How do you politely get the point across that...

[TrueRiot]

...you do not get paid to do makeup, you get paid to sell makeup? I'm having a hard time getting that across to people who want to play around during their "girls day out" without purchasing anything. I don't work for MAC, and at our boutique, there is no minimum purchase to have your makeup done. We have a half-face policy, but still, if I'm doing something beyond foundation, I would like to get some sort of sale out of it.

This has become a huge problem with friends of the client. A serious client comes in with her friend, and her friend wants to have fun as well, without wanting to make a purchase.

When I get stuck with these people all day, my sales will be much lower than what is expected of me. I also don't get to give as much attention to my serious clients. What is some good lingo that is both polite and professional?

 

[ms.marymac]

Everyone in cosmetic sales deals with this, and it can be frustrating! You have to keep both your customers and bosses happy. Maybe you guys could come up with a way to politely explain to people who ask about makeovers that you offer services that enable them to try the products out/learn how to use them. Instead of putting the "free makeover" in their mind, focus it on trying out products they are interested in. "What products were you interested in today?" If they just say something like, "Oh, we just want to get a makeover done for fun" or something, you'll at least know their intention and can make it very simple and quick. Maybe you can help other serious customers even if you have to step away, so that you can make your goal and keep them happy as well. HTH

 

[TrueRiot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ms.marymac Everyone in cosmetic sales deals with this, and it can be frustrating! You have to keep both your customers and bosses happy. Maybe you guys could come up with a way to politely explain to people who ask about makeovers that you offer services that enable them to try the products out/learn how to use them. Instead of putting the "free makeover" in their mind, focus it on trying out products they are interested in. "What products were you interested in today?" If they just say something like, "Oh, we just want to get a makeover done for fun" or something, you'll at least know their intention and can make it very simple and quick. Maybe you can help other serious customers even if you have to step away, so that you can make your goal and keep them happy as well. HTH

Thank you for your suggestions! They sound good. I'm starting to ask more questions as to understand their intentions.

 

[Bernadette]

If they are asking how much it costs etc. You can say something like "Well if you need to find a new foundation we can tryit on no problem." Maybe, even though it's more bold if they say they aren't there to buy anything you can say that they should get it done when they are ready to purchase that way they can find the best items at that time. I usually just say "All right what would you like to take with you?" At the end. If you have done a good job of educating them and showing them the products, there is nothing wrong with being that forward.