As we all go back to our daily occupations after the Salon Owner’s Summit 2018, we thought it would be a good idea to recap some of the top insights for salon success that we heard at this year’s event. After all, if you’re reading this now, I’m assuming it’s because you also share most salon owners one common purpose: to lead and evolve an industry that makes everyone feel and look like the superstars they were born to be. Ready to dig in? Great starts here (pun intended).
Tune in weekly for a mix of interviews with industry thought-leaders, roundups of our most recent salon owners marketing tips & tricks, all the latest in and around Phorest and what upcoming webinars you can join. Phorest FM is produced every Monday morning for your enjoyment with a cup of coffee on your day off. Feel free to let us know who or what topic you’d like to hear on the show!
Main Stage Insights On Salon Success
Gavin Hoare On Acting Like The Expert You Are
Kicking off the Summit for the attendees was Gavin Hoare, salon manager at the award-winning Richard Ward Hair and Metrospa on Sloane Square in the heart of Chelsea. Gavin is described as the ‘master of all salon managers’ and that’s no understatement. With 90 staff, 1,200 clients per week and 250 innovative hair and beauty treatments and services, Gavin manages the ultimate super salon.
Key Insights
- We too often undervalue the receptionists of salons or spas. In an ultra-competitive climate, you need to consider that all the small things matter. Customer service matters.
- 78% of customers don’t come back because they perceive an attitude of indifference in the service they receive within the salon.
- When selling retail, don’t push, just give educated advice. It’s not about telling, it’s about educating, as a professional. Let the client decide if they want to buy salon products.
- He believes that salon clients have 7 universal needs we need to fulfil:
- Feeling welcome
- Being listened to and understood
- Being served by an expert
- Having multiple solutions to their needs
- Indulging themselves
- Being reassured on purchase decisions
- Being shown out and getting a nice follow-up
All and all, if there’s one thing you should remember is that you never get a second opportunity to make a first impression. Make sure you make all of the small things count. Think about your salon’s website, your window, your reception area, etc.
Steve Martin’s Small Changes That Spark Big Influence
From outside the hair and beauty industry, next up on stage was Steve Martin, the bestselling author of ‘Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion’ which to date has sold over half a million copies and has been translated into 26 languages. He approached salon success with six principles from the science of persuasion.
Key Insights
- On pricing, he believes that sometimes it’s not about the price, but the way the price is displayed.
- Steve Martin discussed 6 principles of persuasion:
- Reciprocity (people give back to others the form or behaviour first received)
- Scarcity (people want more of the things they can have less of)
- Authority (people follow the lead of credible, knowledgeable experts)
- Consistency (people want to live up to their commitments, values and self-ascribed traits)
- Liking (we say ‘yes’ to those we like)
- Social proof (people follow the lead of multiple, comparable others)
The main takeaways from his talk -apart from the 6 principles he talked about- was that you shouldn’t be afraid to describe what’s unique about your business, point out what people stand to lose, always point out the most popular services or products and in terms of loyalty programs, make sure commitment with the client is made actively, and in public.
Staff Management And Motivation With Valerie Delforge
Many of the attendees had already heard from Valerie Delforge from her contributions to the Phorest Blog, Phorest FM or Phorest Academy. Valerie Delforge is Founder & CEO of Delforge + Co consultancy. Being in the Beauty industry for over 25 years, she not only managed to successfully achieve all set targets, inspire teams to deliver high standards expected in high-end salons but also develops each business to create a year-on-year strategic growth and salon success.
Key Insights
- Management is all about taking things one step at the time and knowing your numbers.
- To engage employees, it’s important that you support their wishes. She suggests hosting charity events in which staff can get involved, having yearly team incentives, perhaps creating an employee thank you wall or hosting staff pizza and treatment nights in the salon. Alongside this, she also recommends providing bespoke training and networking opportunities.
For Valerie, there are two things a manager should be conscious of in January. First, no management team member should be allowed annual leave during that month and second, managers should be having 1-to-1’s with every staff to create their vision for the year. By this, she means figuring out what the employee wants to achieve & how you as the manager, can help them achieve those goals. She insists on the fact that your value proposition (what you offer) is very important.
Tabatha Coffey’s Rules For Good Business
Last to hit the stage was the Summit’s keynote speaker, Tabatha Coffey. In the hit Bravo TV show, Tabatha helps businesses get back on track every week with her advice on customer service, leadership, management, teamwork and a good work ethic. While Tabatha has made her mark on reality and daytime television, the red carpet and best selling lists, Tabatha’s roots began in the hair industry. From the beginning of her career when she was 14 years old, to training with Vidal Sassoon in London, to her debut on Bravo’s Shear Genius (2007), Tabatha has devoted her professional life to achieving excellence in hair design and education.
Key Insights
- 75% of clients said they’d travel further and pay more if they got what they wanted.
- The perception of the industry, as well as the reasons for people to consume, has changed. It’s no longer about the discount or the cheapest – salon success is now synonym of value. You need to meet clients’ expectations and to best do that, starting from the consultation, you must interact with your clients and make sure that you’re engaged with them, that they feel heard. Use empathetic questions like: “What do you love about your hair?” and “What has no one ever been able to do for you?”
- Staff also need to feel heard. Don’t be afraid to ask them about their goals, what’s working for them, or if they’re happy? This will help them buy into what you need and what you want for your business.
- Tabatha recommends approaching retail like you would an insurance policy. By getting clients to use your products, you protect yourself from them returning and blaming you for the bad colour when in fact, they could have been using a product at home that damaged the hair or the colour.
- On discounts: just don’t do them. Change clients’ mindsets by throwing an event, not a sale.
Today, with social media on the rise, not only do clients have access to an overwhelming amount of information, but trends sometimes last just one day and so-called experts are popping up everywhere. For Tabatha, that’s why the brand and consistency within the brand – whether it be onsite, via your website or social media – is important. We now have to tell a story in a picture or 280 characters.
She continues on with what she calls the rule of thirds on social media. The first third is about promoting your business and knowing your audience. The second third is the interaction (share, comment, write, repost). For instance, even just using call-to-actions like “Is your hair constantly dry? Call us.” This creates excitement and value. Finally, the last third is to create shareable content. In a nutshell, know your brand and what you want for it. Don’t be afraid to go into specifics.
Workshop Insights
The workshops were a brand new addition to the Salon Owners Summit this year and were presented by Rowena Doyle (Visual Merchandising), Paddy Monaghan (GDPR) and Chris Brennan (Work/Life Balance).
Rowena Doyle approached salon success with consistency in branding, how to visually communicate the value of products and consumerism trends for the coming year. In Paddy Monaghan’s workshop, things were a lot more serious and communicated the importance of getting ready for GDPR, but also what it all meant for salon owners and how Phorest Salon Software can help. Finally, Chris Brennan talked about how we need to first find what’s causing an imbalance in our lives to fix it, how big goals can always be broken down into tiny achievable tasks and the importance of celebrating victories.
To everyone who made it over to Dublin for this event, thank you so much! You made our day and we hope to have made yours too! For everyone who missed it, see you next year, yeah? 😉 Oh, and don’t forget, if you have any feedback, feel free to tweet us @ThePhorestWord!
Thanks for reading! #LetsGrow
Missed This Year’s Event?
The Salon Owners Summit is exclusive to Phorest Salon Software clients. However, if you are looking to set yourself up for salon success, then why not request a free quote or demo of our software today, and join the list of esteemed guests for the Salon Owners Summit 2019!
Featured imaged by Alan Rowlette. © 2018 Phorest Salon Software.
