Well, the holidays have come and gone, and now, we’re gearing up for this industry’s favorite time of the year: Busy Season! This month, we are going to talk about a few key things every salon needs to do to be ready to maximize profits.
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Prepare, prepare, prepare! Check all equipment and make sure everything is working properly. Do any beds need to be re-lamped, or are they close to it? How is your pricing structure? Just prior to busy season is the best time to make pricing adjustments or increases. Also, give your salon a facelift to make sure everything is perfectly clean and inviting. Are your supplies well stocked? Initiate your advertising plan ahead of time – it can take a few weeks to roll out a new campaign, so you should have it all scheduled well in advance.
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Education is key. By this time of year, you should have chosen the products you’ll be stocking for the upcoming season. Make sure you’ve selected products at various price points to meet the needs of your clientele. Most lotion and product manufactures offer in-store and online training, as well as ongoing support to ensure that your staff has knowledge of all the key elements to sell every product on your shelves. Ask your product distributor rep what benefits your favorite lotion manufacturer has to offer.
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Staff your salon for success. This is probably the biggest difference between an average salon and a super salon. You should always strive to keep your team motivated, confident and self-sufficient; but in the upcoming months this is more important than ever. Do you have enough staff? Do some shifts require more then one employee? Selling opportunities can be easily missed if you’re not staffed correctly and your employees are scrambling to clean beds and check guests into tanning rooms. Make sure that going into season, you have not only enough staff, but key people on key shifts to maximize efficiency and profitability.
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Salon tours: There is no time more important than now to have all of your staff review and practice their “welcome tours.” With lots of new tanners coming in who may not have been a guest before, it is important that your staff knows the correct way to greet them and show them the differences in your equipment, products and service packages. Making new guests feel at ease and welcome will determine whether they become a loyal customer or try your competitor, instead.
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Specials, coupons, Groupons and ads: Busy Season is the time when salons spend the most money on advertising and promotions. But, are you turning those coupons into sales dollars when customers bring these offers through your door? My suggestion is to have set add-on packages that correspond with each coupon or Facebook promotion and review these with all employees, so they know exactly how to handle a new guest with a coupon and to upsell the coupons into larger packages. It costs you money in advertising to get them into your salon, and now, it’s up to your staff to ensure they continue to use your salon, purchase add-on products and upgrade their service packages. Review and role-play with your staff the different possible scenarios that could arise when a guest brings in a coupon, and teach them how to overcome objections.
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Every salon is in business to make money! Every person who walks through your salon’s door is an opportunity. Make sure your facility and staff are ready to make the 2018 season the most profitable yet. Happy Busy Season and happy selling!
Make sure your facility and staff are ready to make the 2018 season the most profitable yet.
