Hire Hard, Manage Easy

By Bryan Durocher, Durocher Enterprises

 

A great business starts with a great team. Hire the right people and they will make you money and save you headaches. Keep in mind that as an owner, you are not looking only for a great service provider, you are seeking a strong salesperson as well. Sometimes it is much more valuable to take on a service provider who may lack experience in the treatment room but comes to the business with valuable experience and a history in sales. If you are able to bring a new service provider onto the team who is a superior salesperson, the training on your service protocols is a small investment in comparison to the return you will gain in retail sales.

 

There are a few key values to look for when interviewing potential service providers. Those interested in compensation tied directly to their production are ideal. It reflects a genuine understanding of how necessary it is for business service providers to generate their own clientele and not depend on clients walking through the front door unsolicited. Individuals who are self-starters and act with little or no direction are also imperative to the success of the business. It is wise as an owner to seek candidates who recognize that they are responsible for making things happen, networking and marketing themselves as well as the business.

 

Individuals who seek to learn as much as possible about the products and services the business offers will generally be dynamic and welcomed members of the staff. These individuals usually excel at cross-promoting other services and up-selling clients in a quiet and confident manner.

 

Recruiting new team members is a never-ending process and is one area of operational management that demands constant and consistent attention. Business owners should never assume the amazing staff they have in place today will still be working tomorrow. Consistently recruiting with these values in mind will offer great rewards in the prosperity of the business. 

 

posted @ Wednesday, June 24, 2009 11:47 AM | Comment (0)

Retailing: Let Them Make Their Own Decisions

By Lisa Marie Arnold,  Salon & Spa Solutions

Every so often I get a “wake-up” comment from a client that I feel is absolutely necessary to share with my other accounts. We can implement systems, RX cards, sample bars, incentives, and product knowledge classes, but it may take a real-life conversation between a client and tech to drive home a huge point.

In this case, the story comes from a non-technician owner who happened to play receptionist for a week while her front-desk employee had time off. (Of course, when it comes to getting retail into the hands of a client, an owner’s motivation is sometimes a bit stronger.) She found that her conversations with the clients, whether trying to recommend a product or close a sale, were surprisingly easy. It was as simple as asking if they needed anything or if their technician had recommended any product. She often discovered they did need the product. What shocked her was how many clients said, “Why didn’t my technician ever talk to me about this product?” or “My tech never said anything about this to me before.”

How many clients leave feeling they did not get a proper recommendation? About two-thirds, according to a national survey I read ages ago (I can’t recall the source). How many clients purchase something for their nails, skin, or hair within 24 hours of a salon visit? Eight out of 10! Do these statistics not teach us anything? Our clients want the recommendation!

Why are we not giving it to them? Is it fear of rejection, fear we are being “pushy,” fear they do not have the money? We need to stop holding onto clients’ purse strings and consider them for the people they are — mature human beings, adults, able to make their own decisions. We have to give them what they deserve — a proper product recommendation — and let them make their own decisions.

posted @ Monday, June 15, 2009 11:01 AM | Comment (0)

Three Steps to Start Building Your Nail Business

By Kristi Valenzuela, Crystal Focus

Are you a starving artist or a successful nail technician? There is a big difference between learning how to do nails and making a very good living at it. I’m Kristi Valenzuela of Crystal Focus Coaching and I will be your success coach! I am excited to be part of the NAILS Magazine Coaching Chronicles, and will be presenting my first “blog series,” which will help serious nail technicians understand the business behind the nail table. In the coming months, I’ll be showing you how you overcome the top 10 nail tech business challenges.

Challenge #1: Don’t Just Sit There, Do Something!

If you are like most salon professionals (even myself when I first began my journey as a service provider years ago), you don’t have a plan to “get up and grow” your business. Most of us begin by finding a salon, getting the job, then sitting at our station waiting to be blessed by walk-ins or for people to somehow find us. Well my friends, I am here to tell you the only way for your business to grow is if you fertilize it!

Here are three steps to begin building your nail business:

1. Decide what you do best, and what you love doing. Is it natural nail manicures, pedicures, acrylic nail enhancements, nail art, gels? Stop trying to be something for everyone and be a specialist in what you love to do most. This doesn’t mean you have to stop performing all the services on your menu, it just means FOCUS.

2. Create a 30-second elevator speech and use it. After you have discovered your specialty, learn how to tell people about yourself! Let me give you an example: Someone asks you, “What do you do for a living?” Your answer: “You know how sometimes when you do your summer pedicures yourself, your nail polish may chip sooner than you like? I specialize in creating perfectly polished toes, and am best known for my relaxing spa pedicures. I work at Salon XYZ located [_________]. I would love to have the opportunity to pamper you for an hour. Can I give you my card?”

3. Put yourself on special. Whether you are on commission or a booth renter, an empty chair means no money! Create a special. This could be a monthly special or a featured service. It could be a gift with purchase or a service bonus such as nail art on one toe or a free a paraffin dip or elbow exfoliation.

