What is the key to salon success?
According to Eufora business trainer Katie Huser, the key to success is consistency and systemization! Remember, systems are simply a set of principles or procedures according to which something is repeatedly done; an organized framework or method. So, find a salon that has experienced what seems like hyper-growth, and you will often discover that their success did not happen overnight, but instead, was a direct result of creating a solid system that the entire team could understand and easily follow, then sticking with it.
Huser challenges struggling salon owners to ask themselves this question: “What’s the method (system) to the madness at your salon, and do you ensure that your entire team is practicing these methods every day with every guest?”
For those owners who cannot answer “yes,” Huser recommends reinventing the salon system using the four “C”s.
Katie Huser
1. Clarify: Identify the task you are looking to improve. Is it inconsistent retail sales or cleaning and sanitation at the end of a shift? Maybe low rebooking numbers? No matter how big or small the task, clarifying the issue will help explain in detail what needs to be done to achieve success. Clarification includes two parts.
a. What is the desired result?
b. How can this result be achieved in a few simple steps?
*Pick one topic at a time for best focus—remember, baby steps are still steps!
2. Communicate: Once you have clarified the details of your new step by step for achieving a goal, you must communicate. Schedule a meeting, and begin a two-way conversation with your team about your vision for the system. Involving your team in the refinement of this new system will help uncover any challenges and create a stronger team commitment to the overall goal.
3. Coach: Once you have communicated the new system, physically walk through the steps with your team. Taking time out of the schedule to bring the team back together to coach or train on each step of the new system is crucial to success. Provide scripts to practice closing a retail sale and confirm a rebooking as part of every guest conversation. Provide a copy of a detailed salon cleaning checklist and execute it together with your team. Be understanding of their struggles. Validate the time it will take to develop a new habit, and reassure your team that you will be with them every step of the way until the salon systems become second nature.
4. Commit: We all know that commitment is essential to success, but be careful not to confuse agreement with commitment. Impress upon your team the rewards that can come from full team commitment, but also acknowledge the struggles that may lie ahead if the salon systems aren’t embraced by the entire team.
Ultimately, creating any new system for success takes time, but remember that it doesn’t necessarily mean reinventing the wheel. Sometimes all that’s needed is focus, a little polish and a commitment to consistency to make a system successful. Small system adjustments and implementations can create significant changes. Take it one step at a time, and don’t give up or give in until you get where you want to go!
