1. Set a standard for quality at your salon and only purchase those products that meet this standard. Discuss your quality concept with the staff, making sure they understand what you look for in a product.

2. Carry product lines or brands that are familiar to the consumer and have good reputations. Brands are those labels that are easily recognized by the consumer and are manufactured according to the strictest of quality guidelines.

3. Ask your customers the right questions to determine what lotions or skincare products are appropriate to their skin type and what their tanning expectations are.

4. Offer a range of tanning products that will have a wide appeal with your clients, and be sure to train your staff well so they can explain the features, advantages and benefits of all your products. Pass this knowledge on to your staff because their product knowledge will help sell more as well as provide you with feedback in terms of which products are not meeting your quality standard based on client responses.

5. Be confident in the products you are selling. If you’re not, consider changing or dropping lines. If you don’t believe in and stand by what you are selling, you will never be able to increase your retail profits.

6. The closer products are to the point-of-purchase the better. Customers do not want to have to go far to find and purchase something that interests them. Displays of products placed near the point-of-purchase are beneficial because they encourage impulse spending and make it easier for your staff to soft-sell or cross-sell different products. It also makes it easier for your staff to answer questions the customer may have about products.

7. Make your reception sales-oriented. To sell lotions and other retail products, salespeople are needed. Hire customer-oriented, outgoing staff members with a sales background and educate your existing staff on how to sell.

8. Set goals and offer commissions. Sales goals should be established for the salon by month and employee. Break the goal up into weekly and daily amounts. As with any sales goal, the numbers should be reviewed in a salon staff meeting. Review how the goal was reached, why lotions sales are important to the salon, how customers benefit from the right lotion advice and how being an expert builds client confidence (resulting in increased sales) and referrals. Set your prices on the merits of your equipment and the tanning experience they provide.

The House passed its $1.05 trillion version of the bill back in November. The next step is for the Senate and House versions to go to conference committee so the major differences can be reconciled. Besides the tanning tax discrepancy, there are also conflicts regarding the consequences of not participating, the costs – both overall and to the public, the level of government involvement, the funding of abortions, and coverage for illegal immigrants.

It’s estimated that the parties will work through the process in January, then sending the agreed-upon version to the president to sign in February. However, based on the conflicting views seen largely between Republicans and Democrats concerning the legislation, there’s no guarantee that the process will occur quickly or smoothly.

For information on how to make your voice heard in Washington, visit the article below; or for more information regarding the Senate bill, stop by the source links.

Sources:

Article source: Looking Fit

NowPublic: U.S. Senate Vote On Health Care Reform: New Health Bill Passed

Los Angeles Times: About the Senate’s healthcare vote

Fox News: RAW DATA: House and Senate Health Care Bills Contain Vast Differences

Under the new proposal, individuals purchasing tanning services would be requires to pay the 10% Tan Tax. Over a 10-year span, this new tax is projected to produce $2.7 billion to help fund health care reform. The previously proposed elective cosmetic surgery tax, affectionately called the “Bo-Tax” was projected to contribute over twice that amount in the same 10-year span.

Allergan, the California-based maker of Botox and other firms that were to be affected by the “Bo-Tax” lobbied together to remove the proposed tax. Representative cosmetic surgeons also lobbied against the tax arguing that the tax was discriminatory, specifically against middle-class women.

In a statement released by John Overstreet, executive director of the Indoor Tanning Association said, “It is not surprising that one primarily cosmetic business is trying to throw another under the bus by transferring a tax from rich doctors and their wealthy customers to struggling small businesses,” Overstreet said. “The irony is that ultraviolet light at least has proven health benefits where botox treatments have none.”

On their website, the Indoor Tanning Association states that a well-known side effect of exposing the skin to ultraviolent (UV) light is the production of Vitamin D.

Source: Examiner

After arriving in Blackpool yesterday ahead of her performance at the Royal Variety Show tonight, the 17-year-old decided to top up her tan at a sunbed shop. Accompanied by her mother Tish, the teenager spent half an hour at the Sunseekers tanning salon in Church Street, a short distance from her suite at the Hilton Hotel.

Despite the chilly 8C evening, Miley was wearing a leopard-print coat over bare legs and ankle boots. Michelle Preston, 19, who works in the tanning salon said she was shocked to see the star in Blackpool. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1233805/Miley-Cyrus-tops-tan-Blackpool-sunbed-course-prepares-sing-Queen.html#ixzz0ZCxPveRD

One of the main problems people have with indoor tanning is the idea that the beds they are laying on are not properly sanitized.  Even if you have your own home tanning bed, sanitation is a key element of your tanning experience.  Fear of disease, germs, and plain old disgust at the idea of trying to relax where someone else’s sweaty backside has been often keeps potential tanners from ever giving it a shot.  This is completely understandable, especially since some tanning bed users prefer to tan in the nude.

To help combat this often paranoid idea of the disgusting tanning bed we present to you some  tips to check how clean the tanning bed you are about to make extended contact with is, and a few easy ways to clean it yourself when it isn’t quite up to snuff.

Tip No. 1: Closely inspect the tanning bed and make sure that the acrylic covering inside of it is not coated in grime and leftover tanning lotion. This tip is fairly straight forward and is good common sense.  If you see any signs of dirt, smudges, fading, staining or rat droppings do not get in without having the tanning bed cleaned and disinfected by a salon employee or yourself first.

Tip No. 2: If the bed appears dirty, clean it with a disinfectant cleaner with the power to sanitize a pit toilet. After each tanning session you should disinfect any area of the tanning bed that touches the tanner’s body.  You need to be sure to thoroughly scourge the acrylic shields where people actual lay on the bed as this is the spot where the most bacteria-infested contamination is located. There are lots of different cleaners made just for tanning beds and are crucial to keeping a clean, cockroach free tanning environment.  Here is a list of a few tanning bed specific cleaners.

Australian Gold Tanning Bed Cleaner: Australian Gold’s tanning bed cleaner is a one-step cleaner with no fuss and no mess. It’s a disinfectant with a neutral pH and it acts as a sanitizer, deodorizer, virucide and fungicide. This is one of the best cleaners out there.

Lucasol Tanning Bed Cleaner: Lucasol is another one-step brand of deodorizing disinfectant. It’s hospital-grade and free from any dyes or scents.

Novus Tanning Bed Cleaner: This disinfectant is part sanitizer and part polish. It leaves behind a protective sheen that repels dust and minimizes static.

Tip No. 3:  Enjoy your germ-free tanning bed. Now that your tanning bed is safely sanitized and clean enough to eat off of enjoy relaxing in the comfortable, irradiated glow for a while, but always remember to tan in safety and moderation.