Long term IC member and Toolkit owner Michelle Weston of Northmead Beauty Therapy in New South Wales - "massive action gets massive results"

Every time I hear ‘oh, your kind of marketing doesn’t work for my business/my town/my clients’, and tell one of our veteran Members about it, they literally laugh out loud. Members like Michelle Weston of Northmead Beauty Therapy in New South Wales, who’s enjoying year-on-year growth of 35% thanks to doing it my way.

She writes:

“Did you know that we have now been dealing with each other for over 4 years now?

Despite having the Toolkit I never really took EVERYTHING you said on board until I closed one of my salons and was able to focus on one. I de-cluttered, re-evaluated in July 2007 and have not looked back. I now have a full time receptionist and still we simply cannot keep up with everything I have in place.

Here’s a sample of the kind of marketing I do all the time:

• I use New Client Letter series 1, 2 & 3, sent every Monday

• Birthday letters

• The ‘Rupert the Dog’ letters to get ‘lost’ clients  back in (although we never use Letter #2 of this series as we get such a good result with the 1st letter)

• Monthly newsletter (sent with everything)

• SMS only very occasionally,

• Email, always using the idea of 1, 2 & 3 of repeating the promos in emails

• Every email goes as the home page on my website and is also in the monthly newsletter

• 4 visit voucher

• Mini membership

• Gold, Silver Bronze Membership (only available once a year about now!!)

• I use every monthly promo you offer (Advance Notice Marketing Triggers emailed to all Members); xmas, valentines- mothers day etc etc

Our main focus of our website is to attract clients into our store or to at least make contact with our store, not to sell to them. It is then up to my therapists to follow (the system in the Selling Like Crazy component of the Toolkit)

Not everything works for every salon thoug. Surprisingly, the Queen of Referrals has never worked with our older clients – they like to keep that they come and visit us a secret!

If anything is not done we do notice a decline in revenue. I find how busy the salon is depends on how much marketing I am doing. Obviously with all this to be done I do not work in my salon as a therapist.

Action is exactly what is required.  Lately with so many ideas in my head I simply need to stop marketing sometimes in order for my salon to be able to cope with the influx of clients. At the end of the day we are a neighbourhood shopping centre and we need to give 100% service every time.

Results: Our last quarter to September 09 shows a 35.2% increase in turnover on last year!  September 08 was a 36% increase on the year before that! I cannot give you a specific number against those times when we have not used a multi-step style system as we are very strict with how we implement our marketing and I have done so since February 2008. But I can assure you it took me a while to ‘get’ the multi-step mailing system but once I did, I have definitely seen a constant increase in revenue. Before that I was making money now I am making more money!!

Multi-step marketing?? means to me doing everything in threes -that is the key for me.

I try and use this philosophy in everything I do.

In May I had a new staff member start, and we did a “I want a $29 facial with Erin” promo using your basic idea new staff letter from the Toolkit. Price point was also very attractive. We used stock we received complementary from our suppliers to conduct the facials. Our tester stand for makeup was not being used much during this time so it sparked up some excitement there too.

The clients needed to pay up-front to make their appointment. The objective was for me was to see how many Erin could turn into rebook full facial and how well she retailed. She knew what was expected of her.

We sold 111 facials to clients, all wanting to meet Erin. That was $3219.

Plus, Erin sold $3346 worth of product!

Cost of promo absolute minimum – We did this as a home page on the website, sent email twice and had it in the monthly newsletter which sits on front desk and is given to every client as well as posted with every direct marketing letter during this time.

Erin even maintained 65% of these facials as regular clients!! That $$$ value works out to be about a potential $43,200 in additional revenue (each facial client is worth about $600 a year)

The exercise showed Erin what was expected every time a client visited the salon, our clients got to meet Erin and I got to see just how profitable Erin could be!

Every promo must go out in at least 3 ways, either via newsletter, email, web page, SMS or direct mail, newspaper. Promos are reinforced in the salon with posters in every room. Even posters must be done in a 3 theme. e.g., say in a-frame at front of store then in front area then in rooms.

At the end of they day I work extremely hard on my marketing for my salon. However, I do soooo much enjoy it and much of that comes from you, your staff and my fellow Inner Circle members. All your ideas keep me inspired.

Michelle.”

I rest my case. The time for insisting that this system doesn’t work is long gone. If you can’t make it work, it’s you, not the system.

