Marketing Plan For Beauty Therapists:”…55 new clients and just over $12,000 income that I otherwise would not have received upfront…”

Inner Circle member Amy Mitchell with baby Macy – a sudden rush of new clients thanks to ‘niche’ marketing

Old marketing saying: “There are riches in niches.”

Too many business owners try to be all things to all people, and end up in the to-be-avoided ‘middle ground’, effectively becoming nothing to nobody. What you really want to do is focus on a small target market that’s an inch wide and a mile deep, like Inner Circle member Amy Mitchell (1 year member).

Amy owns a business focusing on massage. Read on to see how business took off when she took my advice and focused on a small, well-defined niche market; mothers-to-be.

Inner Circle member Amy Mitchell ‘gets’ it – and is reaping the benefits.

“I’m just really excited and wanted to share some positive feedback with you in regards to the system. When I signed up I definitely was umming and ahhhhing about the system because I was only doing just straight massage. I have been a member for about 8 or 9 months now and have tried to do what I can to use the system to value add where I can and it has brought some success- nothing sensational- UNTIL NOW!

When I FIRST spoke to you, you suggested going hard in the pregnancy market. So I did.

I’ve opened my doors two weeks ago with Australia’s first pregnancy day spa. I’m nearly falling over because I popped a crappy A-Frame sign out the front with a  cheap laminated sign I can use a white board marker on to change daily which cost me a total of $80- popped on a teaser variation of the Hollywood Woman Package and I have just sold  $1000 of vouchers in last few hours alone. That’s 10 new clients within a matter of hours….. HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!!!

I also tried the Buy 1 Get 1 Free Gift Voucher Offer which produced a minimum of 55 new clients and just over $12,000 income that I otherwise would not have received upfront. Definitely helpful in beginning stages of business.

I am so happy now because I can fully utilise the system now and value add the hell out of everything.

I’ve got another coaching call with Annette which is great because honestly my marketing effort prior to open day was piss poor (due to seriously tight time restraints) but I’m hoping I can with Annette’s help create a huge buzz for an Open Day or something similar.

Anyway- thank you for what I’ve had in the last 9 months which has been good… but now THANK YOU for what I can use now which is nothing short of GREAT!!!!

Amy Mitchell, Panache Massage

PS: Just thought I’d let you know- another 24 hour period in which I spent two hours doing a couple of marketing activities and another $6500 to the bank account. I haven’t even scratched the surface yet, and it’s paying big time… so excited I can’t sleep.

Check out Amy’s website here: http://www.pregnancydayspa.com.au/

 

NZ Salon Business Plan Template Superstars Nikki Smith & Phil Newman of NV Hair in Wanaka PROVE how even in a small town, there is big money to be made!

NZ Salon Business Plan Template Superstars Nikki Smith & Phil Newman of NV Hair in Wanaka PROVE how even in a small town, there is big money to be made!

 

If I ever needed to provide evidence that the Inner Circle system works, regardless of the size of your town or the area your salon is in then Nikki Smith and Phil Newman of NV Hair in Wanaka, New Zealand are living and breathing proof!

Nikki Smith and Phil Newman of NV Hair, Wanaka, NZ

Nikki and Phil joined the program in July this year and have seen their takings sky rocket since then.  For those of you unfamiliar with Wanaka, it’s in a fairly remote location in the South Island and has a population of around 7,000 (which grows a bit depending on the season).

Nikki and Phil actually took over an existing premises in Wanaka and it’s fair to say that prior to them taking over, the business was on a downward slide, with few customers and the clients that did come in, simply paid whatever they wanted to pay.  It’s VERY hard to run a business like that!

But Nikki and Phil are a ‘no-nonsense’ team and knew what they had to do to turn things around…FAST.  As soon as they joined the Inner Circle program and got their very own copy of the Essential Salon Owner’s Marketing Toolkit® they took massive action.

“Hi Chris

We did the Hollywood promotion last month and here are our results…

We printed 2000 mailbox flyers at a cost of $110, and purchased 2000 envelopes at a cost of $230 (and we’ve now found them even cheaper).

We also ran 2 adverts in the local newspaper for $188 (we now do trade on service with advertiser so costs less, sometimes nothing depending on advert and time scale)

Our total number of bookings was 34 and out of the 34 only 3 paid the minimum $99.  The average client spend was $130 (this was from up-grades and product sales).

The script for selling product and the method in the ‘Selling Like Crazy’ manual works a dream. I now have only 4 bottles of treatment on my shelf and my supplier loves me…..lol.

Thanks Chris this is definitely proof that the system works anywhere. The salon was on its knees when I took over and now, well I’m that busy I now need staff….lol.”

So let’s break these results down a bit more…

All up for the printing, envelopes and newspaper ads the cost was $528 (*You can get plain envelopes from the Warehouse Stationary for around $20 for 500…so this would have saved Nikki even more money).

