SalonSavy Coaching

I've Moved House - Come On Over and Visit!

2011-03-02T15:39:00.001+10:00

Hi, If you would like to stayed tuned to my blog, I have moved house!

I've Moved!

You can now find me at my new Wordpress site. Just click on the hyperlink to take you there!

My latests blogs - You Just Can't Do It All; Finding the Hidden Profits in Your Salon and Check and Correct, are ready and waiting for you to read.

See you soon!

Wishing you prosperity and success Pam

9 Big Reasons Why You Should Avoid Staff Training in Your Salon

2011-02-08T09:19:00.002+10:00


Training your staff could have a serious impact on your bank balance

When I speak to my clients about the need for ongoing staff training, I often hear "I hate spending the money to hold staff training, because eventually they will leave and I have wasted my money"

While this may sound like valid reasoning to some, I wonder if much thought has been given to the repercussions of continuing to think along these lines.

So, here are my (tongue in cheek) 9 TOP reasons why you should never train your staff:

9. Well trained staff generate substantially more income through effective, relationship building retail sales. I can certainly understand why you wouldn't want that! All those extra retail sales mean you will never be off the phone, ordering more stock...now that's a pain!

8. Well trained staff generate substantially more income through up-selling of services and elimination of gaps in the appointment book. That's a real problem. When will there be time for coffee and chatting in the lunch room?

7. Well trained staff deliver substantially better customer service. That's just scary. Now all those customers you have spent so much money on attracting will actually want to come back and spend more money!

6. Well trained staff stay longer in their jobs. This is a real problem for those of you who love spending time and money on recruitment and new employee training and indoctrination. Not to mention having to keep all those customers who leave when their personal technician leaves your salon.

5. Well trained staff are happier and more motivated in their jobs. This can be downright depressing if you enjoy working in a tense and moody environment every day! Happy people can be so depressing to be around.

4. Well trained staff retain more clients. So what are you supposed to do with all those cash generating, extra clients coming in? Sounds like a problem to me.

3. Well trained staff get more personal referrals. That's a problem too - even more clients wanting to spend their money in your business. Where will it all end?

2. Well trained staff get better rebooking percentages. If those clients keep coming back regularly, you are going to be forced to hire more staff and you know what that means!

And last but not least

1. Well trained staff work more efficiently. You know what this means. More work, more money and then. in the blink of an eye, you have a tax problem to deal with!

I hope you enjoyed my tongue in cheek list of why you should never train your staff and would like to finish this post by sharing one of my favourite quotes with you.

"There is only one thing worse than training staff and having them leave and this is it..... NOT TRAINING THEM AND HAVING THEM STAY!"

Wishing you prosperity and success
Pam
Photo by Idea Go

Shotgun Marketing - Blasting Holes in Your Bank Balance

2011-02-04T08:15:00.000+10:00

What I am about to say will upset some salon owners....get ready for it......contrary to common belief, not all advertising is good advertising!

When times are tough, and let's face it, they are pretty tough right now,
it is vital to make your advertising dollars work harder for you than ever before.

Gimme all your money!

Shotgun marketing, as the name implies, relies on shooting out many many pellets of advertising material as you can afford to to try and reach as many people as possible. This approach might be useful for a start-up business that needs to make its local market aware of its existence but after that, it is just too scattered to make the kind of impact that is needed to build an existing business.

Here's somthing you really need to know and embrace....not everyone wants to be your client. Savvy salon owners appreciate this and spend their precious advertising dollars only in ways that will reach the kind of people who are likely to come in and spend. In most cases, that is to their own database or to people who are very much like the ones who are already purchasing from you.

Do you know who these people are and more importantly, are you making them the target of your marketing efforts?

Next time you are approached by people asking you to advertise in their magazine, newsletter, internet listing etc and so on, ask yourself some important questions first before you sign on the dotted line.

Am I getting this message to my target market (my clients or those people just like them) or am I spending a lot of money advertising to people who just aren't interested in what I am selling?
Is the money I am about to spend going to be a good investment and achieve the desired outcome? Am I going to see a substantial return on my investment and how can I measure the results?
How could I refine my marketing, spend less money and reach the people who are most likely to buy my product?

Perhaps it's time to re-focus your approach to marketing in 2011 to ensure that every dollar you spend from this point forward creates maximum impact with your target market.

Wishing you prosperity and success
Pam

Photo by Boaz Yiftach

Are You ReferringTo Me?

2011-01-31T17:27:00.001+10:00

Are you great at what you do?

If you know you are, do you ever wonder why you are not getting more clients who refer their friends and family to you?

Well...are you?

The answer is quite simple really.

People are L.A.Z.Y. Yes, it's true. Why should your clients bother to refer you to anyone? They pay you well for doing what you do so what gives you the right to expect any more?

The truth of the matter is, most people walk around day after day, asking themselves the same question. That question is "What's in it for me?".

It goes like this,"What's in it for me if I go to work today?...oh, I'll get paid and won't lose my job", or "what's in it for me if I do something nice for the boss?...oh, she might do something nice for me down the track", and of course "what's in it for me if I tell all my friends about my fabulous new salon? oh....nothing"

Are you starting to get my drift? How is your client going to benefit from giving you a referral? What is in it for them?

This is a good question to ask yourself . What can you give to your clients to make it worth their while to refer you to friends and family.

You tell me!

Wishing you prosperity and success
Pam

Photo by Michele Meiklejohn

Go away....Leave me Alone!

2011-01-26T13:00:00.006+10:00

Stop annoying your clients!

This morning I was reviewing a discussion in a writing group at Linkedin that I joined a while back.

