Week 1

Neha K -

This week, I started to regularly work at Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa. I got acclimated to the work I would do during my time there, such as booking appointments, greeting clients, and finally pitching them the membership.

My main goal during this entire project is to maximize the amount of membership sales we get, while also minimizing the amount of membership cancellations we have. This way we continue to rise in our membership count. I, successfully, did so this week.

One example of this was when a person came into the spa to buy a gift card. At the spa, members can buy gift cards at a cheaper price than non-members. Because of Valentine’s Day, the spa was also running a promotion that if one was to buy two gift cards, they get a third for free. Although the person came in only looking to buy one gift card, I told her the value of joining the membership program, not only to be able to buy the gift card at a cheaper rate but also to treat herself monthly to maintain her health. After taking a walk to to ponder that option, she came back and not only joined the membership but thanked me for helping her realize that she needs to invest in herself sometimes too. She also took advantage of the promotion and bought two gift cards, instead of just one. You might wonder what the significance of this is since it didn’t increase the membership count. However, gift cards bring in new clients who would not have come otherwise. They become new prospects who, if they love their service, may join the membership themselves. This interaction taught me an important lesson in successfully selling memberships. Instead of just pushing a sales pitch onto a potential prospect, you’ve got to allow them to come to their own conclusion about the benefits of the membership program.

Okay, that’s it for now.

See you next week!

More Posts

Comments:

All viewpoints are welcome but profane, threatening, disrespectful, or harassing comments will not be tolerated and are subject to moderation up to, and including, full deletion.

    georgia_b
    Hi Neha! It already sounds like your membership sales are going well which is great! I have one quick question: If a person decides they want to terminate their membership, is there a strategy you have to try to convince them to stay? I look forward to seeing more updates!
    February 14, 2024 at 4:59 pm -
      neha_k
      Hi Georgia! That is a phenomenal question! Usually, when someone wants to cancel their membership, we urge them to freeze their membership (and not get charged) for a few months instead and still retain their membership benefits. I will go into more depth about the freeze process in a future blog post!
      February 19, 2024 at 10:21 am -
    Ethan K
    Hi Neha, it looks like you have a pretty good plan for trying to maximize people signing up for memberships. Although, I’m interested what your strategy will be for trying to maximize membership sales during normal days without a special holiday. I’m curious to see what you will do in the future.
    February 16, 2024 at 7:34 pm -
    Alexander Covalciuc
    Hello Neha! I'm glad to see that you successfully up-sold a membership gift cards! I encourage to reflect on how you were able to convince this particular person (certainly, it's not just the prospect of the deal but also the person that is being sold). Do you imagine there will be some way to codify your pitching methods into a set of general principles applicable in similar contexts/businesses? Is that at all a goal? On a different note, do you get any perks for working there?
    February 17, 2024 at 9:34 am -
      neha_k
      Hi Mr. C! I think that there are definitely certain pitching principles that work with all businesses, such as making the client see the benefits of the membership instead of feeling like it is being pushed down their throats. That being said, however, there are certain things I say in my membership pitch that is very specific to Hand and Stone. I'll go into further detail in a future blog post! Yes, there are some nice benefits from working there such as 30% off on all skincare products and a free massage/facial if you convert a certain percentage of prospects into members each month!
      February 19, 2024 at 10:26 am -
    eric_p
    Neha, it's great to hear about your experiences at Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa! Your example of guiding a customer to see the value in joining the membership program rather than just pushing a sales pitch is insightful. It's clear that your approach not only benefits the spa but also enhances the overall experience for the clients. I'm looking forward to hearing more about your journey in the weeks to come! How do you balance the need to increase membership sales with ensuring that clients feel genuinely cared for and not just sold to during their interactions with you at the spa?
    February 18, 2024 at 9:49 pm -
      neha_k
      Hi Eric! That is a fantastic question! To prevent a client from feeling like they are just being sold to, I emphasize talking to them before while they are waiting to go into their appointment. It's never about the membership, but it's a good way to get to know a person better. Then, after they come out of their service, you can use the information you learned prior to pitch the membership better by highlighting the benefits that would be most applicable to them.
      February 19, 2024 at 10:31 am -
    Mugi Shembekar
    Wow, this was a smart approach to convincing her to buy gift cards! Do you find it much easier to sell and incentivize customers or potential customers to sign up for membership if there is a holiday promotion occurring?
    February 19, 2024 at 10:57 am -
    srivarun_v
    Hi Neha, I think it's cool how you sold a membership card! How do you effectively encourage new clients to consider joining the membership program at Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa, as demonstrated by your experience with the gift card promotion?
    February 19, 2024 at 11:06 am -
      neha_k
      Hi Sri! The best way to encourage clients to join the membership program is by showing them how the benefits will best help them specifically. The key is to make each pitch personable!
      February 19, 2024 at 9:55 pm -
    Jamie
    Hi Neha, I'm interested if styling these gift cards for, for example, Valentines Day or a birthday, may affect sales. Would it not increase them due to the niche nature, incentivizing buying them for loved ones?
    February 21, 2024 at 5:49 am -
      neha_k
      Yes, that's completely true Jamie! However, our goal is to encourage them to buy even more than they might traditionally. Usually for Valentine's Day or a birthday, they are only trying to buy one gift card for their valentine or the person whose birthday it is. With these promotions, we're incentivizing them to buy even more gift cards, hoping that the multiple gift cards they buy will be going to separate people who may come in and end up joining our membership program.
      February 21, 2024 at 1:35 pm -

Leave a Reply