The SUN Method: For Sales, Customer Service and Management
When it comes to running a tanning salon, one of the most valuable assets is multitasking. As a small business, one person is responsible for many tasks and roles. So why shouldn’t your team adopt a system that is just as versatile for your interactions with customers and with each other?
The SUN method is a convenient reminder of the way people should be treated, whether it’s a new client, a disgruntled client, or a fellow employee. The three steps of the SUN method are: seeking, understanding and nurturing.
Seeking – Be sincere and ask specific questions to get detailed information.
Understanding – Let people know that you respect what they need and feel.
Nurturing – Take action that falls in line with the information you have gathered.
The key to this concept is that all three steps involve being focused on the other person. Too often people become defensive or worried about how they will respond – so much so that they really aren’t hearing what the other person has to say. As a salon employee or a manager, it’s your job to make sure that people feel heard and that their interaction has made a difference. The SUN method can help you follow through when it comes to sales, customer service and management – which makes it a valuable foundation of your business. The chart below shows how the SUN method works in each situation:
| SEEKING | UNDERSTANDING | NURTURING | |
| SALES | Ask questions:
Why is the client visiting?
What are their goals?
Are they in a rush for results? |
Repeat some of the highlights and give good non-verbal language.
Let customers know you want to help. |
Make recommendations and explain how products and services fit in with what they told you.
Encourage solutions that emphasize their values. |
| CUSTOMER SERVICE | Ask questions:
Is the problem with a staff member, policy, or quality of goods?
Is this the first time the problem has occurred?
What would they consider a fair resolution? |
Show customers that you take complaints seriously by making a report of the incident so it doesn’t happen again.
Let them know you understand how their issue could be frustrating and that their business is important. |
Do more than say you’re sorry.
Act swiftly to find a proper solution and communicate with the customer. The client will be happy to know that you’re making changes because of their complaint.
Follow up with the client after resolving the issue. |
| MANAGEMENT | Ask questions:
How can you help employees do better?
What are your employees’ long-term goals?
What are employees’ suggestions for improving the business? |
Make note of the things your employees are looking for.
Let them know you respect their goals and see if you can incorporate them into their job duties.
Work with employees to think through their suggestions and ideas. |
Consider how your employees learn best when you work with them to improve performance.
Give them a project to work on or added responsibility that coincides with their goals.
Try implementing some of their good ideas and give them credit. |