As I was scrolling down the messages that various people had left, I came across one from a gentleman who had had enough. He was angry, frustrated and lashing out. Why? Because he was sick of being bombarded with useless information....too much spam and unwanted content sneaking into his life in the guise of helpful communication. He was angry and he was letting the world (and the spammer) know about it.

This got me thinking about the kind of content you may be sending to your clients and what impact it may be having on your relationship with them.

Is it content that is meaningful to you or meaningful to your clients?

Now, don't get me wrong, I believe in quality communication with your client base and I believe it should be on a regular basis. But.....it has to be content that is valuable to your clients.

Bombarding your clients with annoying sales pitches that will only benefit your bottom line will no doubt have them racing to click on their unsubscribe button, but worse still could irreparably damage the relationship you have worked so hard to develop

So what should you send to your clients? That is pretty easy to figure out. It's the same stuff you like to get.

Special offers and great tips that your clients can use to make their lives better and easier in some way.

So stop bombarding your clients with pushy, salesy newsletters and emails. Start communicating in a way that will help to further build your relationship and keep your clients wanting more and looking forward to your next fabulous newsletter and special offer....just for them!

Wishing you prosperity and success
Pam

Getting Your Staff to Sell, Sell and Sell Some More!

2011-01-18T18:20:00.000+10:00

Getting staff to sell is literally a huge pain in the butt for most salon owners. Are you one of them?
Would you like your staff to sell more product and make more money for your salon? I can almost see you nodding your head as you read this blog!
It is possible and you can do it - but like most worthwhile things in life, you have to put in a little effort to reap a great reward.

Your staff can sell more retail but they need your help!

Resistance to selling by salon staff is not big news. It seems to be a common problem suffered by most salons but can we simply just place all the blame on the shoulders of those we employ?
Of course the answer is a simple but emphatic "NO".

Why won't they sell?
After surveying many salon teams about this situation, I have come up with a few reasons that really stand out from the rest. They are:

They don't want to feel that they are being pushy with their clients
They don't want to risk losing their friendly relationship
They don't think that their clients can afford a service and retail at the same time
They think that the clients will like them better if they don't try to sell them anything
They don't really believe that the products are worth the money being asked for them
They don't really have enough knowledge about the products to make a good recommendation
They don't get rewarded for making additional sales
They don't get enought external motivation on a daily basis to keep selling
They don't have time to recommend retail between services, and the biggy is
They don't want to face REJECTION from their clients.

What can you do about it?
Lots!
There is not just one answer to cover all the reasons why your staff are not selling as much retail as they could. Each of the reasons I have listed above is valid in the eyes of your staff and therefore each one needs to be dealt with and a solution found.
I believe it is important to begin by changing the mindset that your staff have around selling, first and formost. Until this happens, no amount of sales tips and techniques training is going to improve your sales for more than a few days.

Action Plan
Try listing out all the reasons why your staff are not selling as much as they could be, and then begin to think about what you can do to overcome each problem area. Why not ask them to participate in this process so that you can achieve greater buy in from your team
At your next team meeting try asking them to tell you about the great benefits that can be achieved for the client, the salon and most importantly for themselves when a client is equipped with the right products to achieve a fantastic long term result. Lets face it, clients want to look and feel great for longer than a few days after they have been to your salon....don't they?

Zig Ziglar said: People often say, "Zig motivation is great, but it does not last." I just tell them, Bathing does not last either, that is why I recommend it daily.
If you would like to know more about improving your teams sales results, grab a copy of my new book 3 1/2 Secrets to Salon Success

Wishing you prosperity and success in 2011
Pam

Photographer: Idea Go

35 Strategies for a Happier Team

2011-01-14T15:50:00.000+10:00

Every employer knows that when you have your staff on board 100% and sharing your vision, then day to day activities just seem to go a whole lot smoother. Not only do you want your valuable staff to turn up to work everyday but you need them to love to come to work.

Illustration by REnjith Krishnan

Why is that so important?

It’s because when your staff love their job, it’s going to show in lots of different ways. It will most assuredly affect every facet of your business from customer service right through to improved quality of production and services and what that inevitably results in is higher profitability for your business. More satisfied customers generally always results in better business through repurchasing and referrals.
So, what can you do to make your staff feel this way? It’s very simple really but you do have to make the effort initially to introduce some of these truly simple concepts into your workplace. The results will be well worth the effort.
So, when was the last time you really thought about what your staff have to do in their jobs. When did you last put yourself in their shoes and try to understand what their life is really like?
Here are some really simple and exceptionally inexpensive ways for you to let your staff know that they are truly appreciated and part of your special team. Start implementing them today and watch the transformation happen in your team!

