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Are you one in a million, or are you just one of many? The difference between a salon that outshines its competition and a salon that blends in with the masses is how loud it shouts its uniqueness. While repeat client retention has been holding steady the last few years at 80 percent, new client retention has dropped approximately 13 percent, showing only 25 percent of new clients are returning for a second visit.

In the game of business, whispers don’t win: You have to learn to shout your brand in a way that your community will hear. The benefit of a salon that has a strong brand is increased traffic of new client visits and longer client retention; a well-known brand can also recruit and maintain a healthy salon team.

However, it is important to understand what a brand is in order to develop it and use it to grow your salon. Be careful, many people have a misconception of what a brand is, start off in the wrong direction, and stop developing their brand way too soon. A brand is not just a logo, it is not just slogan, a brand is ultimately your point of difference that is recognized by clients. A brand is a theme of your uniqueness that is the thread through your recruitment, your team training, your menu, your team education, your marketing, your client experience systems, and your scripts. The true measurement of your brand is who your clients say you are.

POINT OUT YOUR POINT OF DIFFERENCE…

If you try to be something for everyone, you end up being nothing to nobody."

Your brand is your belief system, it’s your values, it’s your style, it’s your uniqueness. It’s who you say you

are, and it’s who say you are for (your core group of clients). It’s how you shout your difference. A great measurement if you are on target is when you ask your clients or your community, "What do you think of our salon when you drive by?" If they don’t have a specific and consistent answer, your message has been missed!

NARROW YOUR FOCUS…

Dedicate 100 percent of your marketing to the core of your brand; never take your eye off the ball."

It’s good to be "narrow minded" when growing your brand and discovering who you want to attract as your core group of clients. Set a goal that 85 percent of your clientele would consist of this market. Please don’t misunderstand, everyone is welcome… but your look, style, training, and team performance is dedicated to making this core group of people feel special and connected to you.

SIX STEPS TO DEVELOPING YOUR BRAND FOCUS

1. Decide on your Core Group of clients or your Core Belief System (Men, Children, Green/Recycling, Breast Cancer Awareness)
2. Plan your Décor / Dress Code to complement and not vary from your message
   • Men = leather reclining chairs, Flat Screen TV with Sports Center playing, practice putting area in waiting area
   • Teen = PlayStation or Wii video game systems to play while you wait
   • Breast Cancer Awareness = décor color/style (pink) and dress code (black, white, pink every day) 
3. Advertise or co-market. If you know who your client is, it’s much easier to reach them!
   • Green/Recycle = clients who bring in their empty product bottles to recycle will receive 10 percent off entire retail purchase
4. Specialty Services on the Menu or Special Events 
   • Men = hot towel, neck massage, and hand detailing with every service 
   • Breast Cancer Awareness = scheduled events throughout year with speakers to come to your salon and speak about awareness tips, schedule special events for breast cancer survivors, support group meetings, etc.
5. Scripts and Conversation 
   • Men = know the latest sport scores and who’s on the injury list 
   • Green/Recycle = understand environmental safe practices and talk about it
6. Promotions and Contests 
   • Men = refer a buddy for a chance to win tickets to a big sports event in your area or pre-book your next two appointments for a chance to win a round of golf and a lesson with a local pro

When you know who you are and who you are for, you will see how much easier it is to hire for your team, train your team, develop your scripts, and advertise to your clients. New clients will find you faster and stay loyal longer. Priceless!

About the Author

Kristi Valenzuela is the founder and owner of Crystal Focus Salon Coaching, which specializes in specific systems to help the front desk and technical teams work together to achieve higher retail sales and service tickets, increase client retention, and understand the power of pre-booking. Kristi is also co-owner of Summit Salon Business Systems, the largest salon consulting business in the world. Her in-demand programs, workshops, and training products focus on "real-life" salon solutions that are fun, easy, and create immediate profit. Learn more at www.crystalfocus.com.

Don’t miss Kristi’s featured presentation, "Get Focused and Make More Money From Your Front Desk" at PBA Symposium 2011, July 30 – August 2, in Las Vegas. PBA Symposium is part of PBA Beauty Week. Visit www.probeauty.org/beautyweek for more information.

Stylists Make Money Faster- With a Great Front Desk Team

Part II: “Team Synergy Selling”

After the Front Desk  greets your guest, provides them with a scripted tour of your salon as well as certain specials and opportunities for the day, the guest now resides in the stylist’s hands!  It is now our job as a service provider to continue the trend the Support Staff initiated! Ultimately, creating Team Synergy amongst the Front Desk Team and the Service Provider and increasing revenue in the salon entirely.

THE SERVICE

CONSULTATION:

REDKEN’S “ART OF CONSULTATION” is a tool that Stylists can use to transform a typical “consultation” into a custom hair plan created based on the needs of the guest through facial shapes, skin tones etc…Stylists can use this to create that specific look for the guest as well as get them on a schedule for future visits to maintain their look. Through the consultation the stylist is able to reopen the window of opportunities to offer additional services that the guest might already be thinking of, due to the efforts set forth by the front desk. The seeds have all been planted; the service provider has the chance now to make them grow!

Throughout the guest’s service, it is the stylist job to educate, educate & educate. By offering different tips related to the beauty industry, the guest not only feels like he/she is in good hands, but they feel that you will go the extra mile to make sure they are taking care of.

