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I know that being in business isn’t always easy. Along with the many highs and ‘a ha’ moments it can sometimes be soul destroying, frustrating and a very lonely place to be. Being a business owner is one of life’s greatest educations and it gives you two clear choices, either you continually learn, adapt and grow, or you resist change, stagnate and perish. We live in ever changing and sometimes challenging times, so being informed and constantly inspired is more important than ever.
Join Antony Whitaker talking to thought leaders on the business side of the hairdressing industry discussing insightful, provocative and inspiring ideas that matter. Get ready to learn, get ready to be challenged, get ready to be inspired and most importantly get ready to grow your salon business!
[00:00:00] Do you want to add an extra $20,000 or pounds or euros, whatever it is. A month to your salon revenue? Well, that's exactly what Amanda did. Not by working harder, not by spending more on marketing, but by plugging the leaks in her business. Amanda took her results from an average bill of $249 to $305, and that's an increase of $56 for every single client.
[00:00:29] Hello, and welcome to today's episode of the Grow My Salon Business podcast. I'm your host, Antony Whitaker, and it's great to have you here with us today. This is the weekly podcast for ambitious stylists and salon owners. Today's episode isn't about working harder or some clever new software. It's about making more money from what you already have.
[00:00:52] I get to talk to a lot of salon owners all over the world, and many of them are looking for a quick fix or a silver bullet. Something easy, something that's gonna instantly change everything. Now I've been teaching the business side of hairdressing through seminars and coaching for over 30 years, and I've taught now in over 50 different countries, and I've seen plenty of people and businesses come and go.
[00:01:16] The reason I tell you all of this is because I've seen a lot and I've listened to a lot of people over the years about the issues that they face in their businesses, and do you know what I find to be true? The path to success is a pretty similar one for most people. So this week on the podcast, I'm gonna talk about where I think you can make some really easy, quick wins in your business.
[00:01:38] So I'm gonna begin by saying that you need to make more money with what you already have. So what do I mean by that? Well, let's talk about the client life cycle for a minute, and I'll show you one of the most powerful shifts that you can make this week right now with what you already have.
[00:01:58] Like most data or data in the hairdressing industry, there will be a certain amount of variation depending on where and who that data is from. But what you'll usually find is that although the numbers won't always be the same, the general trend usually is.
[00:02:15] For example, there's some data about client retention that Salon Software company Mevo came out with, and their data says that if you get 10 new clients today for their first visit, that for their second visit, you have already lost 60% of them, meaning that only four out of those 10 clients came back.
[00:02:36] By the time we get to the third visit of the 40% left, you lose 50% of them after the second visit,
[00:02:45] Meaning that of the four that returned for the second visit, only two came back for the third visit, and by the time we get to six visits, only 10% remain meaning one client out of those 10 new clients is still there after six visits. Now you might say, that isn't me. This isn't my salon. But the data doesn't lie.
[00:03:08] And in most cases, although a lot of people will say, well, our salon client retention is a lot better than that. The reality is that in most cases, when you dig a little bit deeper, they don't actually know what their client retention figures are. And that's part of the problem because you can't fix something if you don't know that it's broken.
[00:03:27] So whether or not you think those percentages reflect your client retention doesn't really matter because what I can almost guarantee is that even if the numbers in your salon are different, the trend will still be the same. And by that I mean the trend is that you don't grow because you don't keep as many clients as what you should.
[00:03:47] And as a result, you're probably always focused on attracting new clients when you should be more focused on keeping more of the clients that you already have. And that's what I mean by fixing the hole in the bucket. Now, as I said earlier, many salon owners are looking for a quick fix or a silver bullet, something easy, something that's gonna instantly change everything.
[00:04:10] Well, fixing the client retention rates may not be a quick fix that gives you instant results, but if you're able to keep more of the clients you are already getting, it is the most cost effective and easiest growth strategy, and it is going to change everything given time. But the expression, fixing the hole in the bucket isn't just in reference to client retention rates.
[00:04:35] It's in reference to the amount of money that you are losing, whether it's through poor client retention or lost retail sales, or low client re bookings or low average bill. Either way, plug the hole in the bucket because it's literally costing you a fortune, and at the very least, it's a drain on your profit.
[00:04:56] So where do you begin? Well, like everything it begins with you, and specifically it begins with how you think about whatever the problem is. And ultimately what that means is that it begins with a mindset shift on your part, which can then lead to a mindset shift for those on your team, which then leads to some changes in their actions and behaviours, and that then leads to a change in the results that you're getting.