If you’re finally fed up doing the same thing year after year, slavishly copying the ‘me-too’ kind of marketing 99% of salons and spas do because they’re too lazy/uninformed/un-motivated to do anything better… then it’s time you TOOK ACTION, joined the Inner Circle, got your own copy of the Essential Salon Owner’s Marketing Toolkit®, and finally started making the kind of money you deserve from your salon.

Go here to see if you qualify for a 30-day Test Drive of the entire system.

Do you want the details of a real-life Mothers Day action plan that’s proven to work? I bet you do, having the exact steps laid out for you is incredibly valuable. Here’s Mothers Day action plan that one of our super star Inner Circle members Tracey Orr has successfully organized, and is generously sharing with us all:

“Hi guys, I just got the latest success strategy which I love getting. Really liked the tips on mothers day, thought I would share our mothers day promo with you. We always sell truck loads of mothers day vouchers to "walk-in" men in the 48 hours prior to mothers day but we decided to set ourselves a target this year as a group on top of our usual sales. Thought this info may help some of the other salons with their promo for Mothers Day.
 
This is exactly what we did:
 
Step 1. We used the format of the 4 visit voucher that was successful for us last time. (All Inner Circle members will find this exact certificate in their Marketing Made Easy manual, called ‘Door to Door Certificate’) For our mothers day one we did a new certificate (we slightly changed the blurb and treatments) and charged $99 instead of $69, with 4 upgrades available.
 
Step 2. We held a staff meeting where all staff were educated on the promotion, came up with ideas to sell it and they were advised that as an incentive they get 10% of the original certificate price – i.e. $9 cash for each one they sell.  If they sell a certificate with upgrades they do not get 10% of that, only the original amount. Staff were very happy with 10%.
 
Step 3. We had all this in place by the 1st April when we launched the certificates and set ourselves a group target of $5,000.00 a week.
 
Step 4. We launched the certificates and sent emails and sms messages to clients.  We created a web link to the vouchers as well for people to buy online. Staff asked EVERY client if they want a voucher. Limited numbers were available to help sell.  We have a big board in our staff room to track how many certificates each staff member has sold and how much they have earned.  (This is great when they start to see that their cash is adding up!)
 
Step 5. We are now two weeks into the promo (that leaves us almost 4 weeks more selling) and well on target. 
 
Figures to date:
Original Cert Sales at $99 each – $8623.00 (87 sold)
Visit A Upgrades    $555.00
Visit B Upgrades $345.00
Visit C Upgrades $485.00
Visit D upgrades   $275.00
Upgraded Original Certs $3690.00
 
Total to date (for 2.5 weeks) $13,973.00
Well above target of $5000 per week.
 
We also have the opportunity to upsell upgrades to the 87 standard certs sold at the time of booking.  We aim to sell $5000 a week in the 5 week period ($25,000.00) alone of these certs and then the normal bonus walk in man sales!
 
Not bad given that we have no advertising costs (other than printing the vouchers which we did ourselves!). I have started to see other salons with their ads on TV and in the newspaper now and we are almost $15k up on them already.
 
I think the 10% commission made a big staff incentive. For the next two weeks we will send a second sms and email and the staff have asked for letter drops for their home areas (amazing how they are happy to give up their time walking as there is something in it for them!) and we are also going to target random sales by getting our young Kierra out again to sell the vouchers door-to-door in the immediate week prior to mothers day.
 
P.S. I have been away (sick child) for all this time and so the team has pushed this along with the odd call from me about our target.
 
Tracey Orr
Absolute Beauty

Important Note: All Inner Circle members will find this 4 Visit Voucher in their Marketing Made Easy manual, called the ‘Door to Door Voucher’. It is also in Microsoft Word on the CD, ready to very easily modify with your salon details and print. Not yet an Inner Circle member? You can apply for a 30 Day Test Drive of the entire Inner Circle system, with literally hundreds of done-for-you ads, flyers, letters, and sales strategies by clicking on the ’30 Day Trial’ link in the column to the right.
  

Mothers day is the second biggest opportunity of the year to sell gift vouchers. Most mothers these days would love to receive more than a bunch of flowers or a box of delicious but guilt inducing chocolates… which is where you step in!

