Small Business Revitalization Blog

Right now you are probably thinking your business mentor has gone completely  mad – how can there possibly be a downside to upselling?  

Well here it is… the thoughtful and gracious Natalie Alaimo made a comment on Facebook this week about how unblissful it is for a client when they’ve just had a beautiful relaxing facial to have the beautician then do the full-on upsell  to the client on the products they have just used.  The Facebook discussion ran rife with the girls all commenting on how awful the process is and the blokes not seeing it as a problem…. Hmmmmm maybe the blokes need a little more nurturing!  

Upselling skincare products at the end of a nurturing experience is pretty much the fastest way to bring your client out of bliss and into a burdensome space where they need to say no to you (not easy for many people)!  

Day spas, is this really the way you want your clients to remember you?  So what do you do as a business owner when you are in the business of nurturing and your clients are resistant to the upsell?

My tip is to look at your entire sales process – is there a better place or a better way to upsell than how everyone in your industry does this?  

For example, I would be perfectly happy if a day spa asked me to rebook another appointment – more nurturing?  YES please!  More product?  NO thanks – I already have product I love and there is no joy for me in discussing and justifying my choices with you Ms Beautician!!  

I have also seen forward thinking day spas offer clients a short questionnaire at the start of the relationship where you can choose to identify that you are looking for new skincare products – that allows the sales process to be a natural part of the consultation instead of a clumsy afterthought that gets in the way of the clients bliss!!

What needs changing about your sales process?  Are there more intuitive places to upsell than you are using right now?  Go play with your sales experience from your customers perspective and see what gives… you may just open the door to a whole lot more sales!!