Report on the 2009 ISPA
Conference & Expo
in Austin, Texas
Part 2 of 3
by
Julie Register
I, along with over 1,800 spa professionals
and over 150 exhibiters, attended the 19th annual ISPA
Conference & Expo October 5-8, 2009 at the Austin Convention Center in
Austin, Texas. This year the theme "simplicity" was woven throughout
the outstanding keynote speeches and valuable educational sessions. ISPA presented
awards, discussed the work of the foundation and presented spa industry statistics.
The expo and the relaxation area offered opportunities to talk to exhibiters and
sample products and treatments. Unfortunately, I could not stay to hear Lance
Armstrong on the 8th. This report is divided into three parts. The following chart
shows the highlights of the event. This is Part 2 of 3.
Part 1 -
Oct 5 | Part
2 - Oct 6 | Part
3 - Oct 7 |
General
Session: Educational
Sessions: Expo Highlights: | General
Session: Educational
Sessions: Expo Highlights: | General
Session: Educational
Sessions: Expo
Highlights: |
General Session:
*
Innovation & Growth: Cultivating The Game Changers
by Ram
Charan
Ram Charan, business advisor and author of many
books including Leadership
in the Era of Economic Uncertainty, noted business is a discipline and offered
10 points to consider:
1) Economic Uncertainty - Spas provide
stress relief. Spas help increase productivity. Ask your guest if they see the
benefits. Look for the positive. Only 23% of the population use spas. Is there
room for expansion? Yes!
2) Generating Ideas - Ram discussed
Napster, the iPod, Steve Jobs and the power of observation. Observe people when
they are working, shipping, eating, etc. Steve Jobs senses opportunity. "I
don't do research. I hang around and I try to find what the pain points are."
Ask your guests what their pain points are. Observe. Ask. Listen. Generate ideas
that can give you the game changers.
3) Ride the trends - Health
care costs are increasing. Allow people to come to the spa for 15 minutes. Generate
demand.
4) Alter Perceptions - Train your team to observe and
ask guests questions. Ask them what there pain points are. There is nothing more
important to get a repeat customer than the feeling that you care. That is part
of the experience
5) Sources of Guests - Unite geographically
to expand the demand there. Work together to increase the total demand and your
share will also increase.
6) Gifts - If you have gift certificates,
don't reduce the practice. Discounting puts brand positioning at risk. Your brand
is more by word of mouth than advertising.
7) Bonus Services
- What would be appealing to an individual guest?
8) Long Term
Business Building - Post treatment - Are you keeping data? Are you reaching them
again? Are you benchmarking?
9) Operation Hours - What are
the operating hours that are right? You may have to change to tap the market.
10)
Weekly Brain Storming - Sam Walton asked his staff: 1) How many people came in
the store and bought nothing?; 2) What is the customer asking for that we don't
have? and required them to visit competitors to get prices. Spas should ask, "What
is the most critical problem their customer is facing?" then Google for the
best practices in healing and well-being. The best practices come from other industries.
We must leverage the world's knowledge capital. Google makes this possible. Ask
how you, as a leader, can help make your customer's problems better. Remember,
there is still 77% penetration to go.
Small businesses build
America. Spas ability to reduce stress and anxiety increases people's productivity.
The
ISPA Dedicated Contributor Award
Bernie
Burt presented Pat and Juanita Corbett, co-founders of The Hills Health Ranch
in British Columbia, with the ISPA Dedicated Contributor award. I've known Pat
and Juanita since 2001 when I
visited their spa in the weeks following 9-11. I am so happy they have been
recognized with this award. They deserve it. The couple has dedicated their lives
to wellness with a strong emphasis on international relations within the spa industry.
In her acceptance speech, Juanita referred to John Ortberg's, If
You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat. She said we
all have to get out of the boat and believe in our passions. We all have to take
risks to help others. Taking a risk to help others is walking on water. The greatest
leaders are the greatest servants. We all serve. Pat said years ago they had to
decide how they were going to spend their remaining time, talent and money. They
decided to create The Hills Health Ranch. The challenge for all of us is to look
at our time, talent and money and decide what we will do. He encouraged us to
give back to our countries and the world.
Speakers:
*
Coaching Secrets for Spa Directors: Keeping Attitudes Positive
and Performance Strong During Tough Times
by Kay
Cannon
Kay covered three essentials that spa directors need to do
during though times:
1) Deal with the fear.
Communication is key. Ask questions
that don't have yes or no answers. Understand what's truly happening with your
team and yourself. When there is trust and fear is managed, you will find that
you and your staff have the answers. Look for evidence of fear - crying, change
in attitude / personality, infighting and acting out with poor performance. Sadness
is expressed in anger which is a sign of fear. As coach of work team, you must
see that they are coming from a place of fear. To eliminate the fear, have honest
communications.
2) Align the team.
Get your team on same page and moving
in the same and right direction. Coach people around you (up and down) to get
clear on the goals. Align personal goals to coincide with business goals. Know
each individual's goal and how that ties in with the company's goal. Appreciation,
safety and trust result in eliminating fear.
3) Engage the team.
Involve
them. Ask questions. Get them to participate and be committed to the team. You
must have time to get to know them and find what they are passionate about and
make them commit. Appreciation plays an important role in engagement. It builds
trust and relationships so that people are no longer fearful. The team leader
is responsible for creating a positive workplace. Hold people accountable. Set
guidelines and expectations. Sometimes training is the answer. Fear can be about
not knowing how to do something and being afraid to ask. Anger usually a sign
of sadness and confusion. Every change begins with an ending. Whenever there is
an ending, there is grief. Give them space to express the grief for an appropriate
amount of time.