Get to know your staff and what excites them
Ask your staff about their aspirations and expectations. Be interested in what matters to them.
Make sure your staff know what is expected of them. Communicate well and often.
Find out what kind of training your staff would like to undertake and make it happen if you can. There is nothing worse than a staff member who is not trained and decides to stay in your employ.
Make sure your staff have all the tools that they need to do a really great job. Poor tools results in poor results.
Ensure that their work is as interesting as possible by providing variety, increased responsibility, involvement in special projects or cross-training.
Never make a promise you cannot or will not keep. You will destroy the trust in your relationship.
Really listen (that means shutting upfor a minute) when they are speaking and ask good questions to show that you heard what they said.
Make team meetings fun and ask your staff to bring along some good ideas. Have team members chair the meetings and provide some team training.
Don’t make team meetings a time to dread for staff. Stay positive and never publicly criticise
Say “yes” as often as possible. Be receptive to new ideas and be enthusiastic
Encourage humour, laughter and an atmosphere of success in the work place.
Ask for their ideas and input across all aspects of salon management. Staff who have ownership of new ideas will embrace them with enthusiasm
Never criticise one staff member in front of another. Always encourage positive comments. This is team building not team destruction.
If staff are underperforming, find out what the real problem is and fix it
Say hello every morning when they arrive at work.
Say thankyou every day before they go home.
When staff bring you a problem, ask them to come up with their own solutions to overcome dependence
Reward staff performance with something that matters to them
Empower your staff to make great decisions. Train them in how to do this.
Send a birthday card to their home and include a handwritten message.
Organise a small birthday celebration amongst their peers and provide a cake!
When they’re angry, let them vent. Ask them what they think could be done to make things right.
Develop a social club or regular get togethers outside of work ( there is always a staff member who will love to set up and run a social club)
Take every opportunity to tell them when they have done a great job. You team will want to live up to the higher standard that they have set.
Let them teach you something. You’ll be surprised at what they know!
Respect them and their time
Be understanding when your staff are having a bad day. After all, we are all human.
Ask your staff for their feedback as often as possible. Make them feel like their thoughts matter
Stay flexible. No one is right all the time.
Ask for their opinion when there is a problem and don’t rubbish what they think
If you are wrong, always say “sorry”
Make yourself available to them at all times
Lead by example. If you want your staff to have integrity they must see it in you 100% of the time
Smile….it’s contagious!

A favourite quote….

“We must become the change we want to see” Mahatma Gandhi
Wishing you prosperity and success in 2011
Pam

Have You Got a Minute?

2011-01-08T15:10:00.000+10:00

Photo by Salvatore Vuono

May I ask you a very quick question?

What can you do in just 1 minute each day that will profoundly affect your business profitability?

Well you won't have the time to do your business plan, design a marketing promotion or even make a cup of coffee. What you can do however, is take one minute to say "thank you, I appreciate your effort" to the people who are driving your business.

You know the people I am talking about. They are the ones that come into the salon every day, greet your clients, provide fantastic services, sell your retail product, clean the salon rooms and floors, take the payments.....amongst many other things!

Yes, I am talking about your team members. These are the people who can make or break your business and without their support and focussed effort, you could find yourself in deep doo doo.

I have yet to meet a single team member from any salon that does not appreciate being thanked for their effort and support. When you take one minute to show your appreciation for the support that they give you, the team member who is receiving your thanks will feel valued and know that you have noticed their efforts. This in turn will result in that person making a greater effort so that the praise continues. After all, who doesn't like to feel appreciated and be thanked by their boss?

Recently, when I shared this thought with a salon owner, she said to me "But Pam, one of my girls is so terrible that I really haven't got any idea what I could thank her for". After a few minutes of brainstorming the best she could come up with was to thank her for turning up each day...and so that is just what she did. The funny thing is, that particular staff member was so surprised to be receiving a thank you instead of being scolded for doing things badly, that it had an even greater impact on her desire to improve.

My point here is, by simply focussing on what is being done well, instead of only focussing on what is being done poorly, we encourage those around us to strive to reach higher personal standards.

So, think about taking a leaf out of this salon owners book, and find something every day to praise each of your team members for and see how this impacts on their productivity in your salon (even if it is simply turning up to work!)

Wishing you prosperity and success in 2011
Pam

Plan for Success in 2011

2011-01-02T18:27:00.000+10:00

You will have definitely heard the saying "Failure to plan is planning to fail" and it's too true. Salon owners, from my experience, are generally wonderful and caring people with loads of talent and optimism but generally they are pretty reluctant to sit down and PLAN for their future business success.

image by jscreations

Before you can start out on your journey to business prosperity, you need to know what route to take to get you there as quickly and efficiently as possible. This means creating a plan for success.

Let me ask you a few questions to help you get your plan started for 2011.

How much profit (after your wages) do you want your salon to make in 2011? Be precise here, is it $25K, $50K or more?
After adding your projected expenses back on to this figure, what turnover does your salon need to achieve.....exact amounts here please?
Ok, now that you know how much your salon needs to take, what does that break down into as a weekly figure.
Great, now you have some idea of what your salon needs to be taking every week to meet your financial goals. The next question is, how are you going to achieve this?
Here are some things that you can ask yourself to get started:

Is it time to have a price increase on services and if so how much should it be considering the cost of providing each service?
Am I ready to retail a more profitable line of product where I can earn more dollars per sale?
Is my roster aligned properly to the amount of work coming into my salon or do I need to measure this more closely to find out?
Are there better, more profitable services I could be offering to my clients?
Is it time to train my staff in better retail and service upselling techniques?
Can I possibly reduce my overheads and do a better deal on most of my expenses?
How can I retain my clients more effectively and therefore save tons of money on expensive and mostly unnecessary marketing campaigns?
Are all of my staff rebooking each and every client before they leave the salon?

Now this list is not comprehensive by a long shot, but it will give you a starting point for your 2011 business plan.

If you would like help to plan your year, please give me a call or send me an email to discuss how you can become more profitable this year.

Wishing you prosperity and success for 2011
Pam

I'm the "ONE"

2010-12-14T18:00:00.000+10:00

I was going through my files today and I came across this very apt short article and I thought I would share it with you.

You know me. I'm the one who never complains no matter what kind of service I get.

I guess I just don't think it's worth wasting my energy confronting bad service.

I'm the one who goes into a restaurant and sits for 30 minutes until I get waited on.

The waiter is rude and impatient while I'm deciding on what to order. Then when I get my order it's 25 minutes later and it's wrong.

But I don't complain as I pay my bill.

I'm the one who goes to a store to buy something, but I never throw my weight around.

