Well, the holidays have come and gone and we’re gearing up for our industry’s favorite time of the year … Busy Season! This month, let’s talk about a few things every salon can do to prepare for maximum profits during this key season.
Preparation: Check all equipment and make sure everything is working properly. Do any beds need to be re-lamped? Or are they close to needing new lamps? How about your pricing structure? The best time to make price adjustments or increases is just prior to busy season. Make sure everything in the salon is perfectly clean and all your supplies are well stocked. Initiate your advertising plan now – it can take a few weeks to roll out a new campaign, so you should have it scheduled well in advance. Give your salon a facelift … even very small improvements make a big difference.
Education: By this time of year, you should have chosen the products you will stock and sell this season. Make sure you’ve selected lotions in a range of price points and that really help serve your salon’s clientele. Most lotion and product manufacturers offer free in-store and online training, as well as ongoing support to insure that your team members have all the key elements they need to sell every product on your shelves. Ask your tanning distributor about the benefits your lotion manufacturers have to offer.
Staffing: This is probably the biggest difference between an average salon and a super salon. You should always strive to keep your team motivated and trained to be self-sufficient; but in the upcoming months, this is more important then ever. Are you adequately staffed? Do some shifts require more than one team member to serve your guests? Sales opportunities can be easily missed if you’re not staffed adequately and your salon employees are just busy cleaning beds and sending people to tanning rooms. Going into season, make sure that you have not only enough staff, but key team members working key shifts to maximize sales and profitability.
Salon Tours: There is no time more important than now to have your team review and practice their salon guest welcome tours. With lots of new tanners coming in, many of whom might not have used your facilities before, it’s important that your staff knows the correct way to greet them and to show them the differences in your equipment, products and tanning packages. Making your new clients feel at ease and welcome in your salon will influence their decision to consider trying your competition, instead.
Specials, Coupons, Groupons & 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 your clients bring these promotions to your store? My suggestion is to have set add-on packages that correspond with each coupon and review these with all staff, so they know exactly how to handle a new guest with a coupon and to upsell them a larger package. It costs you money in advertising to get tanners into your salon, and now it’s up to your team to insure they continue to use your salon, purchase add-ons products and purchase higher-end packages. Review and role-play different possible scenarios with your team that could come up when a client brings in a coupon – teach them to turn objections into sales.
You’re in business to make money! Make sure your salon and your team are ready now to make the 2013 season your most profitable yet. Every person who walks through your salon’s door is an opportunity. Educate your staff to utilize every way to capitalize on that.
