Over 50 therapists, cameras on... and the 10-second test I gave them

Helllllooooo, happy Friday darling!

On Thursday morning at 10 o’clock I opened the first session of our Retail Masterclass for Therapists, and watched the screen fill up with faces. Over fifty therapists. Cameras on. All of them there for the same reason: to get better at recommending the products that actually get their clients results, without ever feeling pushy.

I’m not going to pretend I stayed calm and professional about it. I was SO excited. Because I know what becomes possible when a therapist learns to do this well, for their clients, for their confidence and for the business they work in.

Before I taught a single thing about selling, I asked them to look at themselves. Every therapist had completed a short personality assessment before we began, so they walked in already knowing their own style. And then I told them the thing most sales training never does:

Most of us sell the way we like to be sold to.

The therapist who loves detail explains every ingredient. The therapist who loves a chat turns it into a lovely conversation. The quiet, caring therapist says “no pressure, have a think about it.” All three are wonderful. And all three are only really speaking to the clients who happen to be just like them.

So what do you do about the client who is nothing like you?

That was the heart of Session 1, and it is the foundation for everything we do over the five weeks. We looked at why DISC isn’t a personality quiz you do once and file away, but a communication tool you use with every single client who walks through your door. We saw the same serum-and-SPF recommendation said four completely different ways. And then we got properly practical: how to read a client’s style in the first five minutes, without ever handing them a form.

I’m not going to give you all of it here. It’s live, cameras on and not recorded, so what we covered on Thursday belongs to the people who were in the room. But I do want you to walk away with something you can use tomorrow.

The 10-second test: pace before product.

The next time a client walks in, don’t say anything clever. Just watch their pace for ten seconds. How fast do they move? How fast do they talk? How quickly do they decide?

Fast and brisk? Get to the point. Give them the bottom line, offer two options and let them choose. “Two products, two minutes a day, here’s the plan. Which option do you want?”

Steadier and quieter? Slow right down. Go step by step, reassure, no pressure, and follow up with a call in a day or two. “I’ll take you through it step by step, and I’ll call you in a few days to see how you’re getting on.”

Same serum. Same SPF. Completely different conversation.

That is only half of the picture. There is a second question that tells you which of four very different clients you are looking at, and exactly what to say to each one. That part we did in the room. And it won’t be right every time. Your first read is a starting point, and the client’s reaction tells you whether you got it right, which is why this week’s homework is to test it on real clients. Over fifty therapists are doing exactly that right now, and by next Thursday they will know how accurate they were.

If you want to see why a good recommendation starts with the client rather than the product, Eminence Organics wrote a useful piece on building a home care recommendation around what a client actually wants and already uses.

So here’s my question for you this week:

The next time you recommend a product, who are you really speaking to? The client in front of you, or yourself?

Go and watch. Ten seconds. That’s all it takes to start.

Have a wonderful week.

Lots of love,

Marisa

P.S. That was Session 1 of five. Next Thursday we go further, and the group will walk in having tested it all on real clients. If you read this wishing you had been in the room, you can still join as one lesson to catch up is still doable, so hurry and email me to get a spot for next four weeks.

P.P.S. Two therapists in the same room. Same treatments, same products, same kind of clients. One sells beautifully and one doesn’t. If it isn’t personality and it isn’t talent, what is it? Is there a repeatable way your team does it, or does it depend on who is on shift? And what if retail could be 50% of your total turnover? Most owners will assume that’s impossible. It isn’t.