If I get a snooty salesperson who rolls his/her eyes because I want to look at several things before I make up my mind, I'm still polite as can be.

I'm the one who bought a toaster which burned out in two weeks.

I hated taking it back, but I knew it was under warranty.

All the time they were telling me it was my fault.

At that point, I couldn't think of anything to do but leave.

It wasn't worth getting into a yelling match over a toaster.

I smiled and said, "Thank you. Goodbye."

I'm the one who wouldn't dream of making a scene in public as I've seen others do at times.

But I'll tell you what else I am

I'm the one who never comes back...

(Writer: Anonymous)

Wishing you prosperity and success
Pam

Are You Paying Too Much For Staff You Don't Need?

2010-12-07T11:14:00.000+10:00

Well, we are very close to the end of 2010. A pretty disasterous year for many with not much happiness on the horizon for 2011. Clients are still holding on tighly to their precious money and it is becoming harder than ever for many salons to increase sales or simply keep pace with previous years' income. So, what can you do about making things better for your business?

The fact of the matter is that if you have exhausted at all the other ways to reduce expenses and increase income, it might be time to look at your roster. No-one likes the idea of putting off loyal team members but the reality is that you have to have enough profit after the cost of providing your treatments to pay the rest of your bills.

Simon Howden

One of the biggest expenses in any service based business is in it's wages, so this is one area that needs to be monitored very closely to ensure that your wage to turnover ratio has not gone through the roof during these difficult times. For instance if your wages to turnover (exc GST) used to be around 35% and has now crept up to over 40%, you need to take action to get this back under control. Reducing rostered hours may be the only way to do this if you cannot increase your income.

Now is the time to prepare for 2011 and for whatever it may bring. Reducing expenses is one area that simply cannot be ignored for most salons. This is a good time to evaluate your roster to ensure you are not paying staff to simply stand around. Tighten up your appointment taking, get rid of those expensive gaps that have crept in between each service and make your employees time more valuable to your salon.

If you need help to get your expenses or roster under control for the new year, give me a call and let me help you improve this area of your business.

Salvatore Vuono

Wishing you prosperity and success in 2011
Pam

Season's Greetings from me and my family to you and yours.

10 Tips to Make You More Money by Keeping the Clients You Already Have

2010-12-01T17:20:00.000+10:00

Did you know that in most salons, client retention after the first visit sits at around a paltry 25%. That means 3 out of 4 new clients never return to that salon. (that's pretty shocking!)

Do you find it appealing to know that you can make more money without spending another red cent on expensive (and often ineffective) advertising? Well if I were in your shoes, I sure would.

Unfortunately lots of expensive adverts simply don't give you a good return on your investment. Do you even know what it cost you to run your last advert and how much additional business it brought into your salon? If you are like most salon owners you probably didn't bother to measure your return on investment and can't answer that question.

The good news is that while times are tough, there are ways to make more money from your existing database and they are just waiting to be tapped into by you. The guaranteed way to make more money is to find ways to do more business with the people who have already done business with you in the past. These are the people who will do business with you again.

So, if you are wanting to tap into this goldmine of profits, then you need to look at a few important things that need to be done in your salon.

Think about these things in your business and how you can either introduce or improve on them to help you become more profitable.
1. Give your clients a reason to keep coming back to you. Introduce a simple loyalty program that rewards the client for returning regularly
2. Teach your team to LISTEN to what the clients are asking for and then deliver it in a way that will WOW them
3. Introduce a consistent approach to all things that affect your clients especially in the treatments that they receive
4. Ensure EVERY client is offered a rebooking for their next appointment before they leave your salon
5. Stay in touch with your clients regularly with a worthwhile newsletter and have special offers that will make it worth their while to keep reading.
6. Say thank you when your clients refer a friend by giving them a small gift and an acknowledgement letter or email
7. Make your salon client friendly and get rid of useless and offensive rules that make the client feel uncomfortable (you know the ones I mean....Turn off your mobile phone or you will be shot and fed to the crocodiles!)
8. Be unique. Stand out from the rest of the salons in your area by offering something that they simply can't get somewhere else.
9. Acknowledge your client's birthday with small gift certificate. We all love to have our birthdays remembered
10. Be the best at everything you do. If you are not the best at something either stop doing it or become the best.

Now while this is by no means an exhaustive list of how you can get more money from your existing data base, you can start implementing these ten simple tips straight away and they won't cost you a cent in expensive marketing campaigns.

Wishing you prosperity and success
Pam

If You're Not Managing Your Business.......WHO IS?

2010-10-24T17:51:00.001+10:00

Feeling Frustrated?

Working with salon owners can be stimulating, exciting and sometimes downright frustrating. Why do I say that? Because these wonderful, hardworking people should be making much greater financial returns from their businesses than they normally are. They are often the hardest workers in their salons, see the most clients, sell the most product and usually work the longest hours but in too many instances are taking home very little (if anything) in the way of financial recompense. It's just plain crazy!

The question I have for you is "does this sound like a familiar story in your salon"? I can almost see you nodding as you read this blog. Yes, you are the hardest worker and yes you often have to forfeit your paycheck so something or someone else can be paid. Are you wondering what went wrong? When did your dream slowly turn into a nightmare that has robbed you of your life and happiness?

You need to know something. This CAN all change. It won't be an overnight process but it is doable. The first thing that you need to think about is how you are going to go about taking back the management of your business. Stepping off the floor and taking the time to think about ALL the aspects of your business that will make and save you money.

Taking a few hours a week to work on your business and not in your business is the first step to gaining back your control. Having time to think about quality cost effective marketing that will actually make you a profit instead of simply overpaying for a quick advert in the local paper or magazine that you didn't have time to properly construct. Looking at your roster to see if you are overstaffed for the amount of work coming through your salon doors. Spending time with your staff to train them in how to upsell and retail to their clients. Time to develop staff incentives to boost performance. The list goes on.

