FROM YOUR CHAIRMAN
2017
ISPA BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
ELECTED OFFICERS
CHAIRMAN
Todd Shaw
The Peaks Resort & Spa
VICE CHAIRMAN
Todd Hewitt
Shangri-La International
SECRETARY/TREASURER
Garrett Mersberger
Kohler Co.
IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN
Michael Tompkins
Hutchinson Consulting
DIRECTORS
ur team members cringe at the word “sales.” They’re not sales people;
they’re therapists or estheticians or professionals who just want to use
their knowledge and skills to help people. That’s why we must shift our
mindset to stop talking to our teams about sales and start supporting
them in recommendations.
Our guests come to the spa because they have a problem—whether it’s stress, an injury, or
a skin issue—and they want us to use our knowledge to fix it. Encourage your therapists to use
their professional knowledge to really listen and help each of their guests. This kind of encour-
agement will give you far better return on your sales than just pushing them to sell, sell, sell.
Doug Stephens, retail futurist and this month’s Ask the Expert feature, predicts that retail is
entering the age of customer experience. The kind of customer experience people go to the spa
for. We know our customers can get a product online. We know they can Google just about
anything and figure out the answers for themselves. But you know what? They want relation-
ships. They want to support someone who helps them. They’ll forgo the discount they can get
online for the personal advice and care they get from your therapists at the spa.
The relationship and continued care at the spa has higher value than purchasing randomly
online, which is why we must stop fearing technology. If we are afraid of our customers going
online, it means we aren’t doing our jobs. Ask yourself, where can I do a better job to make sure
customers are getting everything they deserve from me? Everything I learned in school? We are
in this industry to help people. If we hold true to those values, there’s no way we can let a
customer leave without recommending something we know will help them. Emphasize to your
staff that to do so would be a disservice to their customers and they’ll begin to look at sales in
a completely new way.
So, fellow ISPA members, this month I challenge you to change the way you talk and think
about sales. Help your team change their approach with customers and take ownership of their
professional ability to make the kind of recommendations no one else can. Then, and only then,
will you truly have “sales” success.
Sharilyn Abbajay
ISPA Foundation Vice Chairman
Noel Asmar
Noel Asmar Group, Inc.
Scott Duncan
Spa Gregorie’s
Blake Feeney
Living Earth Crafts
Michael Harmsworth
ESPA International (US) Ltd.
Patrick Huey
Minor Hotel Group
Kristine Huffman
Huffman Hospitality Concepts
Julie Oliff
St. Regis Aspen
Laura Parsons
ESPA International (US) Ltd. (Spa Division)
Frank Pitsikalis
ISPA Foundation Chairman
Eric Stephenson
Well World Group
Dawn Tardif
BodiScience Wellness Center & Spa
Robert Vance
Well & Being Spa at the Fairmont
Scottsdale Princess
Lynne McNees
International SPA Association
MEDICAL ADVISOR
Brent A. Bauer, MD
Mayo Clinic
CHAIRMEN’S COUNCIL
Past ISPA Chairmen who are current members:
Gayle Brady • Brady Spa Consulting
Jeff Kohl • Spa & Club Ideations
Jean Kolb • Well By Choice
—TODD SHAW, CHAIRMAN
John Korpi • Korpi & Korpi
Kate Mearns • 5 Spa Consulting LLC
Jim Root • The Westmoor Club
Todd Shaw MBA
@tddshaw
Todd Shaw
Jane Segerberg • Segerberg Spa Consulting, LLC
Ella Stimpson • The Spa at Sea Island
2
PULSE
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July 2017
Deborah Waldvogel • ResortSuite