“Each time we face a fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing.” –Unknown
You did it right hiring this applicant. You nailed it. You called every past employer and asked more than just “Did she work there?” “How long?” and “Was she dependable?” You asked for examples of how she handled customers, fellow staff and job challenges. You found the perfect employee: honest, reliable and great at every day-to-day task on the list!
She’s great at everything, except TALKING TO PEOPLE! AKA “SELLING.” What? How could you miss this little detail? It’s only the most important quality any team member could possess for the success of your salon business!
But, for some, the fear of selling is one so overwhelming that it can quickly turn into paralyzing angst. For some, just the mere thought of suggesting a tanning or body care product to a salon guest who didn’t ask for it literally makes them physically ill. They have convinced themselves that they just don’t have what it takes, and even if they attempted face-to-face selling, it couldn’t possibly be fun or rewarding and I’m positive that there are hundreds of other reasons they could come up with to justify not even trying to sell.
When success and failure are the only options, fear becomes invisible and impossible to hide behind.
And this is what the doctors who have you lie on a couch and tell them about your childhood call, “hiding behind your fears.”
The first step to unleashing the inner sales beast is acknowledging and looking fear in its eyes and realizing that conquering face-to-face sales fears can be exciting … and put more shopping $$ in their pockets.
Just like your new hire, I had to face my own fears just to be in this career and even to write this column. Nine years ago, I threw myself right to the sharks when I accepted a position with a lotion manufacturer that as luck would have it, would require me to do the three things I feared the most over and over again: fly on airplanes, speak in public, and write!
How to overcome fear? BURN THE BOATS! This was what the ancient Greeks would do when they voyaged across the sea to battle their enemies. The first thing they would do when they came ashore was burn the boats to the ground, leaving them with no way out – so, winning the battle was their only option. When success and failure are the only options, fear becomes invisible and impossible to hide behind.
Help your team become great at the very things that intimidate them the most by making them face their fears. In other words, purposely put them in situations where they have no choice but to do the very thing that they fear … like talk to salon guests!
If they have a hard time presenting products and approaching guests, here are some ways to get them past it:
• Make them role-play daily with their co-workers.
• Have them switch places with the person who does most of the selling.
• Assign them the job of official “greeter” for the week, when their only job is to greet and make customers feel welcome.
• Every day, require them to choose a product that they must “sell” in front of their co-workers/manager/owner.
• Have 30-minute weekly “acting classes” to practice answering questions a tanner may ask.
• Play the Question Game: come up with three or four tanning/skincare oriented questions that staff has to ask every guest.
Gotta run … catching a plane to speak at a beauty show!
