest leisure industry in North America.
• In 2006 industry revenues were $13.4 billion an estimated increase of 18% from 2003.
• The number of spa visits surpasses theme park attendance

Why Retail is so important for spas:

• Spa employee salaries and wages exceeded $9.3 billion in 2006
• Personnel costs in a traditional spa can equal to 70% of all revenue
• If one take home product is sold to a client, there is a 25% chance they will return, two products 50% and if you sell three or more – more than 75% chance they’ll come back to see you!

Types of products that are worth your time:

• The skin care market is worth more than $7 billion and estimated to grow to $9.2 billion by 2010
• The presence of nutritional supplements in spas are increasing by 9% per year

Your customer potential increase:

• The number of North Americans between the age of 55-64 will jump 19.3% to 35.4 million by 2010

Day Spa Expo 2008: Manufacturer’s Workshop

Part Two: Myths and truths about nutritional supplements

During the Day Spa Expo in Las Vegas last month, Sequence XO held a manufacture’s workshop to address the booming opportunity nutritional supplements have within the spa industry and the connection in enhancing the spa experience. One topic that received an amazing response dealt with the facts and myths of nutritional supplements. In this three part series we will cover three of the largest misconceptions surrounding nutritional supplements. Here’s Part Two:

Myth 2: The second largest misconception about nutritional supplements is that they are unsafe.
Myth Buster: The U.S. Poison and Control Centers notes adverse reactions to drugs are more than 800% higher than those to supplements.**

**source: Natural Products Association

Today more than 70 percent of Americans trust dietary supplements and 150 million use them to complement a healthy lifestyle on a daily basis. According to The Council for Responsible Nutrition, “when [supplements] are used properly, they help promote overall good health and prevent disease”.

In a recent article Vitamin Retailer interviewed industry leaders and Association members of the Natural Products Association (NPA) to help demystify some of the most plaguing myths surrounding supplements. One of theses myths is that supplements are unsafe.

The NPA noted that reports from poison control centers throughout the U.S. documented adverse reactions to drugs are more than 800 percent higher than those to supplements. Plus all new dietary ingredients are subject to FDA review before they are allowed in formulations. The FDA has also added strict guidelines on how supplements can be labeled, manufactured, and the types of claims that can be made for them.

Manufacturing is one of the most important ways to ensure efficacy and safety of a product. Make sure you are asking questions about the products you are carrying on your shelf. [Meet Sequence XO’s manufacturer]

The reality is that supplements are safe and help complement a healthy lifestyle, just find the facts in reliable sources.

Recommended sites:
www.crnusa.com
www.fda.gov
www.herbalgram.org
www.supplementinfo.org
www.naturalproductsassoc.org
www.ana-jana.org

In the next Nourish we will cover the third biggest misconception of supplements.
Stay tuned….

Blending beauty with health for good looking revenues

Keeping yourself and your employees healthy during a rough flu season is essential for business, not to mention the health of your clients. According to the American Journal of Health Promotions, for every $1 spent on wellness programs, employers can expect a return of up to $10 through lower medical claims, lowered absenteeism and improved productivity.

Did you know Google was an ISPA member? Companies like Google have implemented creative wellness programs to help benefit their employee’s health, which impacts work productivity in the long run.

Companies like Google have implemented creative wellness programs to help benefit their employee’s health, which impacts work productivity in the long run.
By being a member of ISPA, Google offers its employee’s onsite massages to encourage stress relief and better health. How creative will you be in keeping employee’s happy and healthy

Get Creative with Sequence XO – Living Zenfully Healthy! In an effort to keep your whole staff healthy and productive Sequence XO is glad to introduce our new wellness program. By becoming a wellness partner with us you will receive 10% off the wholesale pricing for your retail or back office use plus qualify for monthly drawings for your employees and customers to receive a free Spa Nutrition™ Essentials kit once a month.

Spa Nutrition Essentials Includes:
This beautifully prepackaged item retails at $89.95, which includes a 30-day supply of our three signature products for beautiful skin, pure relaxation and total body rejuvenation.

Radiance – the beauty beverage
Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but it’s also in this small 8-ounce bottle. You think the outside looks good; just wait until you see what’s inside. Have a glass a day and help bring out some of that inner beauty. It’s a makeover from the inside out. Go ahead drink yourself beautiful.

Calm - the cool and relaxing effervescent tablet
Life can be tough. Work, kids, deadlines…you could probably use a nice backrub. No time? Okay, how about a drink? Good thing that drinking can be done anytime, anywhere. Drop Calm into a glass and watch your stress fizz away. It’s like a massage in a glass.

Fusion – luxurious and exotic antioxidants for total body wellness
Too much of a good thing? We think not! We scoured the earth to bring you the best that Mother Nature has to offer. When it comes to good health, there’s no such thing as overkill. Take Fusion daily with Radiance and Calm…you’ll be the most energetic-calm-beautiful-healthy-balanced-focused-nourished person on the block in no time. It’s everything you need, everyday.

To inquire more on SXO’s wellness program or other business building tools please email or call Karen Lopez at klopez@sequencexo.com or (949)-608-7112. We look forward to speaking with you!