Increase your profits without grooming one extra dog

Transcription

1 Increase your profits without grooming one extra dog A Guide for Groomers Who Want to Take Their Business to the Next Level BY LISA MORETTI, LORNA PAXTON AND KEVIN FISHER

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1. Retail Sales 9 Developing a boutique area 10 Select products & supply sources 11 Before placing your first order 13 Set retail prices & measure product profitability 14 Allocate space to products 16 Product quantity descisions 17 Visual merchandising Now it s time to sell 21 Prescription pad selling 22 Training Employees Improving Retail Sales 23 Be easy to find 23 Get on the web 23 Ask your customers 24 Extras Going from Groomer to Canine Stylist Atmosphere 29 Spa Treatments 29 Signature Treatments 30 Spa Treatment Room 30 New Client Orientation 31 Follow Up 32 Top 10 mistakes made by groomers Conclusion Resources 36 3

3 Believe it or not you re in the perfect position to experience double-digit growth. Look carefully and you ll see it first hand; $200 pet beds, diamond studded collars, haute couture for every make and model of dog; the luxury market for dogs is exploding. Surely your profits should be exploding too? But you re right, there are only so many hours in the day and you can only groom so many dogs. So how can you capitalize on this emerging trend? Well, this guide will show you how to take your business to the proverbial next level. Every store, every location, every owner is unique so there are no right and wrong answers, what works in one location may not work in another but we can point you in the right direction and suggest some of the more important questions you ll need to answer before you invest in your business. If you follow a few basic principles you can create an added source of cash flow by setting up a retail/boutique area increase your average order size by repositioning your grooming services as a canine spa treatments. Leverage your experience, provide service and support to your customers and see your profits increase In the following pages, you ll learn: how other groomers have succeeded how much merchandise you ll need how much of an investment you ll need to make how much floor space is required what are the bestsellers in the marketplace. how to market your products 5

4 1 RETAIL SALES It s Not As Scary As You Think If you ve never done any retail sales, the prospect can be quite daunting. After all, you ve never considered yourself a sales person well, think again! Camilla Vitale of Blue Rocket Sales, a San Francisco-based firm that specializes in helping groomers establish upscale pet boutiques says, Groomers sell every day. Granted, it may not be merchandise, but selling yourself is selling all the same. Your customers are already spending $50 to $100 on grooming. Since their wallet is open anyway, why not add on other items? She says: You already offer a great service to your clients; products are simply an extension of the services you offer they are a service too! Why make your client go to another pet store to do their shopping? That s lost money for you and an extra trip out for them. Think of it this way, every time your customer goes into PetCo or PetSmart and spends money, it s money they could have more easily spent with you! Do you really want your customers buying inferior products at a large chain store? They trust you with their dogs, why wouldn t they trust you to recommend products for their dogs? After all you re an expert, and one of the keys to successful sales is to leverage your expertise. You ve spent many hours learning about, and caring for dogs and now you can offer the benefit of that expertise to your customers. The services you provide are just the beginning. According to spa gurus you should be selling at least one product for each treatment offered. For example, dogs that are washed need to stay fresh offer them a doggie spray cologne. Dogs that have their teeth One of the keys to successful sales is to leverage your expertise. You already offer a great service to your clients 9

5 brushed need to maintain fresh breath (any owner will love you for that)- sell them a breath spray. Another common complaint from unsuccessful groomers is, I tried retailing, but the stuff just sat there. No one bought anything so I gave up. Camilla, who has had more than a dozen years of experience in the pet industry says that the problem is usually that the atmosphere wasn t right. There wasn t much merchandise so it didn t make a statement, and what was there wasn t clean or well presented. According to Camilla your goal should be to establish a retail to service ratio. You don t have to spend a fortune. She says, Start out small and grow. As the profits come in then you can increase your retail space to support retail capacity DEVELOPING A BOUTIQUE AREA Create a mood for buying. You need to set the stage for a shopping experience by stimulating the senses. A few of the things you should focus on are: Smell & Cleanliness. It s understandable; many groomer s salons are smelly. But a smelly environment doesn t set the stage for buying. Most clients are ready to get out ASAP. (If Macy s smelled like your grooming salon would you spend much time browsing?) Of all the senses smell has the largest emotional component; the sense of smell has the power to trigger memories and desires. And smell can definitely affect a client s propensity to buy, or not to buy. (Besides, wouldn t both you and you re employees appreciate a more pleasant work environment?) Your salon needs to be free of unpleasant odors. Try placing diffusers throughout the salon that emit essential oils into the air. Check with your air conditioning/heating company, some offer a charcoal air filtering system to reduce unpleasant aromas in the salon. If that s too expensive, make sure there is lots of ventilation. Employee appearance. What message is staff sending to your customers? Is it one of professionalism? Granted, you can t wear a suit and groom dogs, but you can be neat and clean, especially if your interacting with customers on a regular basis. Create a welcoming environment for your customers, make it a pleasure for them to visit your store. 10