It's time to be happy!

What are you NOT doing in your business that you need to make time for RIGHT NOW. Don't procrastinate any longer. Start planning to make your business the success you deserve to have TODAY!

Wishing you prosperity and success
Pam

Sold!

2010-10-19T18:18:00.001+10:00

Ever since I got back from Canada, my household electrical items have all decided to go on the fritz. I am sure it is a conspiracy. Something concocted between them while I was away as payback for leaving them to the mercy of unknown housesitters.

Well whatever the reason may be, I have had to purchase 2 new kitchen appliances already and dread what the rest of the week may bring. Being the internet prowler that I am, I have been busily researching which appliances I would buy and how I could get them for the best possible price . So this afternoon, armed with all my new found info, I decided to hit the shops......again. I did try it earlier in the week and came home empty handed and very disappointed. You know how it is when you have decided to spend your money and don't. I was frustrated. I had found the perfect applicances but no one seemingly wanted to take my money.

Photo by Arvind Balaraman

I had hit 2 big name electrical appliance stores and in the first store, every microwave that I enquired about was "fantastic", "wonderful" and "incredible". Naturally I was confused because surely they could not all be so amazing. Where were the questions about what I needed, where was the guidance toward the best product for me, where was the customer service I wanted? Obviously on holidays (which is where I was wishing I still was).

The second big retailer, believe it or not, was even worse. I wandered through the aisles and aisles of microwaves looking suitably forlorn and in need of help but alas, not one of the many salespeople even bothered to come my way and offer some assistance. Eventually I tracked down a salesperson who was cleverly hiding behind a big stainless steel refrigerator and asked her about a rangehood I had researched. She pointed to a far corner of the store and said "They're over that way". Sigh!

Finally this afternoon, I hit gold. I had not been in this particular store for more than 20 seconds before a fantastic fellow by the name of Mark (we'll call him that because that was his name), put aside a job he was in the middle of doing and came over to help. Well, needless to say, this story had a happy ending and I left the shop almost $800 poorer but oh so much happier.

When I think back over it now, Mark really didn't do anything extra-ordinary, but what he did do was approach me quickly, ask me some good questions, give me genuine guidance and best of all carried my purchases out to the car for me.

It doesn't take much to stand out above the crowd and make the sale. Friendly, genuine service was all Mark needed to provide to pursuade me to part with my money.

What do you think it will take to make your customers part with their money so readily in your salon?

Wishing you prosperity and success
Pam

Resurrecting "Dead" Clients

2010-10-13T16:02:00.001+10:00

I am having a great day today!

Yesterday afternoon I received a phone call asking me if I would like to take up the offer of a FREE massage from a local business that I had visited several times many months back. Well, I can tell you right now that after traipsing around Canada for 5 weeks I could think of nothing more appealing. As it turned out, I did have to put up my health care card so that they could receive a rebate, but to me, it still felt free.

Apparently while I had been absent this business had sent me a letter inviting me to "Come in and enjoy a very special offer". Inadvertantly I had thrown this very important letter into the round filing cabinet under my desk along with a million and a half other pieces of marketing material I had received while I was off communing with the Alaskan bears.

Well this business was not prepared to let my business just slide on by without a bit more action which is why I received their phone call asking me if I would like to take up their special offer. I was impressed! Not only did they make me an offer that I simply couldn't refuse but when they didn't hear back from me, they followed it up with a phone call. Now as a business coach, I was already admiring their business savvy. They obviously know the benefit of retaining a client.

The funny thing was that they hadn't done anything to lose my business but I had become so caught up in other things going on in my life, I just didn't get back to them.

Anyway, the happy ending was that they had reactivated me as a client and I have rebooked for another full price massage next week. This is a fantastic example of not giving up on a lost client so easily and stands as a shining example to other businesses out there who are struggling to retain or reactivate clients.

Wishing you prosperity and peace of mind
Pam

WOW Customer Service

2010-10-08T17:57:00.001+10:00

I have just returned from 5 FABULOUS weeks touring Canada.

Even the Bears are FRIENDLY in Canada!

My husband and I toured through both the West and East coasts and it was quite an experience. What really stood out for me though as a business coach was the AMAZING customer service I received as a tourist.

Moi with my Favourite "Mountie"

Now as a resident of the Gold Coast here in Australia, I think the standard of customer service we provide to our tourists is pretty abysmal. Squeeze them in, rush them through, overcharge them and then push them out. Yup - that is what has happened to me each time I dined in a tourist zone here in Australia. What I found so totally refreshing over in Canada was the way I was treated as a tourist. I was never squeezed, rushed or pushed. Nothing was too much trouble and everything was delivered with a GENUINE smile. I was even engaged in conversation about my holiday by service providers and they were genuinely interested in my experiences. WOW!

Boy, have we aussies got something to learn from our Canadian cousins when it comes to WOWing our customers. Obviously the Canadians know that as tourists we are not coming back in the near future and it just doesn't affect their warm and welcoming service. Maybe we could take a lesson out of their book and start treating our customers the way they seem to treat their tourists.

Wishing you prosperity and peace of mind
Pam

Getting the Balance Just Right

2010-08-15T11:18:00.000+10:00

This is my cat Evie. As you can see, he (yes there was a slight gender mix up in the early days) knows how to relax without the slightest bit of guilt! We could all learn a lesson from Evie. That is that it is OK to take the "time out" required to take a nap, go for a walk, see a movie or simply spend some quality time with the people who love and support us. These days is seems that we are so busy trying to "make a living" that we sometimes forget to "have a life".
So, take a leaf out of Evie's book and kick back, relax for a while, give the little grey cells a chance to re-energise and live your life. After all, this may be your only one!

