This article was originally published in the USA by Dermascope magazine in November, 2018.
I love the fall; it’s such a beautiful, transitional season. With waxing being the bread and butter for most spas, and the majority of our customer base covered up during the colder months, it usually marks the start of a quieter time. It’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on your business and ensure you plant the seed for future success.
I’ve been a spa owner for almost 40 years and I’ve made my share of mistakes to get to where I am now. I’ve learned the most important lesson for running a successful business: always be disciplined to improve. Let me share my Top 10 Tips for making your Spa a Waxing Success.
1. Vision and affirmations—the foundations for a waxing success
Before we get into the practical tips, I’d like to share a tip that has helped me personally the most over the years. It all starts with vision. You have to have a clear goal and envision that you’re already there, especially when times are tough. A positive mantra helps you get into the mindset of success. Tell yourself ‘There’s plenty for everyone, including me’, ‘I am blessed beyond my fondest dreams’ and ‘Everything I touch is a success’ as many times as you need. It plants the seeds for success that will grow into an abundant harvest.
2. Wax with the best
I can’t stress this enough—good quality is always worth its money. I often use the home brand paper towel as an example: If you buy the cheaper version, but you have to use
more of it compared to the more expensive one, have you really saved anything? And not only that, you’re also more likely to waste it, because it’s ‘just the cheap stuff anyway’. Quality products made from quality ingredients will give better results and will make your staff more confident in performing their treatments. And, equally important, it will minimize discomfort, pain and adverse reactions for your client.
Throw in a great pre and post product and they will definitely be back! Your first step in buying products for your spa is to choose a brand that you love and trust. It not only has to match the look and feel of your spa, but it has to empower your staff so they can offer the absolute best treatment.
3. Waxing TRUTH—you don’t get a second chance at a first impression
There’s no excuse for an unhygienic workplace. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes: would you like to get a brazilian in a room that has wax strings on the trolley? Or worse, sticky residue on the bed? No thank you! And word travels faster than light in this day and age – a bad review is written within seconds. Frankly, the way you look after your equipment and material reflects on how well you look after your clients. Therefore, you want your spa and staff to look spotless at any given moment and you want your clients to know that you value good hygiene. Uniforms need to be in perfect condition at all time, no frills or spots. Using an Antibacterial Foam on your hands prior to your treatment will help take away any doubt if you’ve washed your hands. Added bonus to good hygiene is that your staff is less likely to get sick and take leave!
4. Staff training—creating waxing experts
It goes without saying that your spa is only as good as the quality of your staff. Investing in your staff is therefore one of the most important things you can do. To offer the best treatments to your clients, it’s vital that your staff’s knowledge and skill-set is up to date and they are confident in what they do. In the quieter months your staff have time to work on their weaker skills, so the overall quality level is consistent when the busy season starts again. Regular training days that touch on technique, product knowledge and softer skills like being discreet, listening and holding a conversation make all the difference.
5. Service with a smile for a smooth and confident brazilian
Good customer service doesn’t just improve the atmosphere in your spa, it will directly benefit your income. You can spend all the money in the world on getting people through
the door, but with poor customer service, they will never return for a second treatment. Better service directly equates to a better experience for your client, and a better experience will create a loyal client that will keep coming back and is more likely to refer other people to your spa.
During a treatment your staff should focus on the client only – interruptions or rushing will diminish the good experience and add extra stress to your aestheticians. Timing is very important. Always be efficient, but don’t rush! Your client will know it when your head is somewhere else. It doesn’t stop in the treatment room, good service also means good phone manner, a friendly smile at the front desk and a very client-friendly website with an online booking system. Train your staff to deliver a level of customer service you think is appropriate and make sure they do it with a smile.
6. Make it a memorable waxing experience
Just like good customer service, creating an inviting ambience can give your clients an amazing experience. Playing the right music is so very important: it should be non-offensive, but not too relaxing – you’re running a waxing business, not a massage spa! And watch the volume. There’s a point, even with younger clients, that music gets too intrusive. When it comes to creating a good atmosphere during treatments, it often amazes me how many aestheticians don’t work with anything other than talc and a citrus wax cleanser. Don’t waxing clients deserve a bit of pampering before and after their hair gets ripped from their body? Cleansing an area before waxing can be relaxing and using an after waxing lotion can be incredibly soothing.
7. Use the power of social media for your waxing success
Social media is extremely important in your branding efforts, so make sure you create engaging accounts. Our line of business offers us a great luxury: we create beauty – and everyone wants to see beautiful images. Take that to your advantage when you create your social posts. Use before and after pictures to show your followers what you can do. Post videos of lesser known treatments to excite people about the results they give.
Once your account has compelling content, you can actively grow your number of followers. Post product images and tag your suppliers, give away free treatments to people that tag their friends in your posts, ask clients with a big online following to do a shout out to receive a free product. The sky is the limit, but always make sure that your social media lines up with your core values and branding. You don’t want people to LOVE your online presence, but be disappointed when they visit your spa in real life. Authenticity is the key.
8. The icing on the wax-cake
As I mentioned before, waxing is our bread and butter, but selling retail products is where the real margins are. Many aestheticians feel awkward selling products as it’s not in their nature. Clients, on the other hand, expect a certain level of advice or product knowledge. If your friend had a problem that you know a solution for, you would help them, wouldn’t you? It’s the same with your client. For example: when you’re waxing someone, and they tell you they’re prone to ingrown hairs, it’s your chance to sell an ingrown hair treatment.
Of course it’s not always this easy and we tend to lose our focus on selling when we’re treating clients. It might be beneficial for you and your staff to follow a course or webinar in retail sales to get the ball rolling. And touch on retail sales in your staff meetings to keep the momentum going. It’s 100% worth the investment of time and money!
9. There’s a time to wax and a time to relax
Our line of work tends to attract very empathic, social people. Clients often open up to us and tell us their problems and sometimes it’s hard not to take that home with you. Add to that the fact that we perform physical work and we’re on our feet most of the day and the stress of having to pay our bills and you’ve got yourself the recipe for a burn-out. Make sure you take your time to breathe when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Exercise to clear your head and to train the muscle groups that you use most when waxing. Communicate with your staff; they’re there to help you. Excellent teamwork will help you through every stressful time. And , like I said before, use positive affirmations, like ‘Everything I touch is a success’ or ‘There are plenty of clients for my business’, trust me, it will make you feel much better.
10. Be passionate about waxing
And last, but definitely not least, LOVE what you do. If you’re passionate about waxing, your workmanship will reflect that. Your clients can tell if you’re just going through the motions or if you actually enjoy what you’re doing. This is your life and it’s too short to not love what you do!
Lilliane Caron is the founder and director of Caronlab Australia. Known worldwide for her waxing techniques, she has dedicated herself to her motto: ‘for a better salon’, by delivering superior products, exceptional service, and industry-leading education. But she’s about more than just wax: in her untiring quest to make beauty therapists’ jobs easier, Caron continues to devote herself to salon innovation. Her success is attributed to a high standard of customer service, training and customer support. Therapists can deliver every treatment in confidence knowing that Caronlab Australia’s products care for the health, comfort and well-being of their clients as they indulge in their salon treatment.
