Creating a solid plan on paper is the easy part. The real challenge is getting your team to buy in. Stick with it! If you have the right plan, they’ll gradually get on board. If not, you’ll know when it’s time to bring in someone who will.

In a recent conversation, veteran tanning business owner and operator Scott Nichols referenced the concept of “strategy versus talent.” While talent Is always important, the right strategy can improve the performance of your most talented employees and help overcome the limitations of less experienced and polished team members. As long as they’re willing to buy in.

You know what’s best for your business, and it’s your staff’s job to follow the protocol you put in place. But any plan that’s good for your business should also be good for your employees. Most people thrive with structure. They’re more likely to follow your direction when given clear, step-by-step guidance. Without it, they may lack confidence, fall back on bad habits, and ultimately miss the results that are geared to benefit the business as well as their paychecks!

This principle applies to nearly every aspect of business, but in this case, we’re focusing on maximizing EFT revenue – specifically, upgrading existing memberships to your highest tiers. Everybody knows about the concept of upselling, but how often is it actually happening in your business, especially with memberships? What if every client was offered more every time they visited? If you operate with some form of “tanning spa” model with an all-inclusive membership upwards of $100, how much would converting even a small percentage of lower-tier members to that top level make you per month?

And, at the end of the day, why wouldn’t your customers want to be offered more every time they come in? In a recent article geared toward salon staff members, Nichols posed the question, “What is your job as a customer service representative?” Here’s what he said:

“I think, for most of us, the first thing we think about when asked this question is to put someone in a tanning bed, red light or sunless booth. If you think that’s the job, you will struggle! Sales will be difficult, and you will eventually find the job dull and boring. So, what is the correct answer? It’s to make the customers happy! I know, I know, that sounds corny, but it’s true. When I get a chance to be behind the desk, my mindset goes to finding a way to make as many customers happy as possible. I always find out why the customer is tanning, ask them if their goals are being met, and if they are looking for more color. If they say yes, they are looking for a little more color, you can talk to them about sunless, upgrading, and using different lotions.

“It’s our job to make the customer happy! The employee who can do this will be the employee who has the highest sales. Did you do anything special for the customers today? Maybe you talk to them about their tan and get them to upgrade. Did you continue to talk to the customer when they came out of the upgraded tan? In most cases, they will love the upgrade and love you for giving them something better. The customers will walk out your door happy.”

In short, a happy customer is one who is getting the best experience and results, feels that they’re being catered to, and is getting the best value for their money. Fortunately, that’s what the top-tier memberships in most salons today provide.

Training and incentivizing your staff to convert visitors to members has been the predominant focus of many salons in recent years, but it’s time to look beyond that. Membership is the present and certainly the future of the tanning industry and maximizing profitability will continue to depend on not just getting more members but getting more members at your highest levels. So, just like you should certainly have a plan for your staff members to endeavor to sign every customer up for a membership, you should have a plan for them to follow with the goal of upgrading every member to a higher tier with every interaction.

Click here to read the entire article in the latest issue of Smart Tan Magazine online.