I thought that title might get your attention! We’re now in the full swing of busy season, and that means a constant flow of traffic, a lobby full of people waiting to tan and staff that is running crazy to keep up with the demand of cleaning beds while assisting guest needs. This month, I want to discuss the ways to slow down and take time with each guest so that you can effectively and efficiently sell products and services. Let’s avoid using the tired and pointless dialogue, “Are you good with your lotion? Do you have your eyewear? 20 Minutes? Okay, room 3,” which, in the tanning world, is the equivalent of saying, “Do you want fries with that?”
As the lines of waiting tanners grow, your team tends to get a bit nervous. They shift their focus from product sales to simply checking tanners in for their sessions. If your salon is busy, these guests are sitting in your lobby with nothing to do. Invest in a TV to run a promotional DVD loop supplied by manufacturers to inform tanners about products and equipment. This will give them something to look at while they are waiting for their sessions. Post your salon’s website address all over the salon, encouraging guests to visit it. Remember, you need to provide reasons for them to go to your sites or to ask about the products and/or services they see in your promotional videos. Offer a special promotion such as “Check out our website for a free lotion sample” or “Like our Facebook page and get a free upgrade” or better yet, “Check in at our salon on Facebook and be entered to win a free after tanning moisturizer.” These are all different ideas for drawing people to your site, where it’s your job to provide info about the importance of lotions or features of the equipment you offer.
As a previous salon consultant, I know that it can be daunting to open up a conversation about upgrade sessions or a new lotion when you have a line of people at your counter. But instead of looking at it as trying to “sell” to every person, look at it as an opportunity to educate them about how to get the best possible results from their tanning session. When you are educating the guest at your counter about the benefits of a new product or a session in an upgrade unit, the other guests waiting in your lobby or in line are listening to you, so you could be potentially making a sale to them, as well. You need to change your mindset to believe that every person who comes in your door wants the very best from every tanning session, meaning the very best products and the very best services and equipment. If they are not using the best lotions or the best beds available, then it is your job to inform them of how to achieve their optimal results. You’re now switching from “salesperson” to “educator” and your guests will be much more receptive and patient as you make the effort to educate them rather than trying to make a sale.
Remember, this is the time of year when tanners are coming to your salon for a tan – it’s not the time of year to offer special deals on your basic tanning packages. They plan to pay for tanning right now! Try offering promotions geared toward upgrades, which will help them achieve their ultimate goal of a great tan. No one comes into your salon expecting to leave paler than when they came in. Find out why they’re tanning, what their goals are and help them achieve those goals in the easiest and fastest ways possible. Know your products, know your equipment, know your promotions and make your guests aware of all that your salon has to offer.
Your guests deserve the very best, right? So super-size them!