3 packages were sold at $99 = $297

31 packages were sold with an average spend of $130 = $4030

So that’s a total income generated of $4327 for a cost of $528.  A return of investment of $8 for every $1 spent…WOW!

If each of these clients were to spend on average $130 with Nikki and Phil every month for the next year, they would be worth over $1500 to the salon each.  So potentially they have just increased the salons turnover over the next 12 months by $51,000….and that’s just from one promotion!

It’s pretty amazing considering that the salon was turning over a mere $2K a month before they took over.

Well done Nikki and Phil, keep up the good work!

Check out where Nikki and Phil’s salon is located…!
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Salon Service Menu Template: Here’s the difference between most salon owners – and this guy…

When you’re standing around at a barbecue and somebody asks ‘what do you do?’, what do you instantly say?

Most salon owners will automatically reply

‘oh, I’m a hair stylist,’ or ‘I’m a beauty therapist/cosmetologist/nail technician’, blah blah blah.

And if that’s how you think, then that’s about the highest level you’ll ever reach. A mere technician.

Inner Circle member Sean Hayes (two years membership) is one who thinks the opposite. In a previous life, Sean was a carpenter – and no doubt that’s exactly how he responded when he got asked ‘the barbecue question’.

Not any more. Twelve months ago, Sean quit his carpentry job and threw himself into the real job of a business owner – as marketer of his wife Yvette’s Access to Beauty salon in Coogee, New South Wales.

Sean emailed me today, and you can tell from the words on the page he’s grinning from ear to ear:

Hi Greg,
Sean here from Access to Beauty, you may remember me writing to you a while ago after jacking in my job as a carpenter and becoming a full time marketer of Access to Beauty?

Well a full year has passed since that life changing event and I have just being looking over the numbers and they’re pretty fecking good!!

For the year May 2008  till April 2009 the salon did $ 301,951

Then for this last year (that Yvette went back into the salon and I concentrated on the marketing) May 2009  till Apr 2010 the salon did $425,560.

To say we were shocked is a understatement!
So you don’t have to work it out it’s $123,609 or about 41% improvement.

But the best gain has been the month of May 2010; May 2008 was $23,471, May 2009 was $34,177 and May 2010 was $46,037.

So it took us a little bit longer to double (nearly) our income for the month ( as you say you expect us to do) but for the fact it has rained almost all of May we would have got there.
So I just wanted to share with you guys our good news and again a big rap for you and all your team.

The  saying “when the pupil is ready the teacher will appear “ sounds appropriate. Bring on the next 12 months! Keep up the good work.
Sean

PS  Yvette and I have just come back from Beautyworld Expo in Dubai and they could do with some of your type of marketing over there!

 

Free Hair Salon Business Plan Template: NZ Salon Superstar, Terra Evans – The Membership Campaign that created a Storm!

Free Hair Salon Business Plan Template: NZ Salon Superstar, Terra Evans – The Membership Campaign that created a Storm!

 

If I said to you that every dollar you spent on marketing would give you $2 back, you would probably be very happy.  Well Inner Circle member Terra Evans of Skin Deep Face and Body in the little seaside town of Browns Bay on Auckland’s North Shore recently launched her Mini Memberships program and made an astounding return for every $1 she spent on marketing these memberships….WOW!

But before I let Terra explain to you how she did it, I want to tell you some of the benefits of having memberships in your salon….

Memberships are a great way to get a huge chunk of cash up front from your clients or regular cash flow depending on the membership type.  If cash flow is a bit tight and you have a GST bill coming up then memberships give you that much need boost.  Or perhaps you want to go on a holiday or buy a new car then memberships give you more financial freedom so you don’t have to go grovelling to the bank for a loan!

Memberships are also a great way to guarantee your clients stay loyal to your salon for a long time and if a staff member leaves and starts working at a salon down the road it also stops clients going with that person.

You will often find that people on memberships will try out other services that they have never had before which opens up more opportunities to sell lots of product.  Remember these people have paid their money upfront, so they are going to feel like they have got money to burn when they come in for their treatments….so SELL, SELL, SELL like crazy!

But enough from me, here is what Terra has to say about memberships and being a part of the Inner Circle Program…..

Terra Evans, Owner of Skin Deep Face & Body, Auckland

“I have been a member of the Inner Circle program for 2 months now. I decided to join because even though my salon is already doing well I knew it wasn’t working it to its full potential. So when I saw the ad for a free DVD on how to make more $ and do fab marketing it intrigued me and I phoned Chris to find out more.  The first thing I felt when I spoke to Chris was that I wasn’t being sold to, I was just being told the facts and I could also see how genuine and enthusiastic Chris was about the whole thing. I asked Chris to give me some people to ring who are already members which he did and everyone gave rave reviews so I asked him if he could ring me in 2 months, when I felt I would be ready and I would give it a go, I really didn’t have anything to lose as there is the free trial period and I told Chris that if it didn’t work for me within that time I wouldn’t continue, but he was very confident that that would not be the case and that I would love it, and he was right!

