“Identify a need and fill it.”

That’s what my co-worker had told me when I asked him how to sell products at a spa. I had no idea what he meant. Here I was, needing answers and he was feeding me riddles like the Sphinx. I was perplexed and frustrated.

[this part 4 of 4; see beginning of the story here]

Weeks went by and it had not been easy, but I was making progress in my attempts to add sales to my skills set while I worked at a large day spa. I was surprised to find out how hard it was at first to even suggest anything to a client – an extended massage time, a membership, a product – and now it was becoming more of a habit.

When clients came in, I would ask questions before starting the massage to find out what they wanted in their treatment. From their answers, I would pick up clues as to what services or things we offered that would fit their needs.

Identifying and filling a need is a basic of good service, but one that was easy to forget as I worked with clients on a back-to-back schedule with five to 10 minutes between services.

The five to 10 minutes was used to escort clients back to the lounge, change the room linens, tidy and find the next client. Oh, and that was if things were running smoothly. Often, fresh sheets and towels were still in the wash, client itineraries had been changed, the computers were down and/or a treatment using lots of products that had to be prepped and heated in advance.

Basically, there was no time to sell anything on the in-betweens. I discovered that if I did not have something in mind from the session or the client’s answers I was out of luck.

For all the times we were very busy, however, there were days and evenings that were slow. Then I discovered that I could suggest extra massage times or treatments, or introduce clients to other services the spa offered.

With all the howling that came from our massage department when the spa director gave us a sales quota, I was finding out something very interesting. Once clients understood I was actually interested in what they wanted, they would open up and appreciate my help.

I had learned something about myself and about how to make clients more satisfied. It was a skill that I added to my toolbox, right next to trigger point, Swedish and therapeutic stretching. I had learned to communicate better with clients and better serve them.

All it had taken was some effort, and a good bit of failure before I got the hang of it. My therapist co-worker had me baffled when he told me to identify a need and fill it. Now I understand exactly what he meant, and I use these skills to this day in my private practice.

Working at a spa, the management had challenged massage therapists to learn how to sell some products and services to clients – and I had not the foggiest idea how to do that.

[this part 3 of 4; see beginning of the story here]

Thus far I had suggested an essential oil to a client who thought I was giving it away, suggested an item out of stock, and in the middle of recommending a product I had made a big disbelief face when I looked at the price we were charging for an item.

Despite feeling like a complete idiot, however, I had managed to make some sales and had gone into the first month as one of only three massage therapists at my spa who actually sold stuff. It then occurred to me that if I simply asked the other two therapists how to sell, I might learn something.

The first therapist had been there quite a while and was a spa’s version of a golden employee. This therapist was also licensed to do facials and skin care and had often sold several thousand dollars a month in products.
I toodled over to her one Tuesday morning when the spa was slow and asked my big question: How do you sell products?

“Well, wouldn’t you like to know,” she said, clearly amused. And that is all she said.

Okay, that went stunningly not-well. While she ran off to her buddies to tell them how amusing I was I tried our other therapist who had sales experience.

This massage therapist was a male, a relative rarity in the spa world. He had worked on cruise ships and at several high-end spas and had a way of being charming while also giving a great massage. His sales were routinely high, anywhere from $1,500 to $3,000 a month. I had been struggling with our spa director’s $100-a-month quota.

I asked the big question, and to my surprise he was actually interested in helping me. “You don’t sell anything,” he said. “You identify a need and then fill it.”

Huh? What did that mean?

“Think about it,” he said. “You will figure it out.”

Oh great, now I was getting advice from the Sphinx. I was completely baffled, which along with feeling like an idiot was becoming a too-familiar state of mind. I watched him gather up a bag-full of products and leave it at the front desk for a client.

So here I was, a lowly newbie massage therapist, trying in an honest fashion to learn how to sell things at my spa. The howling about sales was continuing among my fellow therapists, and the manager had set a “quota” of $100 a month for every massage therapist. We were told to stop whining and get on it.

[this part 2 of 4; see beginning of the story here]

Selling what? We had lots of face things that the aestheticians sold. Creams, lotions, make-up stuff, etc. Stuff I knew nothing about. We also had general spa stuff – robes, slippers, baths, essential oils, etc. Mostly it sat in the retail area looking kind of forlorn and dusty.

I decided to jump in. A client came in for an aromatherapy treatment with massage. She really liked the musky, peppery aromatherapy she chose from the box, and I used it in the massage. As I escorted her out to the ladies, I told her we had essential oils and suggested she take home a bottle of the scent she liked. I looked on the shelf. We were out. I told her I would find a bottle and bring it to her. I found one on the stockroom and handed her the bottle in the locker room where she was changing. She looked so surprised that I would go to the trouble to get it for her.

