I find that when a spa product fails to sell, it is not because it is not desirable but because it needs a little more company support than it is getting. Once, when I was teaching a sales class to a spa team, I asked them to identify the biggest "turkey" among their retail products. Almost everyone pointed to a honey body scrub with almond meal and scent. The poor product had been banished to a dusty bottom display shelf and forgotten there. So we packed up the 18 remaining scrubs in a shipping box, sealed it up and pretended to send it back to the manufacturer. Gone! Rid of 'em!
But we needed a body scrub for our customers with uncomfortably dry skin and ordered one that would do the job beautifully. And, guess what? It just arrived! We then opened the box of previously rejected honey scrubs and sampled the product out to everyone in the room. I asked the staff to describe what was great about the product. It turned out that most of the staff had not even tried the product before declaring it unworthy of attention. Somehow it had become the black sheep of the retail center and there it sat.
We made a sample of the scrub (there had not been one for anyone to try!) and worked it into the back of our dry hands. Amazing — soft hands, great scent, and lots of enthusiasm! We then decided what kind of client would best benefit from the scrub, created an appealing story about it, and moved it to the main countertop for showcasing. In less than a week, all 18 scrubs were sold and the spa manager reordered it.
Great sales require an appealing story. My message? Before you put a product on sale, put it in the spotlight!
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