I love this time of year, the winter is over, and we can look forward to some brighter days, and warmth. But it’s also the last quarter of the year, the time when you really need to be thinking about what you have achieved and what you still have to do before the panic of Christmas sets in.
I was fortunate enough to be at the APAN conference in Sydney last Monday, where I was privy to some amazing speakers and information sharing that is so relevant and important to know if you are serious about salon success and being a part of the incredible growth the industry is experiencing.
As Tina Viney, CEO of APAN described, aesthetics is no longer a trade, it’s a profession.
To enjoy salon success, Salons need to embrace a more integrative model of practice, where therapists and clinicians need to dig deeper to find out what else might be affecting a persons skin condition. The practical skills are not enough. Therapists can no longer be the follower who turns up to do her job and goes home. Clients are looking for answers and in a lot of cases you will be the ones whom they turn to, not just for the therapeutic and stress free experience you can provide them, but for advice on a whole matter of things related to their health and safety.
Another really important piece of information that was shared last week was on the topic of your demographic. Did you know that during 2013, there was a 20% growth in the number of people wanting to look younger? If you stop and think about who these people might be, they are the flat agers, the baby boomers. This age group is so concerned with their health.
They are not seniors, they are Internet savvy, committed to working as long as possible, and love the concept of exclusivity. Every 8 seconds of every day, a person turns 50, and every second of every day, a baby boomer turns 60. This trend will continue for the next 19 years, so don’t you think it’s a good idea to learn a little about them and how to communicate with them?
It has never been so important to educate yourself and your team on the soft skills, the ones that will enable you to communicate effectively with this demographic and treat them with the energy, interest and respect that they seek. They are smart individuals, seeking longevity, maximum health and wellness, youthfulness and radiance. It is a time for living the best years of their life and you can be an integral part of that if you embrace who they are and what they represent.
No amount of technical jargon can replace the essence and magical qualities of good solid communication, etiquette and respect. Combined, both will compliment each other and position you as not only professional, but credible, trustworthy and worth going back to.
But what else can owning these skills do for you and your business? Well the list is endless. Courtesy, manners and etiquette all create positive feelings in you, your team and from the clients you serve. You can enjoy better communication, a more positive and friendly outlook from your staff, and a willingness to serve. That in itself leads to better results, sales and repeat bookings and referrals.
Bad communication and lack of manners and social skills on the other hand leads to an attitude that doesn’t engage, win friends or create opportunities to grow a business. It simply stifles and in some cases destroys your chances of success because clients wont put up with it and as the statistics prove will spread the word on why not to go back to a salon, especially if it’s the way they were treated.
Sadly, it is these skills that are missing in many salons and curriculums of Beauty Colleges and university courses.
If you weren’t at the conference, you would have missed registering for my free webinar coming soon on how to create a competitive advantage to multiply your results. It supports the sentiments Tina Viney expressed solidly that “if you want to be a leader of your field, you have to be a trailblazer. You have to be prepared to stand out from the crowd”.
I invite you to register for this webinar, and really find out why Tina’s statement is so true and how you can stand out from the crowd using the simple strategies I will share with you.
You have 4 months left of 2014. Don’t leave it to chance or think that you’ll be fine. The true professional reaches out for as much information as they can, they continuously learn, embrace change, set goals and develop the plans to achieve success.
Isn’t that what you want? Register now and share this with your colleagues.
See you on the webinar.
Wishing you salon brilliance and success.
Leave a Reply