One of my marketing friends, Pat Rigsby, is in the fitness industry and his recent post was so awesome, I just had to share (slightly adapted) because he makes a great point…
“I don’t have time.”
I hear that from owners all too often.
Salon Spa owners don’t have time to work on their business, they don’t have time to market it, they don’t have time to grow it.
Guess what… we’re all busy. So we need to make that time to be successful BUT it doesn’t take hours and hours as many of us think.
As a matter of fact , here are 19 things that will take 5 minutes or less that will help you network, generate referrals, become more organized and build a more profitable salon and spa business:
1. Ask For a Referral – After a client visit, ask for a referral. During a conversation with a friend or a client, ask for a referral. While networking, ask for a referral. The bets marketing strategy there is – asking for referrals – it literally takes seconds to do.
2. Send a Personal Email to a Client – A simple ‘How are things going? Is there anything I can do to help you achieve your goals even more quickly?’ goes a long way.
3. Document One Business Process – Do you want to finally develop systems for your business? Here’s the easy way to start: As soon as you complete a task – write down the exact steps to took to accomplish that task. It will take less than 5 minutes and within a couple of weeks you’ll have simple processes for most every task in your business.
4. Make A Call To A Prospect or Client – There are 2 things that can really make you stand apart from your competition… the quality of your service and your personal attention. A quick call or card to check up on them is a great example of how you can set yourself apart from the rest.
5. Offer Retail – This is probably the easiest way to increase your revenue, immediately after making an initial sale. This is when people are most likely to buy, since their credit card is already in hand. Offer a complimentary product (or program at a discount). At least 20% of the clients will take you up on it and it takes only seconds.
6. Send A Card – In a world that has gone all electronic a personal card to a client or friend goes a long way.
7. Ask them to Reschedule– Don’t wait for people to try to remember to come back to you… you should rebook them immediately and ideally move everyone into 12 month memberships.
8. Send A Gift – A simple way to say thanks for a referral, for being a client or just because – and it will set you apart from 99% of the other businesses your clients interact with.
9. Map Out Your Day – Before you go to bed, map out your tomorrow. This 5 minute exercise will easily double your productivity and only takes a pen and paper to do so.
10. Hand Out A Gift Certificate– To clients to give to their friends. To people you meet when you’re out and about. At networking events. Any time you can spread the word about your business. We practice this activity constantly and it’s our main holiday promotion.
11. Make a Facebook Post – Congratulate a client on referring you. Post a photo of the someone’s visit or group party, tagging all the clients in the picture. Post a link to your free info or report online. Keep your business front and center in people’s minds.
12. Make a Craigslist Post – It’s free, quick and pretty simple – why not?
13. Practice Your Consultation or Presentations – If you want to make more you need to get better at converting a higher percentage of prospects. Practicing your consultation, facility tour, gift certificate presentation – preferably with someone else – will take you just a few minutes and dramatically improve your results.
14. Talk With A Client – The 2 minutes it takes to make a personal connection will bond you to your clients like nothing else.
15. Study – Study something on our site if you’re a member. Read a forum, blog post or a few pages in a book. Commit to getting better every day. Personally, I try to read a chapter of a book if I get 5 minutes free between scheduled phone calls and it helps me get through over 75 books a year.
16. Drop In On A Business – Take an extra 5 minutes if you’re out and about to drop in on a business to say hi and introduce yourself. Ask how you can help them. Build a relationship and hand out some gift cards.
17. Make A Call To A Local Business or Organization – A phone call (or stopping in) to set up a referral, free gift or healtcare program takes just a few minutes and can yield big results.
18. Get Motivated – Read, listen or watch something motivational (your favorite song!). It will make everything else you do a little bit better.
19. Fix a Detail – Train your staff. Pick up something. Organize your office. You can always be doing something…
There are a lot of business growth activities that take an hour or more. A bunch of others that take a half an hour or so. But don’t ever let a lack of time stop you from reaching your goals. There is always something you can do.
One more thing – we’re putting together the industry’s first and best business retreat, hit “reply” and let me know what you’d like to see in it.
“Who Loves Ya?”
-Christopher
SalonSpaOwner.com
P.S. Comment below because I’d love to hear your thoughts
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
All good points, Chris! Don’t forget that owners can outsource some of their marketing, like newsletter marketing, both print and email. This eases their load and still provides customized marketing for their salon or spa.
I also use a few minutes each day to make notes about my clients after their visits. Helps me to remember things that are important to them, whether its their skin concerns or personal things. So the next time I see them I ask how their vacation was, or if their feeling better, etc. If you have a staff, train them to take a minute to do this and it does pay off.
Thanks for sharing the wonderful ideas.
Just shows how important good time management is – useful post – thank you. In 5 minutes you could also send a tweet promoting your salon or letting people know your salon news. not everyone who is on Facebook is on twittter and vice versa so it helps spread the word.