Okay all.

I am newly qualified in my spray tanning (Couture) well a couple of months now and although I constantly wear a tan as I am now addicted and loads of people comment, no one has yet taken the bait.

I don't have enough nails clients to be able to sell it that way and have looked at advertising in the local paper and they wanted £83 for a one off business card sized advert. I have cards in my post office, paper shop etc, and have rang around 28 gyms in my /surrounding area this weekend and only 3 will allow me to put up a poster.

I desparately want to get going and desparately need your advice on how to get in some urgently needed business !!

Have you tried doing a leaflet drop in your immediate area? Also try getting friends and family to have a spray at a reduced price, particularly younger members (18+) who are always out on the town with friends.

I started out spraying my daughter and a girl in the salon and bit by bit more and more friends of theirs have started coming to me and they are now telling other people. It really is a ripple effect once the word gets out there.

Don't lose heart.

Hi lovey, been mobile for six years now. I know how frustrating it is when you are out promoting yourselves and seem to be getting little response.

You have to get your fliers out there and you will then find the calls come in; try giving someone at a company a free tan and she will tell her friends and it will go on from there.

Don't forget to mention on the flier how good the tan is - good marketing of the product sells itself sometimes.

It's hard I know when you are starting up. It also makes you wonder why you aren't getting any calls. But believe me, put the time in to promote yourself and you will get bookings.

I found that for every 100 fliers I distrubuted (taking around 45 mins/shorter if the houses are close together) I got 2 - 4% response, which isn't bad.

Then they hopefully tell their friends, who tell theirs etc etc.

Try any local notice boards, Morrisons and Asda are good ones to put your ads in.

Hi There

I also have found things slow at the moment - but due to also working in a high school and having a cousin in the final year I know when the proms are and done my little cous a deal to get as many friends as possible for a tan (they also get a little deal for two tans leading up to the prom) and she gets hers free. You could also try getting some leaflets into the high school or maybe posters nearby.

Go and elave soem leaflets in an upmarket dress shop and give the amngeress a free tan

Hi there!

Have you maybe considered doing tanning parties? for example if a group of ladies got together for an evening with their wine, nibbles etc, you could offer the organiser of the party a free tan if 5 or 6 people came.

or another way of doing it is to ring the local newspaper and ofer one of them a free tan in return to write up to explain about your new tanning treatment.

you just have to attempt to promote yourself at every opportunity (without being forceful of course) I went along to charity events and offered free services.
offered free treatments at part of big company campaigns .. such as evian offering free treatments with purchases of their water. (they contacted me about that one)
maybe offering a discount to hotel management staff or their receptionists to have their nails done (their hotel guests while staying there may ask about beauty treatments and notice their nails) therefore in return for your discount they could promote your business and have pricelists at their reception.

Just a few ideas, hope they help. I know its difficult when you first start out, its a competative business but stay determined that you are the best at what you do.

xx

Its definitely a good idea to offer free tans to a few members of staff at a large company near you (call centre, gym etc) as long as they tell people where they got that gorgeous tan!!

Another idea is offer landlords/landladies of your local pub a free tan if they have your leaflets in the bar or in ladies toilet. You could leave flyers with pub name on offering a discount and have pub name on back. Then when, for example, 10 people come in with your flyer from that pub the landlord/landlady gets their free tan. This way they have an incentive to give out your flyers or at least let you give them out on their premises.

BOGOF - buy one get one free sometimes works too!!

Hope it goes ok - let me know how it works, am opening my salon soon and am sharing my marketing ideas!!

Thats really a come as ashock to me because at the salon where I work everybody loves them. On a fri and sat we are having about 15 tans between 3 of us each day.. I guess once you get people into using them they love it and can't bear to be pale. Keep trying...

Hiya,
I found advertising on Gumtree.com got me loads of clients in and around my area, and I offer a discount for the first tan and then they pay full price after that, generally they get hooked on the first one, and fingers crossed become regulars.
Good Luck and keep pushing on with it.

It's definately worth spraying someone prominent in the local community, ie busiest hairdresser in town etc. They see a lot of clients and will gladly tell them where they got their fab tan. Make sure you use a good quality solution, try lots of different products, before settling on the "one". Good luck!

Liz

take fliers everywhere you go and leave them wherever you can, doctors reception, cafes, toilets. free websites are great and atleast don't cost you anything. the best thing you can do is target your existing client base, and hopefully word of mouth will follow- they already love your other services. Offer an incentive just to get them to have the first one.
Hths x