[00:05:25] If you are a regular listener to the podcast, you will know that most of the time I talk about management or money or marketing, et cetera. And of course all of that is really important and they're the roles and responsibility of the salon owner, and they're an essential part of growing a business. But as a former salon owner myself, I'm also painfully aware of the fact that.
[00:05:48] Where the rubber meets a road, so to speak, is that moment in time where the stylist is behind the chair because it's in those moments that that great consultation is done or not. And it's in those moments that the client is inspired and educated about all the possibilities or not. And it's in those moments that home hair care advice and recommendations are made or not, and it's in those moments that clients are given a great experience or not.
[00:06:17] I. And importantly, it's in those moments that the client has already decided whether they're coming back or not. But here's the good news. Many of the productivity issues that hold a salon back from growth, for the most part, can be fixed with some fairly simple solutions, and that begins with the mindset shift of understanding that your job as the owner is not to do all the work and produce the most money, et cetera.
[00:06:44] Your job is to get other people to be able to do that. So if you want some quick wins, start with what you have, meaning the people, the clients, the situation that you currently have, and look at how you can improve everything. Because the fastest and most sustainable way to grow the business is to grow the people within the business.
[00:07:08] To start with growing your people so that you get some quick wins for them and for you, the salon owner, because the profitability of your business is determined by the productivity of your people, and that only improves when they understand the role that they play and are given the tools to step up and do it.
[00:07:29] You see, the reality is, is that you don't need 10 or 20 new clients a week. What you need is a system that makes every client count, and that system comes down to three things. The first is to generate more clients through referral, and that happens naturally if you do great work and build professional relationships with your clients and give them a great experience every single time.
[00:07:55] And then at the right time and in the right way, you ask them for referrals.The second point is to increase the average spend, and that happens naturally when you learn to do effective consultations where you educate and inspire people about what they could have, what the possibilities are, whether it's what they could have in regards to their service options, or whether it's about home hair care maintenance.
[00:08:21] The third point is increased frequency of visit. And the number one tool available to you so that you can achieve that is pre-booking your existing clients before they walk out the door. Pre-booking is what I refer to as the low hanging fruit, meaning that it's such a simple thing to do and if you do it, then without getting a single new client or spending any more time on social media.
[00:08:47] You can dramatically increase the revenue you generate simply by getting a client in for just one more visit per year.
[00:08:56] Over the years, there's many people that I've worked with who've been able to dramatically increase their total sales and their income simply through pre-booking their clients before they leave the salon. Such as Lucas, who is an independent stylist who set a goal for the month of December, and he topped it by $5,000 by focusing on his pre-booking in the September and October.
[00:09:20] Or Clive who got his team rebooking percentage up from 44% to 70%. You see these three points that I've just gone through are the backbone of our Super stylist framework, and I know it's easy to look at these three points and think, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know all that stuff, and you may very well do, but are you clearly able to communicate the why and the how to your team, and do your results reflect that?
[00:09:48] Because if they do, congratulations, but if your results don't reflect that, then you really have to ask yourself, how well do you rarely know it? The success of a hairdressing business is a reflection of the success of the people that work within the business, and the fastest way to grow your business is to grow the people in your business.
[00:10:08] I have a free masterclass where you can learn the five steps to creating a productive and profitable salon culture so that you get everyone on your team to take ownership of how busy they are and how much they earn in the process. In the masterclass, we cover the points we've just touched on in this podcast, but obviously in a lot more detail.
[00:10:28] So if you are feeling like you are constantly filling the bucket, but never getting ahead, it's time to fix the holes in the bucket, the solution to your problems. It's not about new tech or new logo or new stuff, it's about improving performance with what you already have.
[00:10:45] So if you are interested to find out how to do that, then join me on a free masterclass called Creating the Super Stylist, the key to boosting productivity and profits in your salon. And I will walk you through how to build those steps into your salon culture.
[00:11:02] Now this masterclass is for salon owners who are done with being the busiest person in the building, and they're ready to grow a team of high performing and well rewarded stylists. It's free, it's practical, and it's the first step to transforming your salon business. So don't wait until you are burnt out or fed up.
[00:11:20] Come and spend an hour with me. You might just find the fix that you've been looking for. Click on the link in the show notes of today's podcast for more information. And until then, bye for now.