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Salon Scenario No.1:
“Good choice on this lotion! Did you want me to ring it up?”
“How much is it?”
“$97.”
“Sorry I don’t have my wallet.”
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Salon Scenario No. 2:
“Good choice on this lotion! Did you want me to ring it up?”
“How much is it?”
“$97.”
“Oh, I don’t get paid until the 16th. I’ll buy it later.”
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Salon Scenario No. 3:
“Good choice on this lotion! Did you want me to ring it up?”
“How much is it?”
“$97.”
“I only have 50 bucks. I’ll buy it next time.”
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Salon Scenario No. 4:
“Good choice on this lotion! Did you want me to ring it up?”
“How much is it?”
“$97.”
“Oh, I don’t have that much left on my card. Maybe next time.”
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What is the common theme here? That’s right, NO sale.
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Salon Scenario No. 5:
“Good choice on this lotion! Did you want me to ring it up?”
“How much is it?”
“$97.”
“Sorry, I don’t have my wallet.”
“That’s fine, I can use the card on file.”
“But I only have $50 available on
my card.”
“That’s okay! You can pay $50 now and the rest later. When did you want the balance to come out?”
“I don’t get paid until the 16th, can you charge me then?”
“Sure can! Here is the lotion – I know you will love it. I’ll put you in room 4!”
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Meet Auto-billing.[gap height=”15″]
It allows salon guests to purchase products and services with a partial payment upfront, and the rest is billed later to the card on file. It’s a layaway plan with one difference: the guests get their product or service NOW![gap height=”15″]
This has been an awesome success in our salons. The staff is now able to close a lot of sales, whereas in the past, they would simply be forced to put the product back on the shelf. Not only are they able to sell more, they are able to sell the higher priced products (read higher margins).[gap height=”15″]
An unanticipated benefit I observed was how Auto-billing also improved our EFT retention rate. The guest who buys a packet may tan twice and disappear, but those who have the expensive bottle of lotion will want to use it. Just by selling guests a higher-end product, we were able to keep them on the EFT membership longer.[gap height=”15″]
But, here is the thing … what if the card declines? Now, you’re out of cash AND the product![gap height=”15″]
This is where a customized, fully-automated software solution differentiates from the rest. We have complete control over who we allow to Autobill, how much they can Autobill, what portion they have to pay upfront, whether they can Autobill only services, products or both, how long they have to pay, and everything in between. The software automatically determines how risky it is to allow Auto-billing to a certain guest based on their previous history with us, whether they’ve had card declines and whether they have paid up or not. You are not allowing your product to just walk out the door; the software has already done the due diligence for you before it will allow you to Auto-bill.[gap height=”15″]
The numbers speak to this fact. Our decline rate on Autobill is 4%. Our success rate on collecting from the 4% is almost 100%, so we have collected on the entire Autobill balance, because these guests keep returning to use what they purchased.[gap height=”15″]
The last crucial step of the sales process is the closing. Make that easier – a lot easier – and watch your numbers grow![gap height=”15″]
Autobill is a layaway plan with one difference: the guests get their product or service NOW!
