I’m going to assume that November and December your two busiest months. Your books are maxed out, you can’t take on any more guests, and people are on the waitlist. Everybody who forgot to pre-book for the holidays is begging to get in.
Do you know that some stylists make 30% of their income in the last 60 days of the year? Because nobody wants to go to Thanksgiving with grey roots, so there’s a mad rush to get everybody in.
So, most people think the holiday season must be profitable because the volume is high, right?
Wrong.
You should actually be working less and making more during the holidays, not killing yourself in November and December, so every guest gets their roots touched up.
The holidays are a beautiful time for all of us, and, as service providers, we shouldn’t be working 12 – 14 hour days, so everybody else can enjoy their season.
There are a lot of ways to maximize this season while taking a lot of time to enjoy your own family. Let’s take a look at what we can do in our business in the last 60 days of the year to maximize this incredible opportunity right at our fingertips.
Know there is always money left on the table
To think if volume is high, money will be high is a simplified way of looking at the season. Instead of focusing on butts in chair, think about how to maximize that high volume to increase income potential even more. Yes, you need to crank out lots of guests to make more money, but how can you maximize each guest to increase your bottom line and still improve their experience?
By knowing there is always money left on the table. Sometimes it’s because our retail sales pitch sucks, you’re trying to sell retail instead of educating about it, or we forget to seed within each appointment. Maybe your consultation is poor, your guest service experience is lacking, or your marketing funnel is weak. But there’s always a way to improve and better capitalize on the opportunities.
For example, during the holidays, optimize each guest’s appointment with specialty, holiday-only services, like a PSL conditioning treatment. It can be incredibly simple: maybe the conditioner you use has nothing to do with pumpkin, but you diffuse cloves, nutmeg, and pumpkin spice in the background. You can add in some of the seasonal body lotions and head scrubs for an upgraded service price.
Phrase it like this:
“I know you’re in just for your cut and color today. We’re doing something fun for the whole fall season: our pumpkin spice latte treatment. It’s very hydrating because pumpkin is soothing for the scalp and moisturizing for the hair, especially during the fall season. It’s only $10. Do you want to do that today?”
Every guest will say yes, because it’s fun. We like to get caught up in the season and take advantage of special things.
Make it something they cannot say no to. You don’t have to discount this product or make it a steal, just something special. And, if you made an extra 10 bucks on each of the five guests you saw today, you’d make an additional $250 this week.
Offer specialty retail bundles
Capitalize on your high volume by offering specialty retail bundles, like featuring a winter hydration pack on your station. At every visit, bring up the dangers of winter hair hydration, especially if you live in harsh climates with extremely cold winters.
Or can you put together a perfectly customized retail promotion or treatment package to take care of needs during this busy season?
Nothing is discounted; it’s just taking advantage of the high volume opportunity.
It’s not taking advantage of your guests; people like to spend money during the holiday season. You are not your client’s accountant, and you don’t get to decide what makes them happy. Get your head out of the lack of mindset and offer these opportunities to allow guests to treat themselves. This is the season of giving. Allow them to treat themselves instead.
Up-level with lessons
Another really fun opportunity is offering blow-dry styling lessons. Don’t promise this if you don’t have the time, but if you do, it’s a great way to up-level the guest experience and maximize the high volume opportunity.
Phrase it like this:
“I’m actually offering blow-dry styling lessons for this holiday season. I’m certain you have holiday parties to go to, and it can be hard to replicate the in-salon blow dry when you’re at home. I have an extra 15 minutes at the end of your appointment, so if you’d like, for $15, I’ll incorporate a blow-dry styling lesson into your style today. That way, when you go home, you can curl/flat iron/get volume in your hair the way I do. Would you like to add that today?”
Think about the opportunities you can provide to the guest while maximizing the experience.
Ask for reviews
Consumers today trust an online review source as much as a referral from a personal friend.
Think about it. When you want to go to a new restaurant in town, what do you do? Google and Yelp reviews. You want to see if the community chatter shows the restaurant is amazing.
People want to see that chatter for you, too. You need to have online reviews that don’t live on your online booking site or Groupon profile because no one will find them there. Those reviews need to live on Facebook, Yelp, or Google My Business to count.
Take advantage of high volume and ask guests for reviews. If you’re worried you’ll make your guests uncomfortable, think about it this way: If you saw a makeup artist who did an amazing job and you had a good time, would you be offended if she asked you to leave her a review at the end? No way. We’re impressed, right?
It’s your guest’s choice if they want to take action or not, but you need to plant the seed. If you want someone to take action, you have to ask for reviews, especially during this peak season.
Go old-school
We’re currently living in the digital era, but, as a society, we’re getting a little burnt out. We’re ready to come back to human connection.
That’s why there’s a huge push to old-school marketing right now, especially handwritten cards.
When you go through your mail every week, you look through the magazines, go through the junk mail, and toss most of it in the recycling. But when you pull out a colorful envelope with an actual stamp and your address handwritten on it, it’s a little present in the mail.
We’re so used to seeing those flimsy newspaper flyers and bills that when somebody sends you a turquoise envelope with your name handwritten on it and a stamp in the corner, it is the first thing you open because you are excited about it.
That’s the experience you need to create for your guests. Not a generic postcard, not something preprinted, but a handwritten card.
If you think it would take too long to hand write cards, think again. It would take you too long to rebuild a clientele if you didn’t do these things to retain your business.