There are many positives to a lotion distributor partnering with a tanning
unit/sunlamp distributor to host a symposium. “It was a one-stop shop,
and our customers were able to reap the benefits,” said Bill Schmidt,
T.W. Tan National Sales Manager. The first day featured an open house
at JK Corporate Headquarters in Plymouth, MN, where salon pros could see
and tan in brand new Ergoline and Soltron equipment, as well as the new
MyMyst sunless booth from Mystic Tan. This “try it before you buy it”
approach was popular with the more than 50 tanning pros who attended the
open house, says Schmidt.
On the second day of the symposium, more than 300 attendees met at the
Sheraton Bloomington for the latest in lotion and accessories training
from many of the industry’s top reps. “This half of the event was also
a huge success, and we’re very happy with the overall turnout,” Schmidt
said. “All of the manufacturer reps gave presentations that were informative
and entertaining, and our guests really seemed to enjoy themselves.”
Jeremy Goble, owner of Park Rapids Video & Tan in Park Rapids, MN,
drove for more than four hours to attend the T.W. Tan/Tan Me event, and
said the trip was well worth it. “This event was very enjoyable,” he commented.
“It was done very professionally, and I was able to learn a lot. I especially
liked the presentations by Brandon Cardinal of Fiesta Sun and Scott Olsen
of Supre – they made learning about the lotions fun.” Jeremy says he also
benefited from the opportunity to network with other salon pros. “It’s
one of the biggest reasons I attended this event,” he added.
Attending the symposium turned out to be a good investment for Carole
Casper, owner of Slantrax Video & Tanning in Janesville, WI. She was
the proud winner of a Sun Ergoline Ambition sunbed in a raffle held at
the event. “My manager, Barb Ripp, and I attended this event last year,
so we were looking forward to coming again,” Carole said. “We definitely
enjoyed seeing all the presentations, and I was very surprised to win
the sunbed. I’ve never won such a valuable prize in my entire life!” Carole
says she’s going to build another room at her salon to house the new unit.
Connie Standiford, manager of Sunrise Hair & Tanning in White Bear
Lake, MN, brought four of her employees to the event. “We’ve been attending
this event for the past three years and we always learn something new,”
she commented. “We’re a California Tan exclusive salon, so we certainly
enjoyed their presentation; but everyone at the show did a wonderful job.
The session by Brenda Fishbaugh of Eye Pro was very informative, as well.”
In addition to the training and education, every attendee also received
a goodie bag filled with samples donated by T.W.Tan/Tan Me and the symposium’s
many participating vendors.
“We’re very happy with the turnout,” commented Bill Schmidt. “This is
the first symposium that was co-sponsored by Tan Me, and we feel it was
a tremendous step toward providing even more great services to our salon
partners. With the tanning season already upon us, all the education and
sales techniques that we can provide will go a long way. We would like
to thank everyone for attending.”
