Don’t make your lobby look and feel like a living room,” writes California Tan in its Heliotherapy newsletter, not if successful retailing is your goal. Couches, it seems, send a message to clients that it’s time to sit and relax, not stand and shop. For more retailing recommendations from California Tan, keep reading.

1. In the waiting area, use individual chairs that are easy to add, subtract, and move around. Only two chairs should be used no matter how busy or large your salon is. You want to encourage browsing not sitting.

2. Place a manufacturer’s point of purchase display between the front door and the front counter. Look for ones that spin, because they invite the client to touch.

3. Use the space behind your front counter for pricing, advertising specials, and displaying merchandise like hats and T-shirts. Items that need to be touched and smelled—like lotions and sunscreens—should be placed where the customer can reach them easily.

4. Show confidence in what you sell by stocking at least six of each product. No one wants to feel that she is the only person who has bought an item.

5. Use surveillance cameras. Keep one camera on transactions at the cash register and one on retailing displays. (Systems can be leased for as little as $100 a month.)

6. Don’t leave magazines lying around when clients could be eyeing your merchandise.

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