 

posted @ Wednesday, June 10, 2009 2:16 PM | Comment (0)

Introducing New Coaching Chronicles Bloggers

Thanks to Adrienne and Heather for their amazing work during the past year! NAILS is happy to announce that we’ll be sharing even more business lessons from success coaches on The Coaching Chronicles blog in the coming year and beyond. Heather from Inspiring Champions will continue to post here, plus we’ll hear advice from Milady Cengage, Crystal Focus, Durocher Enterprises, and Salon and Spa Solutions. Check back here for inspiring tips in the next few weeks!

—NAILS editors

posted @ Tuesday, May 19, 2009 10:27 AM | Comment (0)

A Year of Accomplishments

Our year has come to a close, and I couldn’t be more proud of Adrienne’s accomplishments. Though a change in location has produced many challenges, it also has solidified so many things.
 
What Adrienne and I have spent our time working on is strengthening the understanding around systems. No matter where you live, no matter what the preferred services are, it all boils down to customer service and duplicable systems.
 
The systems are the key. Without them you cannot quantify results. How can you track how many new clients you’ve received through a promotion without a system? How can you track rebooking without a system? The one key to following a set of systems is to make sure they cover all the bases. Then you cannot pick and choose which ones to follow! They work together in total harmony. By picking and choosing, you will not move forward at the speed which you are able and there will always be breakdowns.
 
A great example is a no-show policy. If you require 24 hours notice from your clients, you cannot confirm them the day before. That’s why we suggest confirming 48 to 72 hours beforehand. You cannot fully understand what your upselling goals for the day are without adding up your day in advance and understanding where the opportunities are.
 
Adrienne fully understands this process and because of this, she has built an amazing new clientele! There’s no regrets here, just great learning experiences. It’s the process that produces the learning and the “failing forward” (a coaching term I use to mean trying something and, if it doesn't work out or produce the desired result, to pick yourself up and try something else. As opposed to failing backward) that produces the results. Adrienne has become an educator this year, has been an employee and is now a booth renter, running her own little business. She’s continuing to grow and evolve and is still so excited to be in this business. And I am so excited to be her friend!
 
—-Heather, success coach

posted @ Wednesday, May 13, 2009 10:44 AM | Comment (0)

The Journey Continues

My year of blogging is coming to an end for NAILS Magazine; however, I feel my story is just beginning. I didn't realize how good I had it in Florida, in a large salon with diverse clientele in a high-traffic area in an established community. Coming to North Carolina — where communities are smaller, businesses are mostly less than five years old, and the population is much more conservative — threw me in a bit of culture shock at first. But after settling in and getting all systems in place, my business has begun to flourish.
 
The greatest lesson I learned with Heather is: it doesn't matter where you are or how long you’ve been in the business, it all comes down to the numbers. Most importantly, when working with a successful system, you cannot pick and choose what parts you want to do and what you are not comfortable doing. Inspiring Champions’ system is designed to function like a well-oiled machine, and if you are missing a part, it doesn't run! When I started in this business, a colleague told me it takes two years to build a clientele no matter how good you may be, and the same goes for starting over in a new area. There are good weeks and slow weeks, but I believe each place I have worked has been for a bigger purpose. Whether others learned from me or I learned how I did or did not want to run my business, I wouldn’t change those experiences in any way. 
 
As I continue to grow as a nail professional, I look to learn everything I can, care for all of my clients with integrity, and expand my circle of influence. I am very grateful to Heather and the editors at NAILS who have blessed me with the opportunity to share this journey with so many others.
 
—Adrienne, nail tech

posted @ Monday, May 04, 2009 11:48 AM | Comment (0)

Expanding into Educating

This past year has been filled with opportunities that have propelled Adrienne into many different facets of her business. She has put tremendous effort into building not only her clientele, but also her technique. It’s all finally paying off, in a big way!
 
Adrienne is proud to say that she has been a part of the Young Nails Educator Prep Program. The North Carolina program is led by Cindy Sorrells. She has been not only instrumental in teaching Adrienne new and exciting technical skills, but also very encouraging to her in this new venture.
 
Becoming an educator for the products you love is such a great way to lengthen your career in this industry. Combining a little traveling, which Adrienne loves, with time in the salon weekly, will give her great variety. Plus, when she’s networking about her business and what she does, think of how amazing it sounds to future clients that she teaches for the company. It’s especially impressive when you consider there are so many salons and technicians to choose from.
 
Having spent the past few months practicing new skills, attending and assisting classes, and one-on-one mentoring, she’s well on her way. Adrienne has even turned strangers that were once practice models into loyal clients! All of this is to prepare her for her certification process to begin this August in California at the Young Nails headquarters. Once certified, Adrienne will be able to teach all around the state through Young Nails and the Board of Cosmetic Arts.
 
So many of us get into this business for how trendy, fun, exciting, and flexible it is. Then so many of us get stuck in the daily rut of the usual daily routine. Becoming an educator for a product you’re passionate about is something most of us never consider. Most programs have little or no cost involved, and big payoffs.
 
Your knowledge and skills improve drastically. You become more focused. You meet many new people who you now have as a sounding board for tips and methods. The opportunities are endless and travel can be a little or you could work for a company that has you jet-setting across the country! And when it’s time to say goodbye to working behind the chair, you now have a career path you can still love.
 
