Being ‘too’ busy is a fantastic situation to be in, there’s no doubt about it. But if you have all the work and no time, how do you plan on fitting in more clients and making more money?
If you’re already on top of retail sales then we would recommend taking a look at the services you offer and streamlining these or consider specialising in an area to maximise profits. What exactly does this mean?
Consider Your Offerings
First of all, start by looking at your least profitable treatment – how much time, effort and resources are spent on this treatment? Then, look at your most profitable treatment. Can you do more of these? Could you potentially add on similar treatments or more advanced treatments that might appeal to the clients who are already booking these?
Some careful consideration is required here, but you need to weigh up your time and what it’s worth. If you don’t want to get rid of your less profitable treatments completely, consider maybe limiting their availability or the days and times they are available so that they are only being done on quieter days or with quieter therapists (assuming you are not working alone). Keep your premium slots for your money-making treatments and slowly filter out the less profitable ones. Another trick is to offer combined treatments; treatments that can be done at the same time to save you time but increase profits.
Streamline Booking Options
Can your clients currently book your services online? Or do they have to phone directly? If they’re calling directly, this is eating into you and your team’s precious time. Look into setting up an online booking option which takes the pressure off having to keep an ear out for the phone constantly.
When Did You Last Increase Prices?
Yes, it can be intimidating raising your prices, but raising them even slightly can result in considerable salon profit for your business – and it doesn’t need to be a dramatic hike. The best way is to raise them slightly each year, avoiding one large price hike when you realise you need to up your prices. If you’re worried about upsetting loyal clients with price increases, be prepared to explain the reason. A simple explanation about rising costs and your commitment to improving your salon should be enough to convince any client – current or potential – that the minimal change in price is worth it.
Improve Efficiency and Reduce Overhead Costs
An essential part of managing a salon is keeping track of your expenses and monthly overheads. If you don’t know exactly, you should at least have a ballpark estimate at the top of your head, and this should directly influence the prices you’re setting for your services.
Lowering your costs while keeping client satisfaction high is entirely feasible. But you must be creative about where you can reduce your expenses such as shopping around for the same supplies at a lower cost, unplugging high-energy consuming equipment when not in use, shopping around for better rates on credit card merchant-processing fees, for example.
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