Looking Fit

by David Landau

The best ingredient for making salon profits soar is establishing good relationships with your staff and customers. When salon owners successfully communicate to employees that they care about them, they almost always will be more courteous and helpful to customers and co-workers.

For the small business owner, highly personalized service can mean everything. One customer's negative attitude seriously can damage the reputation a salon owner has worked so hard to build. Maximize your salon's cash flow potential by using leadership skills to create a motivated, high morale work team and flourishing salon business.

Build a Winning Team--Start on the Right Foot

A successful business entrepreneur needs to be an attentive and sensitive person to provide effective leadership. Building a winning team starts during the orientation process. Give new employees a clear picture of their job responsibilities and other vital information that will help them accomplish a good job.

Personally take new staff members on a tour of the salon, introduce them to other employees and encourage their questions. A knowledgeable worker will be less apprehensive about job expectations. You can't expect top performers unless you invest the time to continuously check the progress of their training. If you personally are doing the training, treat employees like partners. Coach them, give them feedback and always be a good listener. New employees need to feel they are important to the salon's success from the beginning.

As the leader, it is your job to set the standard. Give new employees a check list of what is expected in terms of conduct and work habits. For example, "Treat every customer and your fellow workers with the utmost respect," might be one standard by which employees are evaluated.

Helpful hints to enhance owner/employee relationships:

• It's always a good practice to refer to "our" business and not "my" business during meetings and conversations. Employees need to feel a sense of ownership and acknowledgment that they are contributing to the company's success.
• When it comes to selling techniques, allow employees to create their own style that complements their individual personality and strengths. Otherwise, the delivery may not sound natural or genuine.

Make Enthusiasm Contagious

Being a small business owner is an exciting adventure, and your attitude about the company literally sets the mood of the workplace. When the owner is upbeat and positive, this often stimulates employee and customer enthusiasm. After all, it takes happy people to create a good atmosphere.

A company's growth is largely based on the productivity and outlook of employees. Successful business owners know the value of empowering their employees by encouraging them to work together to set company goals and to solve problems. Properly empowered staff members will have a greater appreciation of job responsibilities and an eagerness to support the entire organization.

Remember, salon employees devote their time, skills and talents into making your business prosper--use their creativity and input to strengthen the company and gain a greater competitive edge. In addition, it is important to treat part-time employees as team members which will contribute to building a stronger and more loyal team.

Rewards

Never assume an employee knows that he or she is doing a good job. Praise is the most valuable reward--and it's free. If you have a tight budget, be inventive in how to recognize a valued employee. Consider giving the employee special treatment in scheduling vacations, greater freedom from supervision, occasional time off or invite him or her to run a training meeting. You also can show appreciation to a staff member with a gift such as a salon product, apparel or a free tanning session.

Build Good Customer Relationships

Salon customers express their satisfaction in a very obvious way--with repeat business and referrals. People expect small business entrepreneurs to give individualized attention, and that exactly is what successful businesses do. It's important for employees to think of themselves as consultants who advise customers on how to satisfy their particular skincare and tanning needs.

Healthy customer relationships are built on trust, and a successful salon owner knows the key to repeat business is the powerful combination of personality and competency.

Personality is essential to make customers feel important. Give clients your full attention and make them believe they are the "center of the universe." Always introduce yourself as the owner of the business to new customers and tell them that you are pleased to serve them. In addition, demand training from your supplier on products either through video tapes or presentations.

Competency includes being knowledgeable about your products and services. Salon owners have to believe in the quality of their product lines to be able to convince customers of their value. To be good communicators, you and your staff need to listen closely to what the customers are saying about specific skin and tanning needs and how much they are willing to invest.

Be sure to ask the following questions:

• Do the products and services meet or exceed customer expectations?
• Do the personalities and characteristics of employees boost or hinder customer satisfaction?
• Does the salon provide an opportunity for feedback from customers through such means as comment cards?
• Does the salon use high-tech tanning beds and product technology to promote customer satisfaction?
• Does the salon go the extra step to create a lasting impression? For example: A nice verbal thank you, a uniquely wrapped product, a follow-up call or written note, or a special inexpensive gift related to tanning are nice touches.

A customer-driven business means good communication with your clients. Regularly ask customers how the salon can improve the business and what products or services they are going elsewhere to receive.

With today's constant technological changes, salon owners must be able to adapt their products and services to meet their increasingly growing customer needs. Speaking directly to your customers offers salon owners the best information, as well as reinforces how valuable a customer's patronage is to the salon.