As we get through the hectic holidays, we’re gearing up for this industry’s favorite time of the year: busy season! This month, I want to talk about a few key things every salon operator needs to do to prepare for maximizing busy season profits.
Prepare: Check all the equipment in your salon to make sure everything is working properly. Are any beds in need of re-lamping or close to needing it? How is your pricing structure? Just prior to busy season is the best time to make pricing adjustments or increases. Give your salon a facelift – schedule a deep-cleaning and check your stock of all supplies. 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.
Education: By this time of year, you should have chosen the tanning products you will be selling during the upcoming season. Make sure you have selected products at various price points and products that really help serve your salon’s particular clientele. Most lotion and product manufacturers offer free in-store and online product education, as well as ongoing support to insure that your staff has all the key elements to sell every product on your shelves. Check with your product distributor to see what benefits your lotion manufacturer has to offer.
Remember, success occurs when opportunity meets preparation.
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 self-sufficient, but in the upcoming months this is more important then ever. Are you adequately staffed? Do some shifts require more than one person? Sales opportunities can be easily missed if your store is not staffed correctly and your team is just working to check people in for sessions and keep tanning rooms clean. Going into season, make sure that you not only have enough staff, but key people on key shifts to maximize product sales and profitability.
Salon Tours: There is no time more important than now to have all of your staff review and practice their salon welcome tours. With lots of new tanners coming in at the beginning of the New Year, many of whom might have not used your facilities before, it’s key that your staff knows the correct way to greet salon guests and show them the differences in your equipment, products and packages. Making your new tanners feel at ease and welcome in your salon will make the difference in whether they decide to try your competition instead.
Specials, coupons, Groupons and ads: Busy season is the time when salons spend the most money on advertising and promotions. But are you turning the coupons into sales dollars when people bring these promotions through your door? My suggestion is to create add-on packages that correspond with each coupon and review these with your team so they know exactly how to handle a new guest with a coupon and how to upsell them into larger packages and memberships. 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 services, purchase add-on products and sign up for long-term packages. Review and role-play different possible scenarios with your team that they can use when a client brings in a coupon, and teach them how to overcome objections.
You’re in business to make money! Make sure your salon and your team are ready to make the 2015 season the most profitable yet. Every person who walks through your salon’s door is an opportunity – educate your staff to capitalize on that. ■
