Simon’s 10 steps to Success for New Cryoskin retailers
See Simon's video outlining the below steps HERE.
Who am I?
My name is Simon Mansell and I am the CEO of Artemis / Cryoskin.
I spent 13 years running an advertising agency advising companies on how to market their businesses. I sold that business and used that money to start Artemis.
I have set up multiple businesses and have had successes and failures.
One of these businesses is one of the most successful Cryoskin retail locations in the US (www.cryofuel.com) - we averaged $28,000 per month in Cryoskin revenue in 2019.
Cryoskin: 10 Steps to Success for Retailers
Starting any business needs money and sweat. Things don’t always go smoothly,
however it’s easier if you have some information for what has worked for other similar businesses in other locations.
This guide aims to simplify what you need to do to get Cryoskin off to a good start.
It’s laid out in a step-by-step format as execution is a step-by-step process. Do one thing at a time and make sure it’s complete before you move onto the next step.
Step 1 - Make sure your location is set up for success
For consumers Cryoskin is an expensive treatment.
Therefore the room you do the treatment(s) in needs to feel like a premium experience.
If you are not good at interior design ask someone to help you who is.
You don’t need to spend loads of money on this but it has to look premium.
Step 2 - Make sure your staff knows how to talk about Cryoskin
You / your staff are the most prominent sales people for your business.
Make sure they can explain the background of Cryoskin, have a little story about why it works and ensure your staff can explain the science behind Cryoskin treatments.
Don’t just ask them if they know it - test them!
Remember humans are programmed to remember stories. A story has five basic elements: the characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution.
For clients which want a consultation, have a process of how you do these. I would recommend watching this short clip of Ashley (sound starts after 17 seconds) talking about what she did to generate $70K in Cryoskin revenue in November.
Step 3 - Once you receive your Cryoskin make sure you are getting good results
Before you get any real customers in to have Cryoskin treatments, you need to make sure you are getting results.
This means you and every staff member who will do Cryoskin sessions should practice on 5 friends and relatives each.
Before and after every session you should measure the area you are treating. If these people are not losing at least 0.5 inches in the session you are not getting the customers cold enough. Re-watch the training videos or contact support@cryoskin.com if you need help.
Note: this immediate inch loss is not fat loss - it is retraction from the cold. However it demonstrates you are getting customers cold enough to result in fat loss.
Step 4 - Identify 20 “Connectors” you can invite in for free sessions
In Malcom Gladwell’s book “The Tipping Point” he analyzes how trends get started.
Small numbers of influential people in a community start trends. The most important group of people are called “connectors”. Connectors talk to a lot of people about things which they find.
So you need to sit down and write out a list of 20 people who could be connectors in your community. Ways to think about this:
Who would you or your female friends ask for advice if you were trying a new body cream?
Who are the local popular hairdressers, make-up artists, yoga teachers or fitness instructors?
Which local people have big Instagram followings?
Who runs the most popular local Facebook group for Moms?
Who is the local Radio DJ?
Who are the top local TV news personalities?
Step 5 - Invite connectors in for Free Sessions
Once you have written the list of potential connectors you need to get them in to try Cryoskin so they can tell other people about it!
Now you may think “Why don’t I just offer them a discount?”
Well…..if you do that you may only get a couple of them to come in. If you offer free sessions you can hopefully get 10+ of them to come in for sessions.
At this point in your journey you are just trying to build local buzz and not make money!
Step 6 - Make sure you give connectors a good story to tell
Knowing something that others don't motivates connectors, so you need to give them a good story.... to tell their connections.
This means having a simple story which you feed them (and they then tell their friends). This could be the story of how we discovered Cryoskin and brought it to the US or how you discovered Cryoskin. Remember stories should have characters, the setting, the plot, the conflict, and the resolution.
Measure the connectors before and after their session. You can explain this indicates what they will lose. It gives them an immediate number to add to their story when they tell their friends.
You can also add an incentive to get them to spread the word. For example: If they buy a package, allow them to bring a friend to their second session and that friend can receive a free session. This adds to the cool factor of them knowing about something and having special access for their connections.
Step 7 - Identify Salespeople and incentivize them to help you sell
The other important group identified in the Tipping Point are “Salespeople”. These are people who are good at communicating and getting the word out. They will often be working in sales jobs. They usually respond well to incentives - money or free sessions.
If you think you know some of these people then ask them to help you spread the word and incentivize them to help you e.g. 1 free session per 5 pack they sell or $100 per 5 pack they sell.
Step 8 - Partnering with local businesses
Before we started our retail location my wife and I went to the gym close by. We had personal training sessions with a different trainer each week and made friends with them. Then when we opened we offered the personal trainers free sessions. After they had tried our services we said that if they sent their customers to us they would get a special deal too.
Think about how you can partner with local businesses in a similar way. Use free sessions as currency!
Step 9 - Post on Social media every day
Social media is the most powerful form of advertising since Television.
To start, you need to post “organic” content to your Instagram / Facebook.
This can include the content we provide. It should also include local stories so your potential customers can identify with people like them.
Also remember to add some content which adds value to people. You can add value by educating or entertaining people.
The Story format is great for shorter / entertaining posts.
Posts can be used to educate people on topics you know about or you can use the content we provide to do this.
It can also be a good idea to find local people who are interested in looking good and liking/commenting on their posts from your business page or direct messaging potential influencers. You can watch these videos for advice on how to do this.
Step 10 - Paid Social Advertising
If you have some money to invest, I would recommend signing up for our Facebook ad program or finding a paid social media specialist if you are a purchase customer.
Paid social media ads can work very well, especially during peak time (Feb - August).
If you sign up for our Facebook program you must invest a minimum of $2,000. We will double your spend, run the ads for you, call the leads and book them in on your behalf. For purchase/buyout retailers, there is a service fee of 25% of your ad spend contribution, plus the minimum of $2,000 to start.
My team and I used to run a Facebook advertising business and we are good at it.
Success is not guaranteed (it works for around 70% of retailers during peak time) and you need to have realistic expectations (getting more than $1 back per $1 you spend is good as you also get the return customers, the referrals from those customers and the exposure for your business).
To sign up for the Facebook ads program click here
If you are a purchase customer and would like to run these ads yourself, or hire someone to do this for you you can watch the second half of this webinar.