So, You Want it ALL – NOW?? Interesting….

by Greg Milner on 26/02/08 at 1:28 am

Every month, we get maybe 80 to a hundred applications from salon & spa owners all over the world seeking a 30 day ‘Test Drive’ of the Inner Circle program, including the now-famous Essential Salon Owner’s Marketing Toolkit.

And the interesting part about these Application Surveys is the consistency of answers to the question "What do you most want for yourself?"

These answers provide us with an insight into what I call the "Outcome/Input" ratio – the relationship between the expectations of the applicant, and the amount of effort he or she is prepared to put in to achieve that outcome.

Here’s a typical answer:

"I want an annual three month vacation in Europe with my family, a new BMW for me and one for my husband, a beach house, two or three investment properties…and I want to work only two days a week…"

Er…fine. Win the lottery, or be smiling sweetly, in the right place at the right time, when rich old Uncle Mort falls off the perch.

Reality check: it ain’t going to happen. At least, not without a stunning amount of ACTION first. It never ceases to amaze me that so few recognise the law of nature that ties success to….well, there’s no other word for it, work. And by work, I don’t just mean actual manual labour, I mean the work involved in educating yourself in the knowledge of what works in business, and then applying it, implementing it, testing it, and applying it again and again and again.

Example: this week I took a call from a spa owner who was desperate for success. In fact, she wouldn’t survive unless she took MASSIVE ACTION. I explained to this spa owner that success was NOT about doing one thing, waiting for results, and then trying something else.

I explained to her that to be successful she would have to take a huge leap – and implement dozens of strategies, ALL AT ONCE!

Here’s just a partial list of what you could and should be doing to generate BIG results – and this is assuming that you already have in place the appropriate infrastructure, ambiance, sales processes and operations systems in your salon:

Re-inventing what you sell – in other words, Sales Thinking – You should be actively and energetically re-inventing what you sell to more closely match what your customers want. No woman ever woke up with a start, nudged Norm in the ribs and declared she just had to get hot wax poured over her inner thigh and have the hair torn out by the roots. What she wants is smooth, sexier thighs… so why advertise ‘Waxing’?
What it means is a huge amount of work, forensically examining everything you sell and re-packaging, re-inventing, re-naming, adding sex appeal, adding value, creating products and services they cannot get anywhere else.
Planning your year’s marketing ..and implementing it, relentlessly. And that means a massive amount of work, at least in the early stages. Here’s just a partial list of what you should be planning, writing, doing – ALL AT ONCE.
Direct mail to get old ‘lost’ clients back. In the Toolkit, we call them the Raise the Dead letters. Religiously, every three months.
Client appreciation evenings
a MONTHLY – not bi-monthly, not quarterly, but every month – client newsletter
Text message campaigns – short notice, militarily planned and executed, to fill empty chairs or treatment rooms on a short term basis. Probably one of these every week
Special event campaigns – eg Mothers Day, Easter, Christmas gift vouchers – by direct mail, email, text message etc
Referral programs – regimented, systemised, with staff trained on how to implement
Regular – probably fortnightly – staff sales training sessions, with role playing, incentives, accountable outcomes
web site – you should be actively, regularly working on your website, putting up new copy, getting it optimized for search engines, putting your newsletters up there in pdf format, special offers and so on.
Implementing a system of getting client contact details… every single client, new and old, multiple contact points (email, phone, cell phone, physical address) – this is your GOLD, the real value in the business. And that means every single prospective client who walks in the door. Offer them a bribe to give you their details if necessary.
Mailbox flyers (if its legal in your part of the world – much of the USA its not) to attract new clients. Compelling flyers, with an offer, a headline, scarcity, a guarantee, etc etc. It’s direct response marketing 101.
Product packaging – grouping products together so there’s an incentive to spend more

….and that’s just a partial list. Sounds overwhelming? Well, do you really think the new BMW, the holiday house, the investment properties and the three month vacation on the French Riviera is going to miraculously land on your doorstep if you just plug away at it the way you’ve been plugging away for the last ten years?

Resource: Okay, so now you know you need help. That’s what the Inner Circle program is for. Go here to apply for a 30-day Test Drive and see for yourself.

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A post by Greg Milner

The odd idea, a bit of prodding, a nudge here and there, a little fun, and the occasional dose of brutal reality. Greg is co-founder and CEO of Worldwide Salon Marketing, a writer, direct response marketing consultant, specialist marketing systems adviser and coach. He (sometimes) accepts private consulting clients.