Do you know your numbers?

What percentage of your clients are new?

What percentage of services are chemicals?

What is the salons' average ticket?

Your average ticket?

Average service ticket compared to retail ticket?

Better yet, what does it mean???

Whether you are a salon owner, independent contractor or technician in a business you should know what your numbers are and how they affect your business. Whether you are writing down numbers on a tracking form or pulling reports off the computer you need to know what that information means for your business. As a coach at Maly's it is my passion to help salon professionals understand what numbers mean and how tracking specific measurements will increase revenue, productivity and client retention.
The first number you should be aware of is client count. We need to be consistently recruiting new clients. Every year you lose 15% of your business whether you like it or not. Clients move away, get bored with us, upset, and there are those we hope to lose. Let's say we have built a great clientele and are booked to capacity. No need to recruit new clients right? Wrong! If you sit back after the first year those 100 clients you had is now 85. The second year they are down to 70 and so on. And we can't figure out why business is slow or why some technicians never quite build their clients to capacity. In addition we need to know if our clients are advertising for us. What type of incentive program do you have in place for your clients to refer new clients? Is it working? How do you know if you don't track it? Clients who have been coming to you for years are not as excited as someone who just came to you and loves their new cut and color. This is the client who is going to tell everyone how wonderful you are and that they must go to this salon to see you. Every year 2/3 of businesses have to close their door and the number one reason is marketing. Whether you are a salon owner, independent contractor or commissioned employee you must be marketing yourself to stay in the game.

The second number you need to be aware of is service count. What services are our clients having and is it making me money? The tracking forms that our coaching clients use break down the services for the day so each technician can see exactly what services have been performed. Some days it feels like you have done a lot of color. That is not always the case. Chemical work should account for 30% of your business. If not you are doing all haircuts and small services and you are working too hard. Your clients should be chemically dependent on you and having multiple services.

The third number is average ticket. How much money are your clients spending? To get your services per client take the total service dollars divided by the total clients for the day. This will give you on average what each client is spending with you. If your service average is $23 and your haircut price is $25 then you have got a problem. Top stylists in our industry have their clients spending 3 times their haircut price. What are your clients spending? The other average you need to determine is retail. If your average retail per client is less than $12, your clients are walking out with less than 1 bottle. The average person has 11 bottles of products in their bathroom. Where are they getting them? They are not purchasing them from you. In addition, in a Modern Salon study they found if a client purchases 1 product there is a 30% chance they will return to you, if they purchase 2 products there is a 60% chance and if they purchase 3 products there is a 90% chance. Making sure your clients are purchasing their haircare products from you ensures they will keep coming to you. This ensures your future.

Looking at your numbers for the first time can be a little scary and overwhelming. Maly's coaches are here to show you the difference it can make in your business. If you have any business challenge or would like to take your business to the next level, the Maly's Business Coaching Program can help