Sunny Gal

We currently have our lotions priced slightly under suggested retail, and they're selling ok (but not great). I was wondering how many people price them at retail, and how many mark them at Salon cost to compete with ebay and amazon?

I have a few people that buy online, but not many. I have more then a few people who wont spend anything on lotion. I keep a wide variety or lotions, some not expensive at all. These are also the first people to complain about not seeing results after 2 sessions. I can't force them to buy it, should I lower the prices for those who normally wouldn't buy anything? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.

TanAtCoCoBeach

We price everything at msrp then we run 50% off specials. Works extremely well. It also depends on how you are selling the lotions. Remember you are the expert. People will buy whatever you personally recommend. AND always remember "facts tell stories sell." You can always tell people about how many bronzers a lotion has or how much silicone is in the blend but what really sells is you telling a success sstory about your experience or another customers experience with the product.

As for buying lotion online there will always be the idiot that does that. Ive had many people do it and the lotion was counterfeit and they have broken out in rashes because of it. Tell customers "buyer beware"

RanmanAZ

Sunny Gal,

We price all our lotions at MSRP. We do have a lotion of the week special for things we are trying to move off the shelves or things that aren't moving as quickly as we like, and our EFT clients get 20% off all the time, a perk for being one of our members! But, aside from that, we don't discount our lotions and we don't have an issue selling lotions. We as the owners make sure we have good quality lotions on hand at all price points so there is something for everyone. In fact, since our salon is in Phoenix and the 110 - 120 degrees causes the lotions to go bad quickly, we offer as an added service to our clients, the ability for us to keep the lotions for our clients. This also allows us to keep track of most everyone's lotions to make sure there isn't any crap coming in our doors, but more importantly, to make sure that when the client is running low on lotion, we are ready get them a new one. Of course you always have a couple of clients that get stuff from other places or refuse to use a lotion, but those people are few and far between for us.

Like TanatCoCo said, we are the experts and we must act as such at all times. We train our employees (the best experts out there after us, the owners) who then train the clients from day 1, minute 1 of their time with us that they must have a lotion! It's just not even a question, they must have one so which one will it be? When you have that attitude, it becomes just as easy to sell lotions as it is to sell the packages or memberships. Not only does tanning dry out your skin and can cause premature aging to an extent (not to the extent that the dermatologists want us to believe....IMHO...but hey, everyone has a right to make money in some way....however I wish they wouldn't bash us as much as they do...talk about needing an education!!! But, that's a diff story...LOL) but must people use a lotion of some kind everyday anyway, and most people would NEVER go outside in the sun without a sun screen, so why wouldn't they do what's best for them indoors too?

If you present the lotion as a necessity from the first visit...."Please fill out and sign our new client form and now that you have decided on a package/membership, you will also need goggles and a lotion. Lotions will help make your skin translucent so you absorb the UV rays up to 60% better, plus it helps keep your skin from drying out (not some of the ones with silicone....IMHO). This is what I use!! I like a bronzer which this one has so you have to make sure you rub it in well all over and wipe off the palms of you hands before you get in the bed, but I love the boost I get from the bronzers in the lotion. Just remember, this has NO SPF in it, so ONLY use it indoors."

If I see they have pulled up in an expensive car and have on expensive clothes or are carrying an expensive purse, then I would probably start with a higher end lotion, but normally I would grab a mid-range lotion. Then I (or an employee) will put the bottle in their hand and let them look at it, feel it and even smell it if they want. Most of the time because you use it (or have used it) they are very receptive to buying it. Of course if the price then comes up and it is out of their range, I will let them know I do have samples of the lotion I am showing them so they can test it out before they commit (Samples are GREAT for the people that only buy 1 or 3 sessions!!! Not enough for an entire bottle, but they still need something) and other lotions at a lower price point that also work. But like TanatCoCo said....even with our products....buyer beware! You get what you pay for and we all know there are reasons why the more expensive lotions are more expensive.

So, I would say that about 75 - 80% of our clients use lotions and buy them at MSRP. It's all about the way you present it I believe. If you are concerned about the price then they will sense that. If you create an issue that most people don't even think about then there will be an issue. But if you are confident in what you do and what you are selling, then there shouldn't be an issue. You are never going to please everyone all the time, so I wouldn't even try. But, since lotions are one way we make enough money to be in business, then don't minimize those lotions either. I know 1 salon here in town that actually has their lotions at 10 - 20% above MSRP. I'm not sure how much they actually sell, but I do know they sell them. And, also, the real stuff (name brand lotions) shouldn't be on ebay anyway, and if it is, then I would let your distributor or the manufacturer know that so they can go after the people selling it at those discounted prices. We all have to stick together here and when people sell our lotions on the web at Salon Cost, they are hurting all of us. So, let your distributor or the manufacturer go after them! That isn't the way we work!!

Anyway, I hope I have helped. I am not trying to say you are doing anything wrong or that I have the way to do thing....just letting you know what works for us!! And, we have a pretty good ratio of people using lotions!! So, I thought I would share!! Good luck and let us know what happens!! :-)

Cheers!!!!

geminitanning

You could also add incentives with the more expensive lotions. Like "2 FREE upgrades with purchase!" Then you may also convert someone to upgrade more often.

RanmanAZ

Great idea Gemini....if you don't mind, I am going to use that idea & start offering that for the most expensive lotions!! :-)

I love the exchanging of ideas!!

Sunny Gal

Thank you all for the replies. I agree that it's all in presentation, and I probably could use a few lessons in that. I'm going to try to change the way I approach people about it, and see how that turns out. I also love the idea about the upgrades, thank you for sharing.

Another question, about how many different lotions do you have to sell at any given time? I have about 50 different kinds, maybe that's to many? Should I narrow it down to the best sellers, then rotate when something stops selling as good? Thanks again for all your help!

TanAtCoCoBeach

We only have about 15 different lotions. We carry a couple at every price point. We carry one lotion at $18 bucks for the budget minded clients. We carry one other lotion at $36 for the budget minded but want a higher quality low end lotion. Then we have the majority of our lotions at $50-$70 and then a couple at $90+. price point is key. 50 lotions on your shelf IMO is too many. Too many choices leads to customer confusion. Sell a couple that have specific features in each price point and sell them well if that makes sense.