I have implemented lots of new ideas but also things like new client letters which I knew I needed to do before I joined but didn’t know where to start. Well not anymore, with all the templates and ideas that are in the manuals I finally feel like I am taking control of my business! So far I have done New client letters 1,2 and 3, birthday letters, raise the dead letters, Queen of referrals, Valentines day specials, newsletters (mail and email), changed my messages, implemented the Happy form and testimonial form, cross over promotions, top client rewards, about to send out a school holiday special, ordered a new A frame for the sidewalk, increased my prices and am now using the Staff finder service to look for a new therapist so we have more spaces to fill so I can do some more marketing.

The Best success I have had so far is with the Mini Memberships. I did like the Manual said (why try and fight it) and offered $350 worth of treatments for $200 I had 20 up for grabs and they had a 6 month expiry. .I sent out 672 texts @ 22 cents each = $147.84 and 252 emails @ 5 cents = $12.60 total cost $160.44 all to my existing clients. The response from the texts was amazing within 24 hours of sending the message we had sold all 20 and had many more on a waiting list for next time.  So all up it cost me $160.44 to market and I had a Membershiop campaign that created a STORM! Oh what a feeling!

What was interesting about the whole thing is that it actually has encouraged the mini members to try different treatments that they have been thinking about trying, already I have 2 clients starting a course of IPL (which of course will end up costing them more than $350) another client is going to use hers towards microdermabrasion course (again more than $350) and 3 of the members have only visited us a few times so after they have used up there credit I am sure they will be addicted! The rest of the members I am going to test and measure at the end of the 6 months and see how many different treatments they have tried and how much extra retail they have purchased.

So if you are nervous about trying mini memberships don’t be they work!! You can always try selling 10 and then when you see how well it works give it another go. Oh and by the way the clients love it and love you for it. It creates such a buzz and good energy which I feel is so important for true success.

Thanks so much Chris, I look forward to our next meeting and getting started on more great ideas!”

As you can see from what Terra has written she is a HUGELY motivated person that takes massive action.  The memberships are just one of many strategies, systems and promotions that she has implemented since joining the Inner Circle program in January.  Great results Terra, well done and I am so happy for you!

 

Salon Web Template: From Struggle Street to Stardom – Lisa’s Story

Inner Circle member Lisa Zwart of Honey Body in Manly, Sydney.

Inner Circle member Lisa Zwart of Honey Body in Manly, Sydney.

Salon Web Template: From Struggle Street to Stardom – Lisa’s Story

 

South African-born Lisa Zwart was like most salon owners; struggling to keep the business afloat while she was drowning in the pressure of work. Lisa bought her Honey Body Salon in the northern Sydney beachside suburb of Manly 15 months ago. But it wasn’t until she attended a Worldwide Salon Marketing seminar in September 2009 that the ‘lights went on’ – and her life took a dramatic turn for the better.

Two months later, she was standing in front of 700 guests to receive the local Manly Business Achievers award!

“This is my first business I’ve been running by myself and I bought it and obviously it was a growing concern. It wasn’t doing really well, which is why I had to go get clients, and I’ve just literally had to build it up. I felt like I was building it up from scratch and I think we’ve just done really well. I’ve put in a lot of time and a lot of effort and now I’m putting in a lot more smart time…So, yeah, this is my success story.

Lisa and her team, picking up their freshly-minted Business Award

Lisa and her team, picking up their freshly-minted Business Award

I never used to give myself time to market the salon business,  until I went to my Worldwide Salon Marketing seminar. On my first coaching call, my coach told me just to shut the door. You get told to shut the door and literally sit down and do your budgeting and marketing plans. Because I really wasn’t making any time before that. So, now I’m more conscious of the time, forced now to leave my business to have good marketing strategies in place.

I’ve taken a lot of the guidelines that have kind of been given to us, like the ad guidelines, how to set about doing an ad, and what not to do in an ad, and what to do in an ad, and how to make things eye-catching. Obviously, taking tips from other people. If something didn’t work for them, I can say, “Okay, well it didn’t work for them”. They’re about the same as me. I’m not going to try anything like that. I’ll try something which has worked for them, or I like to see what everyone else is kind of doing and pick up ideas. Not necessarily copying them, but definitely taking ideas off what they’ve done and trying to use the guidelines that have been shown to us.
Also, I’ve been reading a lot about the hiring staff  and I’ve taken that onboard. Because that was one of my biggest issues before I just wasn’t getting quality staff. Now I’m at a really good point where I’ve got great staff and I think it’s thanks to looking at those guidelines. Also, retailing and all of the tips and guidelines. There’s just so much information in that kit. I can pick it up today and I will read something that I didn’t read two months ago.

Lisa’s hard work has obviously been working.

“I took my whole family on safari to South Africa in December!”