Wishing you prosperity and peace of mind
Pam

Ouch - Just Too Pushy

2010-08-13T15:14:00.002+10:00

Photo by Stephano Valle

I have a GREAT chiropractor. He is gentle, professional and best of all he gets results. The other thing that makes him great is that he explains what the "process" is going to deliver at the very beginning of the treatment. All in all, I think he is terrific but today, I seriously considered never going back again. Why? Because today his receptionist damaged the "relationship" I have with his practice. Now, don't get me wrong here, I am all for rebooking clients. As a matter of fact, I spend lots of my time teaching service providers to do just that, but today my chiro's receptionist went "over the line" and entered the very dangerous land of "just too pushy".

So, when does the rebooking process become too pushy and damage the relationship? Well let me relate my experience to you. When I went to pay for my service, the receptionist (I'll call her Mary to protect the guilty) suggested I book again for the following week. I politely explained to her that I was flying out of the country mid week and would most likely be time poor and that if I wanted an appointment, I would ring her to make one. Her reply to me was,"oh, I'll ring you on Monday then". I again repeated that I did not think I would have time to come back before my trip. To this, Mary replied "well we are very busy next week and the Chiro will be going to a seminar on Monday, so you had better book now". Once again, I said, thanks, but I didn't think I would have time. Having had just about enough, I turned to leave and her parting words to me were "We'll expect to see you on Tuesday then".

TOO MUCH!

Rebooking should always be done with honesty and integrity and with a genuine desire to do the best for the client. To me, this whole episode said "greedy" and "it's all about us - not about you".

I still haven't decided if I am going to go back or be like the majority of us Aussies and complain with my feet. What would you have done in my place?

Wishing you prosperity and peace of mind
Pam

Attracting The "Right" Clients

2010-08-06T15:50:00.001+10:00

Are your clients the kind of people who come regularly, spend lots of money and refer all of their friends? If your answer is "yes" then you have my congratulations. You see, not too many business owners can say that this is the case for them. Most often I hear cries of "my clients have deserted me" or "I haven't taken home any money for the last 6 months".
Have you ever wondered why you are not as successful as the salon down the road that seems to be weathering the financial crisis much better than you are? Well perhaps it's because they know how to attract the right clients into their business. For instance, if you are wanting to have "top shelf" clients then you are going to need to become a "top shelf" salon. Take a look around you to see if this description fits your salon. Why not do a "top shelf" audit on all aspects of your salon to see what you can do that would be more attractive to the clients you are wanting to attract? Look at all aspects of your salon, your staff, your services, your marketing and of course yourself and decide where you can make some solid improvements that will take you towards where you really want to be with your business.

Wishing you prosperity and peace of mind
Pam

When the going gets tough

2010-08-01T17:03:00.001+10:00

When the going gets tough....the tough get going! Is it time to “get going” in your business? It is not uncommon for salon owners to sit back for too long when business drops off, just waiting to see what will happen and hoping for the best. This is what I call the “Emu Technique of Business Management” and not what I would consider to be a great survival strategy!

When your business suffers a slump, whether it be from a new competitor opening up in your area, losing a key staff member or a general economic downturn, it’s vital to take the bull by the horns, become more proactive and take responsibility for making the changes needed to turn your salon into the thriving business you want it to become. Because many salon owners are presently working so hard in their businesses, they often do not make the time to evaluate how they can identify problem areas and take strategic actions to improve their situation.

Most problems never go away by themselves. Instead they respond to affirmative action based around sound analysis of your business. Make time over the next week to sit back and look at your business thoroughly. Look for the things that you are doing right and ask yourself how you can maximise them and also look for the things that you are doing wrong and determine ways to change and improve them. By taking this time out and doing this kind of evaluation of your business, you are much more likely to make good decisions that will lead to increased profitably in your salon.

Wishing you prosperity and peace of mind
Pam

Setting Goals Works!

2010-07-28T18:05:00.001+10:00

I had a wonderful coaching session today with a salon that I have recently started working with and I wanted to share with you the power of setting goals for yourself and your team. At our last meeting, the salon owner and I decided to choose a key service that was being neglected buy her staff but which had the potential to add literally a thousand dollars or more to the salon's turnover each month. Before the target was set, this salon was doing a very minimal 5 treatments per month. After discussing with the salon owner what she believed her staff were capable of achieving, a goal of 50 (yes, fifty) of these same treatments was set. I must tell you, I was slightly dubious about the teams ability to move from 5 to 50 treatments in one month but I believe that the salon owner knows her staff's capabilities better than I do. To cut a long story short, I met with the owner today for her monthly session and asked her how her challenge had gone for the past month. Not only did she reach the goal she had set for her salon and team, but she exceeded it by an additional 5 treatments. I was amazed and delighted for her and it proved to me once again, that by setting firm goals and developing a realistic action plan aroung them, you can achieve amazing results. She certainly did!

Wishing you prosperity and peace of mind
Pam

Persistance Pays

2010-07-23T15:25:00.000+10:00

Today, I ran into an old friend I have not seen for several years. Her husband suffered a terrible accident about 4 years ago and came very close to losing his lower leg. In that time, he has suffered countless operations, deep depression, much pain and the loss of his ability to work in the future. The amazing thing is that after all these terrible times in his life, now things are good. He is looking forward to a brighter future. This is what I call persistance and it is what every person in business needs a good dose of to be successful. Hard work, great ideas, and the willingness to take a risk - these things are all important but "sticking with it" and not giving up, is what will see you achieve your dream at the end of the day.