When she checked out, she was even more surprised that she had to pay for the aromatherapy – $35 for a half-ounce bottle. “Oh, I thought you were giving it to me,” she said.  Our spa scheduler was standing at the check-out desk and looked pretty amused. “At least you tried,” she said.

Failure. Disappointment. Oh dear. I watched as one of the aestheticians left a batch of face products at the front desk for a customer. Would I ever get the hang of this?

The next day I tried again. The spa was slow, and there were not many people on the schedule. A client came in for a 50-minute massage to recover after a long plane flight. “You really need a massage,” I said about half-way through. “Want to extend for 80 minutes?”

She said yes!

Success! The client was happy with a longer massage and I had done an “upgrade!”

As I escorted her to the lounge, I mentioned that we had some a nice essential oils kit to help with sleep and alertness. “These help a lot,” I said. Having never looked at the price, I flipped the box and read the sticker. “and it’s only $125?????”

Egads. I could buy those essential oils at the nature food store for about $50. I hoped she hadn’t heard the surprise in my voice. I felt like an idiot, a feeling I did not like or getting used to.

“Sure. Put them up at the front desk,” she said. Without knowing it, I had a client who was very familiar with the spa routine. After my next massage I fearfully peeked out to the front desk to see if the kit was still there.

“She took them home,” the scheduler said.

[continued here]

When massage folks work in spas, an ugly reality crops up: spas depend on sales of retail products and extra services for income. They expect their employees/contractors to sell to clients, and to get “good” hours and “good” rooms.

I, too, have worked in an environment where folks expect you to sell other things rather than just provide the massage service. Most of my peers were horrified at the prospect of having to sell anything because it was somehow bad to sell anything to clients. They were pure of soul and energy, so they should not have to do anything so visceral as to sell things. There were a lot of put-off therapists at my spa who considered sales “unethical” and were set to do what they could to get out of a sales requirement.

I wasn’t one of them. I had worked in other places where sales were part of the scene: a department store, a restaurant, etc. Sales were just means to help out by increasing the amount of income for the business to keep places going. At the restaurant, the owner counted on us to make things better. At the managers knew who sold what and how. The people who had higher sales got more money and more perks.

It also didn’t seem at all conflicting to sell products to clients. They, after all, are consumers of such things as massages and came in to the spa expecting not only services but suggestions on things to buy. Our aestheticians sold lots of things to their customers, little tiny jars of things that cost $25-$75 and they did not explode or melt or join the forces of the undead.

I was clearly in the minority, however. My colleagues felt sales to be dirty, like selling cars or children. One of the therapists quit, saying she was not going to do sales. The rest, well therein lays a story.

Meanwhile, I was perplexed. How should I sell? What should I sell? Where was I going to learn selling?

It turned out, the answers to my questions were right under my nose..

I have been listening to clients for a few years now, and I am getting more impressed with the intake form as time goes on. I had a doozy the other day.

Intake forms are important for good massages, giving the person some time to reflect and think about what they want from their sessions. They also keep the therapist informed about rare contra-indications for some types of massage, and have our back in case people do not tell us pertinent information.

I’ve developed a “hot list” for intake-fillers. These are signs that will let you know to tread carefully, ask questions and find out what you need to know before doing a massage.

Mr. Quick:  He’s here for a massage, but he has not answered a single health question. He is such a healthy guy he does not need to bother with intakes. Tread carefully, this guy probably has a few issues he is keeping to himself. I like to pick the form up and go “Oh, you haven’t answered this section.” Then I go over the intake verbally and fill it out for him. Don’t be surprised when you find out he just rolled his sports car, or that he has blood pressure problems.

Evel Kneivel: This intake looks pretty bare, except for the area where you ask about pressure. The heck with “firm,” this guy will cross that out and write in “super-deep.” Oh, he hasn’t had a massage for a year and he just moved, but he wants his nickel’s worth. I like to ask if he doesn’t mind not being able to get out of bed in the morning and feeling like he has been run over by a trash truck. That usually gets us into a conversation about firm and its meanings. Later, expect a story about going to a spa for a massage and getting a 50-minute application of oil.

War & Peace: This person has had so many knots, achy spots, accidents and therapies, the intake is filled to the margins. Before you can ask if Bronsky has got to Moscow yet, this person asks to have it all fixed in one session. Hey, and make sure they relax, too.

Ghosty: This intake looks great until you get to the informed consent part. No checkmarks, no signature, etc. “Me? Oh I didn’t see that.” One of the consents I use is asking the client to say during the massage if they are uncomfortable in any way to let me know and I will address it right away. I started doing that after a client told me she quit her last therapist because the lady had a hangnail. Anticipating it during the massage ruined the experience. “Just tell me,” I say. “I won’t get all huffy and offended.” p.s. I mean that.

Hey, intakes are going to tell us a lot about clients when they come in, especially when they fill them out funny. Wonder what would happen if we ever started to analyze the handwriting.