Marketing for mothers day requires some creativity and planning if you’re going to get outstanding results. Sure, snazzy gift vouchers look great, but vouchers generally won’t leap out of the salon and sell themselves without smart marketing. So grab a pen and paper and let’s brainstorm…

Step 1: Creating the Voucher

Who is your client, and how can we create vouchers that are irresistible to them? We want your gift vouchers to appeal to new clients AND your existing clients. A basic but powerful marketing strategy is to find a problem and then solve it. Obviously all your clients for Mothers Day are mothers, so what are their most common problems and worries?

• No time to pamper themselves due to work and family
  
• Stress and exhaustion
  
• Ageing skin
  
• Not looking as good as they’d like to

If you can think of more problems jot them down. Now, for each major problem we solve it by creating a ‘package’ or group of services. Packages mean you make more money from each sale than just selling plain $20 or $50 gift vouchers – and they sound so much more tempting to potential clients.

Package Examples…

‘Heavenly Hair Escape’, a wonderful experience for all ladies who deserve to relax and get 5 Star Treatment. Recline and enjoy a shampoo, condition, ultimate shine treatment, indulgent professional head & neck massage, hair trim, and Hollywood Woman blow dry & style.

‘Ultimate Rejuvenation Package’, an effective and indulgent treatment for tired skin and aching muscles. Relax and release tension and stress with our therapeutic 30 minute neck and shoulder massage. Next you’ll be totally delighted at the incredible results of our luxurious 60 minute professional anti-ageing facial.

‘Feet Treat’, perfect for tired and aching feet. Enjoy an aromatherapy foot spa, salt exfoliation, and then relax as we treat you to a wonderfully rejuvenating foot and calf massage. Followed by nail shape and polish of your choice to leave your footsies looking and feeling totally fabulous.

I could carry on creating packages forever… but now it’s your turn. Remember: put some thought into solving your clients problems. Create a ‘menu’ of between 2 – 5 choices. Offer a range of prices, some people want to get mum a ’little’ treat, and you will truly be surprised at just how much others are willing to indulge their mum.

Inner Circle member Tracey Orr from Absolute Beauty says “’We are used to doing well with our in salon promos, but this was fantastic! All we did was print the packages up from the Toolkit… it was interesting to note that the more expensive ones sold best because people believed the value was better”.

Step 2: Selling the Voucher

You need to promote your mothers day vouchers to both new clients and existing clients, starting at least two weeks prior to Mothers Day.

It’s usually the partner, hubby, son or daughter who is actually making the purchase. So, mostly males who will be buying gift vouchers. You should be displaying your exciting Mothers Day Packages in a minimum of three places:

Salon Window/ A-Frame chalk board
Salon answering machine
Mailbox flyers to the local neighborhood
Online website
Posters in the salon
Flyers to be handed to each client as they leave reception
Salon Newsletter/ Email Newsletter

Here’s an idea: find those lazy men! One Inner Circle member went to several construction sites a few days before mothers day armed with her voucher ‘menu’ and an eftpos machine. She managed to sell thousands of $$$ of vouchers to men who otherwise didn’t have time or couldn’t be bothered.

Step 3: Staff Make the Difference

Book a staff meeting so you can enroll your team in your exciting Mothers Day strategies.
Make sure they understand the packages. They may even take pride in offering suggestions themselves.
Share your goals and expectations with them, you may like to offer incentives for selling gift vouchers.
Remind them to promote the vouchers to all clients: on the phone, during the treatment, and to hand clients the Mothers Day menu as they leave reception.
Remember, YOU are driving the campaign but your staff are the ones who will make it successful.

Step 4: Redeeming the Voucher

I know you’re wondering what expiry date should be on your vouchers. In the March/April edition of Professional Beauty, salon expert Faye Murray recommends “a 6 month validity date… busy people often take a little time to get organized for their special treat”. Very good advice thank you Faye.

One More Thing…

Sick and tired of staring at a blank computer screen wondering where on earth to start? Wish you could get your hands on Mothers Day postcards, flyers, posters, and great packages that have already been done for you?

All Inner Circle members will find tested and proven Mothers Day marketing campaigns in their enormous marketing manual, ready to simply modify and hit ‘print’ on the template CD. PLUS all Inner Circle members will have received FREE in April a collection of brand spanking new flyers and postcards created specially for 2008, valued at $1,457.

Not an Inner Circle member? Click here to see if you qualify for a 30-day Free Test Drive of the Inner Circle marketing and mentoring program.