river_brat

With my employees I make commission seem like it's a HUGE deal. In their handbook I set all the guidelines. They must first be an employee for 90 days before they maybe considered for commission. My mananger and myself evaluate their overall performance. I have made a test with 50 questions on lotions which they must pass with an 80%. Questions are specifics of lotions, price point, different ingredients that are important to the clients tanning, etc. If they do not pass it the first time they must wait 2 weeks to retake, then the third a full month. After they pass they receive 5% commission. After another 90 days there will be an evaluation where they could possibly jump up as much as 10% commission, however they must be one **** of an employee who is working their tail off to get another 5%. I am strict on this because why should I pay employees who do not want to learn and improve upon their selling skills. I look at commission as a raise to the employees and by making it such a big deal to earn commission you should see how much the employees study to pass the test and how hard they work to get a raise in their commission. If you just hand it out it has no value, if they earn it and show them how it increases their hourly rate as opposed to just an extra amount on their paycheck it really starts to motivate. By requiring a test, it builds confidence in your employees which will show to the clients. My sales have done exceptionally well since I implemented this system.

ellas14

Everyones post is horrible! If there is no insentive then no products will be sold.. I give my girls 10% commission on all products and 5% commission on all services excluding single sessions and packets. The most I have paid one employee commission for the month is $633.00 and she made me almost 12k alone... I LOVE PAYING BIG COMMISSION CHECKS AT THE MONTHLY MEETINGS....

Girl7

Ellas is right. Give commission. I even run commission challenges...who ever made the most for that month got a free upgrade etc. It's the only way to get some people to sell. Seeing money added to their cheques makes ppl want more and more money added hence, selling more and more product.

West Side Tanner

We give 5% on all packages. 10% on all bottled lotion, .50 on packets. 10% on all other retail. Free unlimited tanning, any unit, anytime except while on duty. Free packet of lotions, bottled: 50% off. We want them to be tan, use lotions and most importantly HAPPY. WOW, a $ 5.00 commission when they sell that $50.00 bottle of lotion, can you see their smile, their enthusiasm, the energy, its make them want to sell more, and thats what you want. Pay them *****, and they won't "TRY" to sell anything.

TanningEmporium

We hold the commission until 90 days folks....
Why give commission on tanning...it sells itself, thats why the client is coming to see you anyway...
The lotion is what they have to move and know how.
Clients come to us to get a tan, they dont want to spend no more than they have to, but we let the girls use the lotion for free so they know the product and how it works. Why charge them for it...that is free for the employees.
Send them to classes, marketing parties and more, that is on me and free for them and they get paid to go....
I give my girls more than most would even imagine.
This year alone, they have recieved in bonuses and gifts over 1000.00 salary and part time 500.00, this does not include commission checks.

aaron18

I don’t understand why some of you seem to think that it is okay to give free tanning, free lotion, and commissions to employees that have been with you for a long time and not to those who are just starting.

The idea of free tanning for any of your employees is to give them more experience and a better understanding of your equipment, as well as an admirable tan that your customers will ask about.

As with free tanning free lotion helps to give your employees darker tans and a better knowledge base of the lotions you carry. I don’t know how many lotions sales have been made in my salon from customers asking how I (or my employees) got such a great tan.

Commissions are in deed incentives. They are incentives to sell the products but services that we that we provide. I want all of my employees to have incentive to sell whether they have been at my salon for a month or year. If an employee is not making money from commissions that means one thing I don’t wont them working at my salon.

One last thing about commissions on services. TanningEmporium is correct about tanning selling its self, but it only does this in the form of single sessions. Indeed any employee can sell one tan but an employee who will always try to sell higher priced packages, beds, and memberships is a very valuable asset.

top250tansyou

Commission is good. I was once on commission, kind of am now. It made sell alot more. When I strated I didnt know anytihng about lotion. I know how how to sell though. I also know that you will probably go though a few people. Make it something to work for. Everyone on my staff started as a bed cleaner including mayself, and look at me now. I am even a Moderator on TANTALK. Watch out world!

My crew is really good about opening thier check to complain about taxes. They do it in front of new employees. You dont think a $700 to a $1,000 check doesnt look good to a 16 yr old. They want to learn as soon as possible. I hate having to tell them to slow down and wait your turn. Also you let someone help customers too soon too before they are ready. You are setting yourself up for a mistake. Either burning someone or making a money mistake.

You know what I find impressive in a new hire. Ask them if they can count back chage without a computer. I tellin you not that many kids can to it. Find these people and hold on to them.

NewportTanJen

Thanks for all of your suggestions! The other question I have is what if its the busy season and you have 2 girls working at once. I definatley dont want them fighting with eachother over making a sale! So how do you go about that?
Also we have Helios and can you switch during a shift like have them put in their code while making a sale and it will show up on their report but lets say the other girl makes the next sale she has to put her code in first? Sorry guys and gals Im not sure about all this because I have gone over the Helios demo as much as I can, but I wont know until the salon opens next month all I can and cant do.

top250tansyou

I have them keep a list with thier initals on it. You mark off your inital after a sell and then you know its the next persons turn. I have guidelines on how many marks to make for the size of the purchase. Also I have found if you dont have a way to keep it split evenly neither will wnat to get away from the counter to clean beds. God forbid they should miss some commission. You will also get different advice on this end. In Helios you can choose who has access to what reports. I dont have time to check and see if commission is being split evenly. Give them access to this info. If there is a problem a employee will bring it to your attention and then you can fix it.

sbtan

When we hire there are two parts to the job, 1 - CLEAN: beds, store, anything, 2 - Sales, they need to sell or they are not doing their job.
We started a commission program that has a $500.00 goal before collecting %5, over a $1000 it is 10%, if they are not selling they won't meet the base receive no commission and they are not really doing their job. As for two employees, on double shifts we have the counter person and the other is support, they know their role as set on the schedule and we switch their roles so both have the oppertunity to earn commission throughout the week.