Rachel Losordo and Peter Cappadona, Sunfactory Tanning Studio

Rachel Losordo and Peter Cappadona, owners of Sunfactory Tanning Studios in Massachusetts, continue to grow and succeed by injecting their youth and vitality into their business. With many changes on the horizon, Rachel shares her experiences regarding two crucial topics: employee motivation and EFT memberships.

Q: How has staffing presented challenges for your business?

A: In order to compete out of the gate, we train our staff as a team. One of the challenges that I face as a business owner in the tanning industry is employee turnover.

I have found that it takes four employees to find one “keeper.” Maturity is one of the primary things I look for when hiring. I like to hire girls that are enrolled in college. This shows me that the are goal oriented, understand that education is important, and have many of the skills it takes to be in school such as time management, and tasking.

The downside of hiring around the age of 20-26: Employees may not think they are working in the “real world.” They think nothing of calling in because something in their social life has come up and is more important to them than working. I don’t think that this will ever go away and immaturity is something that any company will face when hiring for their staff!

Q: How do you motivate employees to perform their best?

A: To keep our employees motivated, we have a monthly commission structure, sales incentives and monthly contests. We send out weekly sales numbers so they can see exactly where they are, what they may need to push on and what they are on track with. We have sales meetings once a month. This gives us the opportunity to share what is working for everyone. It is nice that the girls are not working against each other, yet with each other on the same team, at different salons.

During our salesmeetings, the employees can share their sales secrets and tips that seem to be working. We treat the meetings as sales workshops. It also sets scene for aperfect time for pop quizzes and tests. During our sales meeting the employees may be tested on company policies, sales dos and don’ts, the equipment features, lotion types and pricing. We also may play tanning trivia with prizes they can win during the meeting. This is a fun way to work together as a team and stay educated.

Q: How has your EFT structure changed?

Having an EFT was something that we always had plans for. When we first opened in 2003 we put forth an EFT in each level. Our Level 1 was the least expensive, priced at $24.99/month. The most expensive was our Level 4 at $129.00/month. For the first three years we never billed over 30 clients in one month.

As we got ready for busy season in 2007, we knew we had to shake things up – the whole price guide had to go. Looking at the gym industry and other EFT markets it was clear that to be successful we had to have an EFT priced under $20. In late 2006, we offered our Level 1 bed and standup at $18.98. As the New Year rolled in, so did the clients. By mid-April we had just over 400 people on our $18.98 VIP membership!

But not all clients are built for an EFT. Again we looked outside the traditional tanning priceguides. Typically clients can upgrade if they have a few extra bucks in their pocket, but we figured the best way to minimize asking the client to reach into their pocket is to get it all at once. We decided a gift card approach would workbest, like a prepay system. Now our clients can come tan in any piece of equipment they want without surcharges – there is a set pre-pay amount that comes out for each level. Like with a Starbucks card, if you have a $50 gift card, you can purchase a tall coffee one-day then the next a venti latte.