It’s May! By this time, your lobby should be full of tanners preparing for summer, working on keeping their spring break tans or just putting on shorts for the first time this year and realizing how pale their legs are. Now is the time to make sure you educate every salon guest on all the products and services they may need to achieve and maintain their results. You’re used to selling someone lotion and eyewear when they sign up for a package. But what I’ve noticed in my travels is the missed connections when selling after-care and add-on products. Not every current tanner will be a year-round tanner and some will only buy a couple of sessions, which is why it’s so very critical to show these guests all you offer to ensure they will return to re-purchase items even when they are not tanning.
It’s critical to show your seasonal guests all you offer to ensure they will return to re-purchase items even when they are not tanning.
Tan-Extending Moisturizers & Washes: Throughout my travels, I’ve tried to sway salons into changing the way they refer to add-on products as “moisturizers” or “body wash.” To me, those are products you can buy at the drug store. Tan-extending moisturizers and tan-extending washes are formulated just for the tanner’s skin – designed to lengthen tan life and replenish some of the moisture, nutrients and vitamins that skin may lose while tanning. The perfect question to ask a guest is “What are you using at home to protect your color?” This opens the door to educating a tanner about how regular moisturizers contain mineral oil, which is known to strip the tan and break down the results of DHA (the bronzing ingredient). Using a salon quality tan-extending moisturizer keeps skin hydrated, helps color last longer and preserves the bronzing results created by a tanning lotion. The same is true for body wash – regular body wash has alkalines that can break down your tan. Some tanning lotion makers create “non-alkaline” body washes intended to prolong tanning and bronzing results. I call tan-extenders “the conditioner to your shampoo.”
Outdoor Tanning Oils & SPFs: It’s inevitable – in the summertime, some salon tanners may choose to “cheat” with the real sun, but that doesn’t mean they can’t buy outdoor products from you! Most people who sunbathe or enjoy summer activities use SPF or outdoor tanning oil. During the spring and summer months, why not offer these add-on products in your salon? Most manufacturers make outdoor products intended for salon sale and some even have products that are 2-in-1 lotions or sprays intended for use in a salon as well as in the real sun. So next time you are having a conversation with a guest and her weekend or summer plans include BBQs, swimming or just laying out, show her what you sell that can help her get great color outdoors. She’s most likely going to buy an outdoor product somewhere – why not put that sale in your cash drawer?
Bronzing Powder, Lip Gloss & Night Creams: As manufacturers, we understand that not every indoor tanner is looking to buy a new tanning lotion every day, which is why we make some amazing add-on products that you can sell to fill the gaps between lotion purchases. As a girl and regular indoor tanner, I know the one makeup item I just couldn’t live without is bronzing powder. What’s great is that some manufacturers make bronzing powders to sell in your salon, and most are formulated with the tanner’s skin in mind. Same goes for lip gloss, lip balm and night or day creams. Your guests are currently buying and using these items, they’re just not buying them from you … yet.
To increase product sales and capitalize on high tanner traffic, I suggest bringing in products that your guests already purchase at local drug stores or beauty counters. As long as your staff is trained to effectively sell these products, you should be able to enjoy a slice of that pie! ■
