Creating A System for Unstoppable Beauty Profits

 

   

Your front desk can make or break your business. Your front desk and those that answer your phone are the life line of your business. Just imagine you have put out great brochures or flyer's telling everyone how awesome your salon is. But when people start to call or come in to inquire they get someone at your salon that sound like they are not happy or wanting to be helpful. That would KILL your business!

No matter how good your beauty services are, if customers can't get "past" the front desk...you stand to lose a lot of business.  So wouldn't it make sense to make sure that the front desk is ran in the most effective and professional way possible?

There are many salons and beauty businesses that are losing sales, clients, leads and referrals due to having staff members that are: unmotivated, "doing things their way", not getting leads from people that call-in to inquire, not getting contact information from prospects walking in, not looking the part and/or untrained to run the front desk properly. 

Most times, owners are in such need of help, they simply hire anyone that can work the hours versus someone that is really qualified to run the front desk efficiently. Does this sound familiar?

I'm going to "talk" to you today about the importance of customer service & having operating systems in place within your business. You see, It only takes 1 customer/client to have a bad experience in your place for word to spread quickly about your "bad service".  Losing 1 client can cost you 20 others. It's just that serious.

The front desk is only one area of your business where customer service and having a system plays a major role in how customers view your business and decide whether or not to come or come back to see you. To have a successful business that reflects the image you want to portray, you must have staff that is well trained to service your clients and well trained to bring in more business. As salon owners or independent beauty techs you can't assume once you hire someone they know how to run YOUR SALON.

So, to maximize your profit potential, creating systems for every area of your business is a must. There must be a system for answering the phones (get clients in), handling walk-ins (making the sale), doing follow up (turning prospects into clients), handling complaints, getting referrals, getting leads, getting clients to come back, getting clients to spend more, and for marketing. These systems are designed not only to make your business run smooth but to Make Your Salon More Money Daily.

 

 

If you can not go to your front desk at the end of the night and collect a list of at least a name, phone number and email address of those that have either called in or came in to visit.. you have lost an opportunity to generate income from those that have shown an interest in your salon. Collecting this valuable information (leads) is one step that the front desk should be trained on how to do. This can be as simple as asking " Would you like to be added to our VIP mailing list to be notified when we run our awesome specials on __________?  However, some salons are not doing this and it is costing them in the long run. 

Successful salons know the key to success is always creating a list of interested prospects and following up with them via a call or sending them an permission based email brochure (that's an email that the customer has given you permission to send information to).

Creating operating systems within your salon ensures everyone is on the same page and ensures you that everyone is working to make your salon money everyday. 

You Don't Need to be a Salon Owner to Create Systems....

If you are reading this and you are thinking, "well I don't have staff, what should I do?"  Let me tell you, even if you rent a booth or station, the same rules DO apply to you. You must know how to answer your phone, get referrals, get leads, and handle complaints as well. The only difference is you won't be training staff, you'll be training yourself to be effective at this. 

Create an Instant Surge in Profits Now

Having staff members following a system for bringing in more business will increase your clientele, lead generation and profits  as now you have more "heads" working for the benefit of growing your Salon.  By Create a winning "team" for your salon, you can essentially turn your salon into a thriving cash machine.

 

 I Thought this excerpt from a previous Newsletter would compliment this Article very well... take a look at this if you missed it. As always, even though this article is talking about salon owners, the same rules apply for independent nail techs and cosmetologists.... 

 

 

Turn Your Beauty Business Into a Thriving Cash Machine

If you're  a salon owner  and you find you have a high turn over with staff or your staff is not producing the kind of income you want for your business, you may want to take a look at how you are running your salon. Let me ask you this:

 

Are you leaving it up to your staff to market themselves or are you working with them on how to produce dollars for your business? Let me explain...

 

I ran across a few salon owners who simply hire Nail Techs/Cosmetologists and fire them after 90 days if they were not marketing or  bringing in business. This is madness. Who can run a business like this?

 

Just like corporations train their staff, you should too. Most nails techs are unsure how to market beauty or bring in a flood of clients.  They're great at doing nails/hair but lack skills needed in the area of marketing. That's where you come in as a salon owner or manager.  Did you  know you have the power to turn your salon into a thriving money machine filled with well trained staff members that know how to market your salon. Well you do!

 

To retain staff and get them producing more dollars for your salon, make it so they can.  Here are a few tips to start right now with:

 

• Train your staff on how to promote the specials of the month. Meet with them  weekly and let them know whats required of them. Don't leave them to figure it out for themselves, you'll have more success by training them on how to market your promotions and your salon. 

 

• Reward your staff when they bring in new business. Making your staff feel appreciated will increase employee moral. Happy employees are better employees. 

 

• Build relationships with your staff. Take them out to lunch. Invite them for a BBQ. When you have a solid professional relationship with employees they stay with you longer. 

 

• Train them how to book clients and pre-book clients. This will help to keep them busy and your salon busy too. 

 

• Train them how to up sell & get referrals.

 

• Train someone to do Twitter and Facebook marketing for your business

 

• Train your front desk help too. They should know how to answer the phones and get prospects  coming in. Hey..why not have them making calls to past clients and reactivating them or Following up with walk-ins that have come in a few days ago, when the front desk is slow?

 

The worst thing you can do is just hire a Nail Tech or cosmetologist and hope they know how to market your business. Most times they don't.  Sales and Marketing is a skill that usually don't come with the license. 

 

Also, Hiring highly skilled and experienced Nail Techs & Cosmetologists will do wonders for  your business. Staff that can go beyond just giving the typical beauty service will give your salon a competitive edge, thus increasing the services you offer as well as your income.

 

If  as a salon owner you're not sure how to market your business for success, learn how. The success of your salon depends on it. 

 

I know as a salon owner you may be busy with day to day operations and don't have the time to devote to training. If this is the case, you should think about, hiring someone that can be your manager and handle this end of the business for you. 

 

Marketing/Training is a critical aspect of making you more money. By implementing these things you will soon see an increase in your profits and clientele. So make time to get your salon on track and in the profit zone!

Again while these tips seem to be geared toward salons, Independent nail techs and cosmetologist need know these rules apply to them as well. You should train yourself on how to be proficient in running your business. Train yourself just as you would train your staff, if you had them.

The Beauty of it All

So what is the beauty of it all? What does having systems in place and a well trained staff do for you? Well for one it allows you to take a vacation without worrying about how your business is being ran. Also, Should you hire someone new,  you can plug them into the "system" and get them going efficiently.

Once you have your systems in place and a formula for success. It will be easy to open up a second location should business demand that. You simply transfer your operation systems to the new business to ensure success at the new place as well.  Good systems create more successful businesses for you.

Lastly, having operating systems and a well trained staff attracts more business increasing your bottom line.

In Conclusion

As you see, running a beauty business depends on a lot of different factors....more or less depending on how big your business is. However,  the principles are all the same in running a healthy business that brings in money. It doesn't matter if you are running a bakery or nail shop, customer service and a well trained staff will take you that extra mile every time.

It's Been a Great Year!

Can you believe we are nearing the end of the year all ready? WoW! 

If you haven't gotten in on the Nail Tech Cash Boot Camp, I suggest you do. I will be closing the doors on the Camp Soon as it will only be available via purchase. The Camp has been running since 2008 and it has trully been a joy to help so many beauty techs take their business to a whole new level. So get the information while it's Free, I promise you won't be disappointed!

Stay tuned for more marketing information to help you grow your beauty business!

Much Success!

 

Candace Harrison