Getting Your Salon Running on Automatic
by Greg Milner on 16/06/08 at 8:58 pm
Me with my new car - so well automated all I have to do is steer it...oh, and brake every so often.
I bought a new car recently, a Caprice. It’s got hot-and-cold running DVD players for the passengers, a satellite navigation system so I don’t get lost on the three-mile drive to the office, a sound system loud enough to raise the dead, and a clever spare key that automatically adjusts the climate control, electric seat settings, steering wheel reach and tilt and even the radio station to suit Michelle’s personal preferences.
(Not that she’s ever been game to drive the thing. It’s a large vehicle. Parking requires roughly the length of the main runway at Los Angeles airport. If it suddenly lurched sideways it’d take out half a suburb. She prefers her new Toyota Corolla.)
But the best thing about this car is that I don’t have to think too much when I’m behind the wheel. When my phone rings, it automatically answers, the radio mutes, and the call comes through the sound system. When it rains, the wipers come on all by themselves…and speed up automatically if the rain gets heavy. And in low light, the headlights turn themselves on.
When I park, it locks itself. And if it’s dark, the lights stay on for 30 seconds, so I can see the path to the front gate. This car is so well organised that all I have to do is steer the thing, and touch the brakes every so often.
True, at first I had to put in some work, reading the manual.
But once I’d set everything up, it was a no-brainer.
You can see where I’m heading here. If your salon or spa is set up right, if the right systems are in place, then all you should have to do is steer it. You’ll have systems, just like McDonalds, to ensure that every staff member is trained to do their particular job in a very particular way, every single time.
You’ll have a well-defined process – followed to the letter – that means your clients get the same high-quality experience every visit. And, more to the point, you’ll have a well-organised, tried-and-tested series of processes to get clients in the door, and get ‘em spending money with you.
Yes, your marketing CAN be systemised.
Most business owners put the job of marketing on the back-burner, a pain-in-the-butt chore they leave till the last minute, begrudging every minute they have to ‘waste’ their energy on it. And yet, the smart business owners realize that marketing their business is just another system. Once you get it working, like the well-oiled machine it should be, it just keeps bringing in the customers.
For example, three years ago it took me six weeks to write, re-write, tweak and refine the main marketing material for the now well-established Inner Circle marketing & mentoring program. But day after day, year after year, that one letter brings in dozens and dozens of prospective Inner Circle members, without me having to touch it.
Can you imagine what your business would look like if you had a powerful mailbox flyer, newspaper ad, TV commercial or client letter (or, preferably, ALL of them!) that consistently, day after day, week after week, brought clients to you with a predisposition to pay what you want to charge?
If you had a pre-determined sales system for dealing with clients once they’re in the salon or clinic, designed to smoothly move them through the process, and come out the other end having gladly, willingly – even gratefully - handed over much more money than they had ever initially intended to relieve themselves of… what would that do for your salon’s bottom line?
That’s exactly how our Inner Circle members are setting up their businesses, with the done-for-you marketing templates, sales training modules and one-on-one coaching sessions and online access to updates all members receive as part of the IC marketing & mentoring program.
We accept between 30 and 40 new Members, worldwide, every month – but only ten salons/spas on the 30-day Free Test Drive. To see if you qualify, complete the Pre-Application Survey & Questionnaire and we’ll call you to find out if your business is suitable for the program.
 |
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. |
Like this article? Share it at:
