In order to stage more engaging encounters for every guest, salon operators must recognize that every time their team is working in the salon, they are on stage.
CAST:
The Producer – This is typically the salon owner or anyone who runs the show behind the scenes; usually the person responsible for funding the production or paying the bills!
The Director – The team leader or manager with the vision of what the performance should look like; should also define the roles that each cast member plays while they are on stage (working).
The Characters – All the salon staff who engage with guests and work on the tanning salon business stage should be considered the “actors.”
The Audience – Every guest (customer) who walks through that salon door is there to experience your “show.”
ACT 1: DIRECT THE CAST
Team leaders/managers should direct their cast members and give them roles to play, help them define those roles and encourage them to invest time into practicing their roles before placing them on the tanning salon stage.
When your salon is treated as merely a service provider, most staff members will spend NO offstage time preparing onstage skills. Great actors rehearse! Better performances that focus on guest interaction turn traditional, scripted customer contact into customized, engaging encounters that inspire higher sales.
ACT 2: GET THE MOST OUT OF OUR YOUNG ACTORS
The term ACTING can quickly fill tummies with butterflies … memorizing long, elaborate scripts, standing on a stage with all eyes on them. For most, it means coming face to face with the most terrifying fear of all: the paralyzing angst of possibly embarrassing themselves in front of any kind of audience. Oh, God! Will I make a mistake – go totally blank and look foolish or stupid? This is a real fear for most of our young actors, even as they have normal conversations with salon guests.
ACT 3: HELP THEM GET INTO CHARACTER
Teach them that the word ACTING really just means taking deliberate ACTION to connect with anyone they are talking to, or in this case, anyone who walks into your salon. Too many of our young cast members fail to ACT at all, behaving the exact same way on the tanning salon business stage as they do when they are not at work. This “go through the motions,” “clock in/clock out,” mentality trains your bronze beauty-seeking audience to follow that pattern, too … never trying anything new or ever being really engaged or inspired at all during your show.
ACT 4: ACT THE PART
Acting is really just about making a choice. Everybody ACTS differently, depending on who they are in front of at that moment. Not fake or phony – we simply choose what part of ourselves we want to reveal based on who our audience is. Whether its friends, family, acquaintances, bosses, colleagues or tanning salon guests, we make conscious choices about how we will ACT. It wouldn’t be a stretch to call this “getting into character.”
ACT 5: ACTING CLASSES
Weekly cast member meetings are the perfect dress rehearsal for your actors to learn, practice, role-play and get ultra-confident … prepared to give award-wining performances in their roles on your salon stage.
That’s a wrap!
