By Ivy Potter

Clients expect retail products from a professional service provider. Imagine having your hair styled in a salon that didn’t sell shampoo or hairspray. Ever had a stylist send you to another store’s beauty aisle with a list of ingredients to avoid? Apply the same logic to questions like “what soap can I use?” or “what lotion is safe?” Answer as a professional, and recommend the best for their spray tan!

Success with retail starts with you!

It is easy for technicians to neglect our skin prep or to skip our tan completely. Sunless experts should religiously rock a flawless tan! Include the products you recommend in your care instructions. Teach by example and use the products you sell. Clients will notice authenticity in your personal endorsement and see the results! Don’t forget to post a selfie to social media with what products you use or designate an employee as a sunless social media ambassador.

Talk products to me!

Have your clients talk about skin care while you apply their tan. Asking open-ended questions about your client’s skin care ritual offers valuable selling clues and can highlight the potential for problems before they happen. Learn what’s important to each client by how they describe their current skin care products; use that insight to make personalized retail recommendations. Always ask why your client is tanning. Simple questions prevent sunless snafus by adding on retail products. For example, beachgoers who will test the endurance of their tan are more likely to purchase gradual tanning moisturizers and products designed to extend a sunless glow. However, they don’t know they need these products until it is too late if you are not making the recommendation.

Keep it simple sweetie!

Clients can feel overwhelmed if they need to buy three, four, or five products for a great tan. Introduce them to go-to products that you recommend for everyone. Cleansers make a huge impact on a sunless tan’s longevity, making them an easy sell and a perfect starter product. Regardless of brand, professional sunless products offer features and benefits exclusive to sunless leaving over-the-counter brands pale in comparison. Maintain consistency by offering one or two brands of products, as buyers purchase additional products when they are part of a system. Trial sizes are a great impulse buy especially for those special occasion tanners. Follow up by asking how they liked each product; this is a great time to recommend another product. Keep the relationship going so clients want to come back for more!