If you operate a spa, wellness center or beauty emporium, regardless of whether you are also a serious retailer, chances are good that you had to have the help of various vendors to equip your facility and to supply the products that you use in treatments or back-of-house, if not also for clients to take home. Opening a new facility may require interaction with at least 30 vendors, and on an ongoing basis, you probably work with almost as many, if not more.

Resource Partners

Some time ago, we started calling our vendors “resource partners,” which much better describes what the relationship can look like. But let’s face it, those relationships are not always as smooth and supportive as either side would like.

Thus the discussion topic at the recent We Work Well,event“How can spa businesses and resource partners work together more effectively?”

What contributed to the impact of this conversation was the fact that both parties were involved – an equal number of buyers and suppliers weighed in on the subject. Of course, at the end of the day, resource partners exist to sell things, but there are myriad ways to accomplish that. Some companies want the short-term gain (think flyers shoved in your face as you walk the trade show floor), and others are willing to take a more long-term, relationship-oriented approach. Price-sensitive buyers may be drawn to the short-term, transactional approach, but studies have shown that, with the longer sales cycle in a B2B environment, there are many important elements from the buyer’s perspective. This Harvard Business Review article on the various value elements of the B2B business cycle explains in more detail how excelling at multiple aspects of the sales cycle leads to long-term success.

Amongst the We Work Well attendees, the main concepts & ideas on this topic were as follows:

• Communicate
  • More concise and productive emails
  • Set meetings to brainstorm, more interaction
  • Pick up the phone more
  • Honesty
• Second best answer is NO
• Set common goals and then check in
• Onsite actions –
  • Training
  • Team-building events
  • Wellness retreats
  • Product launches

Thank You Very Much, I’ll Think About It

This is all fairly obvious and sensible, however I feel that the second bullet deserves further explanation. This comment probably arose in part because it was discussed at a buying conference, where buyers and suppliers are meeting one-on-one, some of them for the first time. Many buyers in this position may find themselves in a meeting where the product, pricing, or premise is just not a fit for them – but they don’t want to say so. Understandably, it’s human nature to be polite, say “Thank you very much, I’ll think about it,” when you might really have no intention of purchasing from this resource partner in the near future.

However, it seems that the resource partner would rather that buyers tell them as much. I’ve heard from more than one industry supplier that Americans in particular are polite, but not necessarily honest about their true intentions. What this sounds like to me is that buyers who are not interested in a particular company or its products, need to find a polite way to say no thank you, rather than paint a false expectation for the supplier.

How to Have a Better Relationship Long Term

At the end of the day, spas and resource partners need each other, and it’s worth exploring how to have better relationships in the long term.  Resource partners can do a better job of listening and supporting, and buyers can do a better job of being honest about their intentions, and not constantly asking their resource partners for free supplies, samples, training, etc. without considering if they are creating win-win situations. Certainly the buyer often feels that they have the upper hand from a negotiation standpoint, but the best reputations are earned by not abusing that leverage. There are some great suggestions on how to be a “customer of choice” in this Gallup article, which if you have 5 minutes to read may provide some valuable perspective from the resource partner point of view.

About the Author

Lisa Starr is the Principal of Wynne Business Consulting & Education, which specializes in spa, wellness & salon businesses. Lisa has over 30 years of experience in the beauty industry, in all aspects from technician to regional manager. She has spent the last 18 years as a consultant and educator, helping companies maximize spa operations performance in both front and back of the house, and consults on a variety of topics including operations issues, finances & compensation, marketing, inventory management, retailing, human resource development, and business process improvement. Lisa is leading the Grow Well, professional development for We Work Well.

Follow Lisa on Twitter@StarrTalk, on Instagram@WynneBusiness, or email lstarr@wynnebusiness.com