Two things that make all the difference in success or failure

In business…often times we’re looking for the next home run. What is the next big thing that will mean a big jump in sales? Hair extensions, keratin treatments, shellac nails, feather extensions, Ouidad curl cutting systems and on and on it goes. The years move on and the only thing that changes is the “home run”.

All too often salon owners run their salons (and make their decisions) as if they’ll only be in this business for a year or two. When in reality…their salons will be open for at least two more “lease signings”.

Very rarely does a “home run” service dramatically make a poorly run salon profitable. It may for a brief 6-12 month time period…but it will not sustain itself much past that. Until the next “big thing” comes along of course. It’s a tough way to run a business.

But here is something that never changes. Laser focusing on two big parts of your business that ultimately make all the difference in success and failure. In fact, if you do nothing else and only focus on these two things (making 5%-7% improvements each year)…your salon will be flush with business.

Sound interesting? Well, those two things are…

Getting more new clients and improving new client retention…simple as that. For the most part nothing else really matters. But ask yourself this. As a salon owner, do you even know where your new clients come from? Do you regularly measure and try to improve your retention of new clients?

Or do you do what most salon owners do. Basically, you guess where new clients are coming from, hope that you get more in the future and deny or doubt the new client retention rates that come out of your HairMax salon software. Come on…be honest.

Well, here is the good news. Anyone that has HairMax can get this data in a heartbeat. But the bad news is…most salon owners will not consistently do anything about either of them. That’s the sad reality.

And you know what? I get it. Most salon owners are running around like one-armed paperhangers trying to balance their personal lives, with working on clients, while keeping the staff from torturing each other and paying the bills every month. Look I know…it’s a tough business.

But, as Hyman Roth said to Michael Corleone in the Godfather part II…” it’s the business we’ve chosen”. And more than likely, it’s the gonna be your business for the next 5-10 years…so why not make it easier.

It’s funny. I read a line recently from a famous marketer that said this. “Years ago…business owners would be happy with simply getting information about how to improve their business. Then a few years later…they were only interested if the information came along with a map on “how to do it”. Today, people want the information, they want the map, they want you to dig the hole, and they want you to show them a little gold before they even get interested.

And you know what? It’s true.

People have finally come to the realization that they can’t do it by themselves consistently. In fact, they would gladly pay if someone could do it for them. As long as they could see the results every week and not have to do any of the work.

It has thrown the whole “Teach a man to fish rather than give a man a fish” into a tailspin. And I don’t see it reversing anytime soon.

So, the lesson here is simple. If you want to improve your salon dramatically…get better at attracting more new clients and get better at keeping them. If fact, my Salon Growth Blueprint will give you all the information you need to make that happen. And if you’re a disciplined salon owner…that will work for you.

But, if you’re like most salon owners…better to be on the lookout for my new “system” that will actually do it all for you. One that I’m perfecting right now for the salon owner that can’t (or won’t) do what is necessary to make improvements in both areas consistently.

I will introduce this new “system” very shortly. It’s not a computer system or new salon software program. It’s a combination of technology, customer service and human interaction that will finally give salon owners what they need. A helping hand in making their salons better and their bank accounts fatter.

Steve