 If you’re looking to expand in this area, contact those companies whose products you can’t live without and begin your journey too!
 
—-Heather, success coach

posted @ Wednesday, February 18, 2009 1:55 PM | Comment (0)

Looking Forward and Back

Heather and I have been working together on rebuilding my business for a year now. So, how much have I accomplished? First of all, I’ve made some very good friends along the way, both with co-workers and clients. They are truly my biggest supporters and referral sources and without them I would definitely be struggling more. I know this to be true, because through the change of salons, the ups and downs of business, they all have asked "What can I do to assist you?" The value of attracting your true ideal clients, which I must admit I am blessed to have found some women of tremendous integrity, is priceless. I cannot express how just doing nails is not enough.
 
As far as measurable accomplishments, some months were better than others. The weeks I did not step out of my box to improve myself, the results trickled down through my schedule, paycheck, and even my attitude. Constantly setting goals and following through pays off. If an idea didn't pan out like I wanted it to, Heather and I would either tweak it or scrap it altogether and come up with something new. How many times has Madonna reinvented herself? How many more iPods could Apple possibly come out with? The key is knowing where you've been before you go in another direction, and you need to know where you ultimately want to be when the journey is over.
 
I have thought a lot about that lately: the future. I am far enough into my career to know what I will accept and what I will not from this journey. Will I be a salon owner? Perhaps someday, but for now I want my independence and not the overhead. Will I be a teacher or mentor? Absolutely! I am on my way with those I have worked beside and also with those that are teaching me more about other aspects of this business. I am currently paving a path into the area of quality continuing education with my friends at Total Nail Solutions.
 
As I begin my second year of business in North Carolina, I am confident that the marketing tools and systems I have in place will assure my growth in the area. I am excited to get out there and market myself, and show everyone what I am so passionate about!
 
—Adrienne, nail tech

posted @ Monday, February 09, 2009 10:57 AM | Comment (0)

Super Systems

Ever wonder why you can go to any Starbucks in any town, in any state and have the exact same experience? You guessed it: they have systems! They probably can't spell your drink but they can certainly make it because all those little code letters tell them exactly what to mix.
 
Think of those long lines and how much quicker they move because of those systems. What could a similar approach do for your business? We use codes and systematic approaches to our appointment books and calendars. Where else might they work?
 
Think about your communication with your front desk. Do you have a specific system in place for booking appointments? How about one for re-booking or for setting up standing appointments? Is there a system in place for up-selling, recommending retail, handling no-shows, or anything else that might make or break your day running smoothly?
 
Fortunately, Adrienne was trained through Inspiring Champions' Top Gun Front Desk Training. What a lifesaver! Adrienne has put her Champ Camp systems to the test and taken what she knows to be true and defined in her new location exactly how she wants her clients rebooked. Because let's face it, Adrienne is the one ultimately responsible for determining her paycheck.
 
Her clients are loving her new salon home, and new ones are stopping in. Now it's time to develop a working relationship with these new clients. Educating them on how rebooking benefits them. Using the bump system for up-selling, retail and asking for referrals is the name of the game.
 
This week, Adrienne is focusing on introducing herself around the downtown area. These past few months have taught her well and really built her confidence to set her up for success in this. You go girl!
 
—-Heather, success coach

posted @ Thursday, January 15, 2009 5:15 PM | Comment (0)

New Year's Resolutions

The holidays have flown by yet again, and the past two months seem like a blur. I have big plans for 2009, so where do I start? Goal setting. It's like New Year's resolutions for your business and personal life with a deadline that you must stay accountable for.
 
So where do I want to be this time next year? Personally, I would like to have more debt paid down, get back to the gym and lose about 15 pounds, and save enough to have my hubby in a new car by June. Not too hard, right? So let's throw in the business goals. I'd like to end 2009 with $50,000 in services and $7,000 in retail sales. That would give me an increase of about 10%-15% from 2008, which, now that I am more familiar with the area and the clientele, is not unrealistic. So I need to break those numbers down by the months and the weeks, figure out when vacation time will be, and set up my roadmap. Then all of the other numbers, like how many new clients I need to retain and how many cards to hand out weekly, will fall into place. To some this may sound like a lot of brain strain, but once you learn how to use the systems to set these goals, it is easy.
 
My other professional goal is to complete the educator in training program with Young Nails. They have a need in the area for great education. YN provides it; I just need to bring myself up to another level with my nail services. I am great at doing my own nails, and those with model-like nail beds, but am still perplexed when I am finishing some challenging nails or misplaced product. I have only really felt comfortable with acrylic and gel products for about three years of my six-year career. I still feel like I learn something new every week. No matter what, I will learn a ton about perfecting my art working with Total Nail Solutions, our official YN distributor for North Carolina.
 
And thanks to Heather and Inspiring Champions, I have the tools I need to set all of the goals into motion. Now I need to sit down at the calendar with my calculator and get to work!
 
—Adrienne, nail tech

posted @ Wednesday, January 07, 2009 1:27 PM | Comment (0)
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