Five top tips for upselling to men

Upselling to your male clients can mean a major boost to your bottom lines, says Sue Whitehead MD, Jacks of London. Any successful barber store or hair salon owner knows the value of the upsell. Enticing clients to buy products or services beyond the basic cut is pretty much an essential factor for any successful business. But for some groups it’s easier than others. And here at Jacks of London, as a barbershop with an almost exclusively male clientele, we deal with one of the most difficult groups – men. Often men just want the basic, no-frills service, and that’s fine. Being pushy or aggressive can seriously backfire. The client might not only refuse to take up the offer, but decide they would rather go somewhere else in the future that doesn’t try to push them into buying stuff they don’t want. Instead, a softly, softly approach is best, and one we train our franchisees and teams to adopt through on-the-floor education, explaining how to speak to clients, choosing the right terminology and, ultimately, how to develop those gentle persuasion techniques. Our teams are taught to recommend what’s right for the client, not our business, and so build a long-term relationship based on trust. But we also have in-the-chair add-ons and boost products that, when the client is ready to buy into the Jacks of London lifestyle, are easy to deliver. Here are five ways we upsell to our clients 1. Men will often expect to have a dry cut, so we might encourage our clients to have their hair washed as they sit in one of our massage chairs. The client gets a better haircut, and this is a relatively easy upsell. 2. Offer an upgrade on extra services. For example, at Jacks we offer the option of an upgrade from standard to exclusive beard trim, which includes the use of a blade, with oils and hot towels, making it super-sharp round the edges and giving the client an amazing experience at the same time. 3. Men are increasingly open to the idea of looking after their skin properly, so many of our clients take up the option of our Jacks D-TOX face service. They’ll have a D-TOX as well as a haircut, making their skin feel great. This is especially good if the client is feeling tired or jaded and hungover. 4. Other services might have a novelty factor, but, handled properly, could become a regular part of a male client’s grooming routine. We are just now introducing an eyebrow threading service and will be trying to tie this in with the haircut, along the lines of: ‘Why get a sharp new cut but leave your eyebrows to grow wild.’ It’s an easy service that can be done in the chair, takes minutes and, we reckon, could become very popular. 5. Letting clients try a product with no commitment to buy can provide a way into their hearts (and wallets). Our Urban Hold salt spray, for instance, is a great seller. We might recommend it to a client, depending on their hair type and style, and show them how to use it for maximum effect to create extra hold, texture and volume. A non-pressured demonstration and chat about a product like this can often convert into a sale as the client pays.