If your business has hit a low spot, take a lesson from my friend's husband and keep pushing forward towards a brighter future. If you give up at the first sign of difficulty in life, you may never reach your goals.

Remember....persistance pays!

Wishing you prosperity and peace of mind.
Pam

Circle of Success Group on LinkedIn

2010-07-23T15:13:00.000+10:00

If you are the owner of a beauty or hair salon and would like to join a group of other salon owners in sharing great ideas and business building tips that have worked for you then you are invited to join the SalonSavy Circle of Success group at LinkedIn. It's FREE, it's INTERACTIVE and best of all it will help you and your business.

Wishing you prosperity and peace of mind
Pam

3 1/2 Secrets to Salon Success

2010-07-22T18:18:00.002+10:00

Finally, after much writing, editing, rewriting and more editing, my new book, 3 1/2 Secrets to Salon Success has been released.

The book enjoyed a very successful "soft" opening at the APAA's Educational Convention held at the Palazzo Versace in June of this year.

3 1/2 Secrets came about as a way of reaching more salon and spa owners to help them to become more profitable in their businesses and to educate them in ways to improve their business performance in 3 key areas.

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of my new book, please simply cut and paste the link into your browser and you can purchase then purchase the book through the paypal system.

http://www.pamstellema.com.au/ProductsYouCanPurchase.php

Wishing you prosperity and peace of mind!
Pam

How is the Ripple Affecting Your Business

2010-05-15T12:13:00.003+10:00

Did you even know about the Ripple? Chances are you haven’t given it much thought, until now. Picture what happens when you throw a stone into a calm pond. Depending on the size of the stone, you will generate a different size ripple. This is the same ripple effect that good and bad customer service has on your business. We all know that our clients tell far more people (6 to 20 times more) about their bad customer service experiences (BIG stones) than their good customer service experiences.
Now, because of such social networking sites as Facebook and Myspace, your unhappy customers can literally tell hundreds of their friends about their bad experience and so the ripple begins. The impact on your business can be devastating and rapid. Can your business afford these negative ripples? At what cost now and into the future?
So how can you control unwanted ripples in your business? Start implementing these tips today:
Tip 1: Train your team to within an inch of their lives on what constitutes “Great Customer Service” in your business. Make it a part of every team meeting and set out clear expectations.
Tip 2: Use every opportunity to praise a team member when you see them delivering outstanding customer service to your customers. Everyone loves positive recognition and will strive to get more if they know how.
Tip 3: Always deal immediately with poor treatment of a customer by a team member. Take the offending team member aside immediately and in private, tell them what you have witnessed, why it is not acceptable to you and what you expect from them in the future. Never ignore a bad customer service event.
Tip 4: Ask customers who have not returned to your business about their customer service experience and prepare yourself to hear some gut wrenching truth. This truth however will help you to generate change.
Tip 5: Always lead by example. Your team will always treat their customers the same way they have been treated by you.
Tip 6: See Tip 1
A favourite quote: If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends.
If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.
JEFF BEZOS

Finding your Profit Gap

2010-05-15T12:09:00.003+10:00

It’s challenging and exciting being a business coach. I have the opportunity to work with a wide variety of businesses and business owners and I have never yet found any two to be remotely similar. This is where the fun part comes in though! Getting to find the profit gap in any business is literally like finding the gold at the end of the rainbow and often it is much easier to find than you would expect.
Helping my clients to find the profit gap in their businesses involves utilizing a series of questions aimed at pinpointing where a business could be making substantially more money but isn’t for one reason or another. It is not unheard of for a small business to find up to $10,000 more in just one month of trading if they know where to look.
To get you thinking about where the profit gaps may be in your business, here are some coaching questions to get started:
When is the last time you price checked your competitors to make sure you have not been left behind in your market?
When is the last time you had a full price increase for the services and products your business offers?
How are you measuring the productivity and return on investment of each member of your staff?
How do you know which services or products in your business are your “heroes” and how are you maximising their impact on your bottom line?
What incentives are you providing to your staff to ensure greater productivity is achieved?
How are you using your current database to market to your best customers – the ones who have already spent money in your business?
When is the last time you looked at the expenses in your business to see where you are paying too much for what you are getting?
And as a final thought, if you are spending more time working in your business rather than on your business, chances are you just have created a job and not built a business!

Come and say hello at the APAA Expo and Convention in June

2010-05-15T10:03:00.000+10:00

The APAA is holding it's annual convention and expo at the Palazzo Versace on June 26 and 27 of this year. I will be delivering a presentation on Sunday 27th from 9 till 10.30 entitled 3 1/2 Secrets to Salon Success. If you are coming along, please come and say hello and tell me about yourself and your business.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Turning Your Ducks Into Swans