Relate to different celebrities highlighted in the latest magazines and keep up to date on current events. Explain to your guest how celebrities contribute to certain beauty trends. For example, the Kardashians having a large effect on guests going from hair color that is soft and caramel to deep, dark, rich browns. Develop scripts that can help you deliver information to your guest quicker and faster. Inform the guest that the look they see today can be best replicated at home with the tools and products you are using on them throughout the course of their visit. Provide the information with the Front Desk so they can help close at the sale at the time of checkout.

Team Synergy is defined when two or more people work together to achieve one common goal. When the Service Provider and the Front Desk Team are working together through communication, not only is the guest happy but the rewards are endless. Teamwork is the key to success!

Salon Today Blog for Week of July 26th:

FRONT DESK “Team Synergy” RETAIL SALES

By Ashley Griffin – Crystal Focus Salon Coaching

This past weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina, and had the opportunity to talk to over a hundred salon owners and distributor sales consultants about common challenges that salons face concerning the front desk. After the presentation was over, I was approached by a salon owner with this question: “Why won’t my front desk staff sell retail?” I thought about it for a minute and replied, “Do the service providers tell the front desk what products were recommended during the service?” It was like a light bulb went off in her head. “Well, not that I know of...”

This lack of communication between the stylist, and the front desk is a problem. It’s impossible for the front desk professional to effectively close the sale on products when they don’t know what was used at the stylist station. Since most front desk professionals are not stylists, they will need to depend on the stylist making the appropriate product recommendation.

One way to remedy this is to create a new salon system for product sales.  It’s simple:  The stylist “opens the sale through education at the station”, and then passes it to the front desk sales team to “close the sale”.

Here are the steps to “team synergy” retail success:

STEP ONE:

When a service provider has a guest in the chair, they need to educate them on every product used in their hair to create their style. The guest needs to know the benefits of the product, when it is applied, how it is applied, and why they need it. While the stylist is finishing “the look”, the products used should be on the station in front of the guest with the labels facing forward. This way the guest is more likely to notice and study the product - and marketing surveys reveal, this increases the chance of the purchase if the product stays within sight!

STEP TWO:

When the stylist takes the guest up to the front desk, they should go to the salon retail center, take down the products they used, and place three items they recommended as  homecare on the front desk.  Let front desk professional know that this is what the client needs, and ask them to help them with the final purchase.

This is how it should sound:

“Sarah, these are the products I recommended at the station to recreate your look at home.  If I had to choose just one product for your hair it would be (this one). Jessica will help you with the products you decide on.  I will see you back for your cut and color in 6 weeks, thanks again for coming in today!”

Now the service provider has passed on the baton of retail sales to the front desk sales staff. As I like to say, “The stylist plants the seed, the front desk waters it.”

STEP THREE:

The front desk professional can then help recommend the products give a rave review on its benefits, and help them with their narrowing down final decision and purchase. More often than not, that client will take at least one of the three products home, and through effective front desk scripting and verbiage, may even upgrade their purchase to a larger size or add additional products.

Everybody wins in this situation. The service provider is happy because they’re hitting their retail goals, the front desk sales team is happy because they’re selling and upgrading retail to achieve their salon team goals, and there’s no longer a sense of “them against us” within the team.

Encourage your service providers today to open the communication lines of selling retail to the front desk so that everyone can benefit from this awesome system!

SALON TOURS THAT SIZZLE!

TURN A SLOW DAY IN TO SALON SUCCESS

It is an intention of many salons to do a “tour” for new clients, but most salons fail to follow through. This is unfortunate because salon tours can pump up the profits for all departments in the salon. The top reason why salons do not complete the tours is due to not having a written TOUR PLAN for the salon tour guide.

Here’s how to make the salon tours start to sizzle:

1)  Prepare the tour guides!

 a.  All tour guides (this should include both front desk professionals as well as service providers!) should experience all services on the menu. This will help them add their own authentic experience examples to the tour script.

2)  Write the tour down!

a.  The tour script should start, end, and sound the same no matter who is doing the tour. To accomplish this, bullet point the main things to talk about in each area of the salon. Bullet points will help the tour guide to hit the key points of each department, and sound natural, not memorized.

3)  Look “tour ready”!

a.  Make sure the departments look as if they are on display. Nail tables, spa rooms, and stylist stations should look camera ready. Ask yourself, if SALON TODAY Magazine were here for a photo shoot of this area, would we be proud to have it on the cover?

4)  Always know the specials!

a.  If there is a “themed” pedicure, manicure, or other services – know how to talk about it.

b.  If there is a special service promotion, this should be featured on your tour.

c.  Offer openings available today – check the book before you go on tour!

d.  Share the retail specials.

5)  Team Synergy in Action! – Everyone can be a part of the tour success!

a.  Have a department specialist write the script for their department.

b.  Service providers should pamper the front desk and other team members with their services to make sure all services are understood and can be talked about in an exciting way.

c.  Always remember to introduce your clients to other service providers on the team. A client who has services in multiple departments has a higher rate of retention!

• Greet the client
• Offer additional services
• Share the retail specials
• Give salon tours
• Answer the phone
• Close the retail sale
• Prebook the client
• More, more, more

4.  The Front Desk needs motivation for follow through of sales initiatives.  We created an effective goal and reward system.