No one is rational, or everyone is rational

Common remarks of salon owners: “EFT is obviously the best deal for a spray tanner”, and “The best way to sell EFT is to have very high price on a single session”

Another common remark: “I’m not getting enough spray tanners to sign up for EFT.”

Hmmmm? People love deals, yet EFT sign-up is disappointing. What’s going on here?

People are not rational – not me, not you, not anyone.
  • Why do only 60% of people, eligible for employer-matching 401K programs sign up? It’s free money.
  • Why do less than 50% of adults have a will? Seems rational and logical that everyone knows they’re going to die – maybe tomorrow.
  • Why doesn’t everyone shop at Walmart for undifferentiated products like Oreos, Jif peanut butter, Advil? Walmart offers the lowest price.  

Maybe it’s because everyone is indeed perfectly rational — in their own mind.

Salons need EFT because it provides a predictable revenue stream and induces loyalty to a salon.

People who frequently spray tan love EFT because, well, it’s a great deal (about $15 per tan, if tan 4x per month).

What about the people who don’t like EFT – Don’t like to be locked-into a payment, Not sure they will use the service enough to make it pay-off, Afraid if will be hard to cancel, Only want to spray tan 1x per month, or every 3 months?

So, if a tanner is unwilling to sign up for EFT on their 1st visit, what’s the best ways to get them join EFT (later) …
  • Give them a reasonable price for a single session (how likely is somehow to be satisfied and give rave reviews about a salon, when charged $50+ for a single session tan that lasts 5-7 days)
  • Give the guidance to make sure they get a great tan
  • Have a reasonably priced 2 or 3 tan package, with an extended expiration period – 60 days

EFT selling often fails not because of the value of the deal, but the quirky and (ir)rational aspects of human nature.

Make it easy and satisfying to try spray tanning, and to come back again. The more trips to the salon a person makes, the more chances you have to sell EFT.

Check 2 popular posts

If the phone don’t ring, it’s me

Only ~3% of women in USA spray tan 1 or more times per year.

Yikes — or — Opportunity, Opportunity, Opportunity

There are many ways to capture those ladies attention and get them into your salon to get a beautiful spray tan.

Here’s a few messages that have proven to drive interest that can be used in your advertising, accompanied by a picture of person with great tan (social media, web site, emails, sidewalk signs, newspaper, radio).

Immediate Gratification appeals to everyone — big gain with minimal, or no pain
– 4 Minutes to Beautiful

‘Cheating’ is another type of message that captures interest
– Exercise 4 months or Get tan in 4 minutes

(Implied) Endorsement
– ‘The Celebrity Tanning Secret’ – accompanied by a picture of women who has the ‘celebrity’ look

More ideas to capture this 97% are listed in previous blog posts:


There’s more options and to discuss those ideas to build a bigger and more profitable spray tan business – connect with your a Sunless, Inc. representative at 888-974-9977.

Maybe it’s time to have your hand held

A Handheld spray tan system is often misunderstood
  • It’s hard to learn the technique
  • I’ll have to hire a technician (another employee)
  • There’s not much demand for handheld spray sessions (compared to Mystic Tan)
  • A new system can be expensive

Not … so … fast
  • Norvell, also owned by Sunless, Inc., performs as many spray tan sessions per year as Mystic Tan – it’s popular because people get a great tan from Norvell trained artists
  • Norvell University offers FREE comprehensive training at the premier handheld training program – when a new handheld system is purchased
  • Additionally, Norvell offers beginner and experienced technicians 1-on-1, hands-on, on-demand skill training at 20+ salons around the country from certified Norvell Educators. Train whenever you want and often as you want.
  • A salon owner or existing staffer can learn to be an outstanding spray tan artist very quickly 
  • Norvell has 4 models of handheld system ranging in price from $279 to $999
  • Norvell is the #1 Rated sunless tanning brand by Professional spray tan artists/technicians – the brand you can trust

Do you have a salon room with broken or under-productive equipment?

Would you like to make that space productive again?
Do you want to build a bigger spray tan business, but it’s not the right time to invest in another booth?

The Norvell customer care team is eager to answer your questions about handheld spray tan systems, training and business building practices – connect at 888.829.2831

Used or New Spray Equipment … decisions, decisions

Should I buy new or used auto spray tan equipment?

Like most decision involving your business, you should begin by thinking about your customers and what they expect.

If the area in which you do business is surrounded by other salons (hair, spa, nail, etc.) and businesses that present a high end image, then you may have no choice. If the customers in your market are upper-income, then again, you may have no choice. If you want your salon to stand apart from other tan salons, well …

But, what if you have a choice, or you’re not sure if you have the budget for new?

Here’s a few things to evaluate when considering Used:

  1. Who owned it
  2. What is the salon like … neat as pin? well trained staff? conscientious owner?
  3. How hard was the equipment used and how cared for – any visible signs of troublesome or unsightly wear and tear
  4. Does equipment have all the latest and expected upgrades – heat, auto wash-down, voice? Even if it were feasible, it could cost thousands to have those upgrades added
  5. Who will pack the equipment for the move to your salon – can’t risk damage. It can cost $1,000 to $2,000 to have it properly disassembled and re-assembled
  6. Who will install and calibrate equipment – that cost can run $1,500

While there are more than few import watch-outs, you can find good buys on used equipment, if you are diligent about the details. Also, used may be the way to go if your salon is new to auto spray tanning.

Buying New has benefits as well.

  1. Latest, greatest features
  2. Easier for staffers to run and maintain, and easier for the tanner
  3. Neat as a pin (the shopper guru Paco Underhill says that ‘above all else, women want clean’)
  4. Warranty
  5. Direct support from Sunless, Inc. to get the booth shipped, installed, calibrated, serviced and get staff trained 
  6. 100% payback in less than 1 year

Like many things, you need to consider not only the purchase price, but also the total cost of ownership, over time.

Your final criteria should start at the beginning – what will your customer expect, and what will drive the most sales and profits, both now and the years ahead?

If you’d like help to evaluate this decisions – connect with your a Sunless, Inc. representative at 888-974-9977.

Check out popular posts:

Your salon is a ‘leaky bucket’


Truth is – every business is a ‘leaky bucket’.

Current customers stop coming and buying – they defect to competition, they move, they die, they stop using the product because it is no longer affordable.

What’s a business to do?

Since every business is constantly ‘leaking’ customers, the business needs to keep adding new customers.

And, you have to add customers at the same rate and value as the ones being lost. For instance, if your salon lost 100 customers last year, it’s not enough to add 100 new customers – the newbies must generate as much or more sales and profit as the ones that were lost. Yes, yes – very basic stuff.

How?

Several of the ‘Hows’ are outlined in other blog posts


There’s more options and to discuss those ideas to build a bigger and more profitable spray tan business – connect with your a Sunless, Inc. representative at 888-974-9977.