Why Won’t My People Sell More Product?
In virtually every hair and beauty retail business profit from product sales is a critical.
So why is it that so many salon owners say they are challenged by the willingness, or should I say lack of willingness, of their staff to actively promote product to their clients? When I ask business owners and managers in the hair and beauty business what their biggest challenge in business is, this issue is always in the “Top 5 things I wish I could change in my business”.
It’s often surprising to business owners that otherwise very capable staff, first class professionals, are either not capable, or simply don’t make the effort, to sell more (very often none) product to clients.
In my many years of working with leaders (and that includes frontline managers and owners in all types of businesses) I have learned that there are two basic factors that affect how well people do things that are required of them, and they are: Skill and Will.
If you break down the what you want your team members to do you can address all the key opportunities, issues, challenges and improvement pathways across these two areas.
Simply put, does the person you want to do something (in this case sell more product) have the required Skill to actually pursue a sale? Do they know how to open up a conversation with a client to discuss their real needs? Do they know what it is the client is looking for, what their budget range is, what they are currently using, what experience they gave had with this type of product? Knowing how to begin a client conversation around the product needs and then present an attractive and personalised solution is a skill that needs to be understood and developed to drive more sales. And its only one of the required skills.
And then there’s the Will. That is, just knowing what to do and how to do it (Skill) doesn’t automatically mean the team member will make the effort. The Will is critical – that is, the team member needs to make a decision to try and sell product, and they will only do this consistently and effectively if they choose to. That’s the will. The desire and commitment to make the effort.
Successful sales start with adequate doses and the correct balance of both Skill and Will.
As a business owner and/or leader you have the strongest influence and opportunity to help your people develop their capability and efforts across these two areas. Its effective leadership and essential to your business success.
Can you identify the key specific skills you believe your team should develop to drive more product sales?
And how effective are your conversations with your team members to help you identify their “Will” level; and be able to support a more proactive sales approach?
If you would like to lift your leadership game take a look at my free guide:
You can download it HERE. It’s a short, targeted, no-nonsense guide for leaders to build a stronger connection with your team and drive results.
And if you have any questions on leadership challenges or issues, please feel free to email any time at: greg@bringleadershiptolife.com
About the author
Greg Zimbulis has an extensive background in business development, leadership, and management across a broad range of industries. As a senior behavioural change specialist and consultant, Greg works as project director, business consultant, facilitator, coach and mentor with a wide range of organisations at all levels from frontline teams to C-level executives.
Greg works with leaders and their teams on all things that Bring Leadership to life.
He can be contacted at greg@BringLeadershipToLife.com