2010-05-15T09:58:00.001+10:00

Just who’s running your business?
Most people would like to think that they were at the helm making all the important decisions in their business but in actual fact the people who have a big chunk of control are the ones who are dealing with your customers at the coalface each and every day. Yes – that would be your staff and they can make or break your business by the actions they take and the decisions they make on your behalf.
Most small business owners who have a team tell me it is one of their biggest ongoing challenges. Getting their staff to do what they want seems impossible to them and this leads to masses of stress and frustration. So the question I often have posed to me is “how can I make my staff do what I want them to?” The answer to this is very simple. You can’t make your staff do what you want them to unless they want to do it! And for that to happen your team have to feel that they are appreciated and valued by you and that you share a common goal.
Before your staff will come on board and follow your vision you need to put in some groundwork. You have to take the time to build a great employer employee relationship. You can never forget that your staff are simply human beings with emotions and wants that need to be addressed if they are going to be loyal and hardworking employees.
There is no such thing as the perfect boss as they too are human beings but there are many things that you, as an employer, can do to align the visions of your staff with yours.
5 Sure Fire Ways to Reduce Employee Commitment to your Business
1. Deny them their entitlements. Pay them late and forget about their superannuation contributions. After all, they don’t need to pay rent, mortgages or buy food and if they do that is their problem. They should feel honoured just to work for you.
2. Never give them a lunch break. They don’t need to eat! Eating and resting is highly overrated and not necessary to keep up stamina and enthusiasm.
3. Criticise or reprimand them in front of other people especially staff and customers. Everybody needs to be told when they are doing something wrong and what a better time to do it than when there is an audience.
4. Never provide positive feedback for work well done. Why should you? They get paid to do the job don’t they?
5. Never say good morning, good night or thank you - ever. If you start down this track they might begin to think you care about them as people.
5 Even Better Ways to Build Employee Loyalty and Support
1. Take the time out to get to know what makes your team tick. Spend some quality recreational time with your team and get to know them as individuals. Learn about what is important to them and develop ways to incorporate this into your business strategy.
2. Reward them for performance above and beyond the norm. Employees have a knack for doing just what they have to do to keep a job and the boss off their back. If you want “above and beyond” performance from then you need to find ways to reward it.
3. Share your vision and goals for your business. Everybody needs to know what path they are travelling on in their life. Your employees need to know and understand what your passion is so that they can appreciate why they are expected to do what you want from them.
4. Run regular team meetings. Encourage their input and reward great ideas. Some of the best ideas can be generated by your employees because they are usually the ones interacting with your clients and hearing their needs and concerns.
5. Tell your people when they have done a great job. Never pass up an opportunity to find an employee doing something right. People will nearly always live up to your expectations of them. If you tell them they are great, they will try always to be great whereas if you tell them they are terrible you have just set the benchmark for their future performance.
Managing people is without a doubt one of the hardest parts of business ownership but if you want this valuable asset to be working with you and not against you then you must begin to value them and to recognise that as normal human beings, they too need to feel valued for their work and given the recognition they deserve when they have performed above normal expectations.

Creating Positive Change for 2010.

2009-12-30T18:04:00.000+10:00

With the New Year just around the corner, many small business owners are hoping for a better year both professionally and personally. Generally when things improve on the business front that leads into a less stressful situation on the personal front, so it is very important to make sure that your business is in a position to achieve the best possible outcome that it can for the next year (and thereafter). Many things can be done to improve your business but it will require you to step outside your role of “Doer” and into your role as “Thinker and Planner”. To be able to step into this new role on a regular basis is vital for you to be able to keep developing your business and making changes quickly in response to the changing market. It is of no use to you to keep on doing the same old, same old as this type of thinking will deliver even poorer results to you over the next 12 months than you have experienced over the past 12 months.
Now is the time to sit down and really think about what you can do to improve your business so that you are meeting the needs of your market. You will need to be innovative and in some cases even ruthless but nothing changes or improves until you decide to drive it in that direction. Your future success is very much up to you so it’s time to stop procrastinating about the things that need to be done and to get stuck in and DO IT!

Live life abundantly
Pam

The Evils of Discounting

2009-12-01T15:49:00.000+10:00

Inexperienced marketers often succumb to the habit of discounting their products and services to try to entice new people into their businesses. This is a recipe for disaster in the long run, especially for small businesses who generally cannot source their products or provide their services at a cheaper rate. Often the types of clients who are attracted to your business because of discounts are not "long termers" and will constantly shop around for the next bargain elsewhere. This generally defeats the purpose of discounting which is often used to attract new clients. The other problem with discounting is that it reduces the value of an item or service in the eyes of your existing customers and instead of purchasing on a regular basis, they will often hold out until the next discount is offered. This is very bad for your business and your cash flow.
So next time you are tempted to discount a service or product, try "value adding" instead by teaming up your product or service with a complimentary item that will introduce your client to something they may not have tried before.
If you would like to gather more tips and hints about business building, visit my website at www.pamstellema.com.au.

Live life abundantly
Pam

Start the way you mean to finish.

2009-11-30T16:00:00.000+10:00

These are truly wise words both in life and in business. Giving thought to where you would like your actions to take you is the first step in achieving a successful outcome. If, for instance, you want your business to attract a certain type of clientele, then you need to decide right from the start who that clientele will be and aim your business in their direction. It is no good setting up a business that offers discount goods and services if you are trying to attract a wealthy clientele. The same goes for location of your business. And what about your decor, ambience and all of the other things that create your specific "brand". How should you choose your staff? Should they look professional, well groomed, speak well and be knowledgable about the industry you are in? Do you think these things are important to your target market? I do. So, my thought for today is always keep in mind where you want to "finish" and make sure you start on the right track to get there. It is simply too late (and expensive) to change direction once your business is firmly established.
If you would like to know more about coaching for your business, visit me at my website, www.pamstellema.com.au
Live life abundantly
Pam

Hi and welcome.

2009-11-29T18:58:00.000+10:00

Hi and welcome to my blog. My goal is to help you to maximise the return from your business while minimising the stress levels all small business owners experience. I have owned both large and small businesses and I truly believe that small businesses can actually be alot more stressful for their owners as they generally need to perform a myriad of business tasks and often with very little expertise in business behind them. I would like to invite you to read some of the great business building articles that I have already authored and many of which have been published in national magazines. This is the link if you would like to take advantage of this resource. http://www.pamstellema.com.au/articles.php
Please enjoy and live life abundantly.
Pam