Selling in the Salon

When pet owners walk into our grooming salon, they have to pass through the retail area, which is brimming with eye-catching displays that showcase toys, treats, food, leashes, collars, coats, sweaters, crates, carriers, beds, greeting cards, calendars and grooming products, plus a wide variety of gift items for people who are as crazy about their pets as we are. These customers are, in effect, a captive audience that must run the gauntlet of retail temptations as they bring little Fluffy in for her haircut. We planned it that way.

An Active Approach

The set-up, in itself, generates a lot of sales, but when you run a retail business along with your grooming services, you need to do more than stock your shelves with quality products and sit back passively waiting for your clients to whip out their wallets so you can start ringing the register. Beyond the grooming charge for Fluffy, you need to cultivate the art of up-selling, adding additional goods or services to those grooming fees to increase your bottom line and make you a far more successful businessperson.

As a professional groomer, you are in a unique position to observe the condition of an animal’s skin and coat. When it comes to your regular canine customers who rebook after each grooming visit, you see them more than their vets do. I am not suggesting you play doctor, but when you see a pet with scaly skin, a dull patchy coat or a bad case of the itchies with no fleas on board, you have the perfect opportunity to recommend a quality pet food, educating them about proper nutrition in the process. It’s not just about making a sale; it’s your chance to make the dog healthier, happier and potentially add years to its life. It’s also about making pet ownership a more rewarding experience for the person who loves that dog–a win/win situation for everyone involved.

My daughter and partner Missi, who manages our businesses, likes to say that good groomers are problem solvers as well as artists. “When you see a dog with bad skin, you can use your knowledge to recommend a premium holistic food that will change that dog’s physical condition,” she says. “Ask what the person is feeding and explain the benefits of proper nutrition in a knowledgeable and compassionate way. Offer a sample.  Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the food that you can provide to alleviate a particular health issue will be far less costly than a prescription food from the vet.” 

Don’t be shy about pitching wholesome holistic foods just because we are in the midst of a tough economic period. Since 2005, the natural pet food market has more than doubled to $1.5 billion, and is projected to hit $2.6 billion by 2014, according to Packaged Facts, a market research firm. Even during a recession, animal lovers will scrimp on themselves before they disregard their beloved pets’ needs.

Your retail store should have the things people need for their pets readily available, but you also need to perfect the art of listening to pet owners. Are that little Pug’s chronically funky ears making him uncomfortable and bothering his owner when he gets up close and personal?  Grab those medicated ear wipes from your shelf and tell him how and when to use them.  

Is the owner of that adorable mini poodle constantly regaling you with funny stories about how her baby loves to play with toys?  Walk her over to your new display of comical toys. Show the fellow who owns that Bassett hound with the dried dog food stuck on his ear flaps your deep-dish dog bowls, designed to make eating and drinking easier for his floppy-eared buddy and a lot less messy too. When people have a good experience with products like these, you will make a friend as well as creating a satisfied customer.

Anne Francis, our grooming manager, sells lots of brushes and combs by demonstrating how to use them, even if a dog has had to be clipped down short because of a badly matted coat. “I’ll grab one of my dogs, like Angus, my Kerry blue terrier, and teach them how to brush,” she says.  

If a customer is purchasing nail trimmers and styptic powder, we’ll gladly give a tutorial on how to use them. “Most times, they will try it once at home, then come back to have us do it anyway,” says Missi, “but a five-minute education like that can make you $20 in profit.”

Another advantage of having a retail section in the salon is that you can sell grooming tools and products that owners need to keep their dogs in good condition between groomings, especially the ones you can vouch for because you use them yourself.  Why send them somewhere else to get those items? “Put the product right in their hands,” Missi says. “You are showing a personal interest in that pet’s well-being. Besides, busy people love one-stop shopping and you are doing them a service by making it convenient for them.”  She maintains that any groomer who is not selling the equipment and products they use is losing money. 

The Right Environment

A pet-friendly atmosphere in the salon lifts customers’ spirits and puts them in the mood to pamper their pets. On any given day, our “shop dogs” are on hand to meet and greet the public, sometimes modeling trendy coats and tee shirts or colorful holiday bandannas that are, of course, also offered for sale. Customers know Nani, Isaac, Boojie, Ginger, Rose, Phoebe and Popo by name and always enjoy seeing them. Like it or not, our silliness and baby talk with dogs and cats is not a put-on. We’re a bit over the top, and proud of it. 

Beyond your shelves and free-standing displays, you can also embrace up-selling by offering additional services for pets being groomed. In a sign on the counter, our add-on menu lists prices for services such as medicated baths, remoisturizing treatments, coat carding, anal gland expression, teeth brushing, nail polish and even hair dyes. For holiday celebrations, or even a Superbowl party, Anne will be happy to add a spritz of safe, vegetable-based color to a pet’s coat to enhance the occasion (glitter is optional). This may explain why Boojie, Missi’s Jack Russell/chihuahua cross, was sporting a pink tail and Alex, Anne’s Bichon Frise, had a pink Mohawk atop his head when I arrived at the shop one mid-February morning. It was Valentine’s Day, of course. 

Kathy Salzberg is a Certified Master Groomer and writer. She and her daughter, Missi Salzberg, own The Village Groomer and Pet Supply in Walpole, Mass., one of New England’s busiest grooming salons. The winner of two Cardinal Crystal Achievement Awards, Kathy has written extensively on pet care for magazines and authored books on dogs and pet care careers–How to Start a Home-Based Pet Care Career (Globe Pequot Press, 2001 & 2006) and The Everything Small Dogs Book (Adams Media, 2006).