Salon Management – How to Upsell an Appointment or Visit

Salon management goes beyond fixing the schedule, coordinating staff, and buying product. The range of products and services available at salons continue to expand beyond perceived essentials. It creates an opportunity to upsell and expand the bottom line of every sales ticket.  It remains important for salon management and staff to attract new clientele and repeat business. As the menu of services expands at salons upselling the appointment or visit is also important. The upsell is not only a way to expand the ticket for the regular visitor it is also an ideal opportunity to introduce new, exciting services. Carrie Cousins writing for Town Square, the blog for the payment processor, Square in a 2022 article entitled, How to Upsell Premium Products, notes, “Upselling can increase your profit margins because repeat customers spend more and cost less than acquiring new customers. Particularly if you rent a booth at a salon, developing a strong strategy for how to upsell products can increase your earning potential.”  Upselling Offers New Adventures There is a thought in health and beauty businesses of salon that “upselling” is a bad word. “Upselling” doesn’t necessarily mean detracting from the quiet respite of salon visits. Upselling for Salon Management should be approached as offering new adventures.  Even weekly clients may never read the menu of services during their visits. The salon today offers health and beauty adventures that can add value to the client’s experience, while increasing the bottom line of the sale.  It should become a habit for greeters to mention new additions at the salon when client’s check-in or make their appointment. The app driven appointment booker doesn’t mean that the opportunity to upsell when making an appointment is lost, it needs to be incorporated in the process. Working with the app developer to coordinate suggested upsells is an essential part of the online process. An example is a client booking an appointment at a hair salon for trim and blow-out, it is the perfect time for the app to offer a shampoo or other service. Five Times That Salon Management Can Upsell Existing Clientele When talking about upselling, it does not mean being the pushy salesperson, rather it is the art of gentle recommendation. Upselling means reminding current and new clients of menu choices that they have never tried or may not be aware are available. When the Salon adds a new massage modality, new product, or innovative service such as infrared body saunas they should be incorporated into the conversation by management and staff.  Service providers spend the most time with clients. They should be encouraged to gently upsell through conversation. The object is to upsell not over-sell.  The Five Times that Salon Management can Upsell are:

1. Through Social Media Postings, in-store signage, and product placement in the waiting area. 
2. Window displays that artistically highlight the services, not a neon-sign type presentation with bright lights and sirens, but rather a museum quality curated presentation. 
3. Upsell on phone appointments by suggesting that there is an opening either right before or right after the appointment for a service that the client has never tried. Empower the management team to offer a trial discount. An example is to offer a FIT Bodywrap Infrared Sauna before the regular massage appointments. This offers a synergistic adventure service to a client while putting a paying customer in the otherwise empty space. 
4. Upsell at Check-in
5. Upsell at Check-out

Use these interactive times to suggest and introduce first time and regular clients to the list of menu items. It can be guaranteed that the regular client knows the salon for the service they book and never considered one of the others that are offered.  Upselling should be like introducing an old friend to a new acquaintance not like signing up for speed dating.