Sell The “Bare”Essentials

Sell The “Bare”Essentials

by Jenifer Hunt

Benefits: The indoor tanning industry has a predominately female customer base, making them ideal venues to offer anti-cellulite services, such as Vacu-Step. The system is a safe, natural alternative to liposuction, is relatively easy to integrate and maintain, and provides exceptional returns on investment.

Return On Investment: A typical salon can expect to pay off its Vacu-Step purchase in approximately three months. Even with minimal usage, the machine can yield $3,000 to $9,900 in revenue per month.

Salon Sales Pitch: Women want to eliminate cellulite and inches without resorting to liposuction, and Vacu-Step provides a safe, natural alternative to invasive procedures. Using the Vacu-Step amounts to a quick, low-impact 30- minute workout; can be conveniently done during a lunch break; and can reduce common target areas including hips, stomach, thighs and buttocks.

Requirements: The machine’s only requirement is a 9-foot by 9-foot space.

Training: Limited training is needed to operate Vacu-Step. A one-day training program is offered to salons, and soon will be available via the Internet for convenient reference and training purposes.

Benefits: All salons know the value of carrying lotions and eyewear, and rightly so, as they are huge sellers. But there is a sizeable market for other accessory items, including personal tanning garments. Many salon customers do not like to tan in the nude and wear some kind of garment when they tan, which may leave tan lines. Salons that carry Sock-It products address customers’ personal comfort levels while adding to their bottom line.

Return On Investment: The return on investment is keystone or better. The cost to salons is approximately $5 per garment and suggested retail is $10 to $15.

Salon Sales Pitch: A great sales pitch to women is, “Your hair color is beautiful, you obviously spend a great deal of time and money coloring and maintaining it. Have you considered using a sun cap to extend the life of your hair color and to keep it from drying out?” A possible sales pitch for men is, “Have you seen a Sock-It? It provides protection and doesn’t leave a tan line.” An attractive display is its own sales pitch. Accessories are often impulse purchases, therefore we suggest a countertop display to appeal to customers’ tendency to buy interesting products at attractive price points, in good-looking packaging.

Requirements: The product must be ordered by the dozen.

Training: A brochure is available that gives a detailed explanation of the benefits of each product.

Benefits: Salons that offer clothing, including swimwear, can differentiate themselves from their competition. The California Clothing Co. by Heartland is a unique clothing collection consisting of swimwear, apparel, sunglasses, accessories, club-wear and footwear. Customers can make purchases through salons even during the off-season when swimwear and lightweight clothing is difficult to locate. Fans of the line shop at participating salons because our collection is not available in mass market retail stores.

Return On Investment: We see returns on investment in the range of 30 percent to 100 percent. The variables that play into returns include a salon’s location, demographics, marketing campaigns and in-store displays. The greater the investment, the greater the return.

Salon Sales Pitch: Simply displaying the Heartland Tanning catalog is the best sales pitch. It does not show wholesale prices. Targeting customers preparing to take vacations and in need of summer clothing is effective.

Requirements: There is no minimum order requirement. Instead, we offer discount incentives on high-quantity purchases.

Training: Salons find that adding the California Clothing Co. by Heartland line to their product offerings is a seamless procedure. Only general retail knowledge is necessary, and Heartland’s sales staff is prepared to promptly respond to any questions salons may have.

Benefits: The benefits of offering exclusive jewelry via salons’ mysalonsite.com Web sites are enormous. Internet retail purchases have grown 182 percent during the past four years and are expected to double by 2010, meaning shoppers want unique items that cannot be purchased at the shopping mall. Together, Four Seasons Sales & Service and Beverly Hills E-Boutique provide salons with a virtual sales option that does not require countertop space. A salon owner can start generating revenue, yet never need to purchase or stock a single item. It’s like opening a whole new store without any overhead.

Return On Investment: Salons can start generating income online with practically no investment or Internet experience. It’s brilliant.

Salon Sales Pitch: The Beverly Hills E-Boutique spots trends in celebrity jewelry and creates affordable alternatives. When a company offers fashionable accessories at reasonable prices, a hard-sell is not necessary. This jewelry line is exclusive to Four Seasons, and customers who order from a salon’s mysalonsite.com site will receive an impressive discount when they sign up to receive Internet promotions.

Requirements: The only requirement is the little time it takes salons to create a mysalonsite.com professional Web site.

Training: No training is required.