Selling can be a tough job – tough on the ego, tough on the energy level – which explains why it can be extra challenging to motivate your young actors to stand on that salon stage, face their fears, engage with every guest, and sell each of them multiple tanning and beauty products![gap height=”25″]
No. 1 Undisputed Tanning Salon Fact: lotion sales performance is and will always be the most significant piece of the profit and loss pie chart. In other words, if you want to make more money, sell more lotion.[gap height=”25″]
How do you motivate that young sales team to move the sales needle higher?[gap height=”25″]
Most top-earning salons with the highest lotion sales implement some form of performance-based pay program (PBP). Whether that means an hourly rate plus percentage of sales (commonly called commission), or some type of cash/prize bonus for hitting a sales goal, or both – all these are considered performance-based
pay programs. [gap height=”25″]
Call it what you want, but the top salons “share the wealth” by structuring creative, well-conceived PBP programs.[gap height=”25″]
The most effective PBP programs can differ slightly from one salon to another, but they all tend to follow some simple rules:[gap height=”25″]
- They always implement daily, weekly and monthly incentives, so there is always a goal to work toward.
- Management makes sure to really know what will motivate each team member, so that they can make bonuses/prizes really enticing.
- Team leaders make sure there is an equal balance of individual incentive and overall team incentive, so that they avoid creating an overly aggressive atmosphere that pits one employee against another.
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Here is a real PBP example used by a tanning salon:[gap height=”25″]
The staff was previously paid a straight percentage commission (anywhere from 4-10% depending on the product type); but when their state raised the minimum wage, they found it necessary to change things up.
- Staff always earns commission on sales of EFT packages (anywhere from $5-$10)
- Commission on product sales is based on LPPA (lotion per person average), which is calculated by taking the total product sold/total number of tanners.
So,
LPPA of < $1.49 makes $0
$1.50 -$2.00 = 4% of product total
$2.01 – $2.99 = 8% of product total
$3.00 – $3.99 = 10% of product total
$4.00 – $4.99 = 15% of product total
$5.00 & up = 20% of product total
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With this commission structure, staff have the ability to make a tremendous amount of extra money, but they have to work for it! Those who “fly under the radar” are going to make very little or nothing at all. The salon management posts weekly LPPA updates on their team Facebook page – this way, each team member knows where their numbers are during the month, and everyone knows where they stand within the team. No one wants to be at the bottom of that list![gap height=”25″]
This salon’s management staff reports that since converting to this system, they have paid out more commissions overall, but have also made more as well. With $3,800 in lotion sales, the top seller made just under $700 in commission, as well as an additional $150 from sales of teeth-whitening and EFT packages.[gap height=”25″]
The business also has a monthly goal for each salon, as a whole (based on the previous year’s total). For every $1,000 sold beyond the goal, every team member gets $25 in Bonus Bucks to spend on lotion, upgrades, spray-tans – basically, anything in the salon. In January, the team blew the goal right out of the water and they each earned $125! Management decided to change it up for February and treat the team to a “fun night” – dinner, bowling or whatever they choose – if they hit their sales goal. Great motivation![gap height=”25″]
Do it! Kick off your new PBP program now and watch your salon’s sales HOP to new levels.
