Increase Your Salon Income: Be Your Own Competition

If you want to increase your salon income, stop wasting energy comparing yourself to other professionals. It’s time to focus on your biggest competition: yourself. The minute you take your eyes off your goals, you start to lose sight of why you started in the first place.

As a business owner, you’re always working toward the goal of making more money. Your ultimate goal could be to work less, make an impact on your community, or build an empire, either way — increasing your salon income will pave the way. But, none of this is possible unless you are constantly making small improvements. You don’t have to work yourself into the ground: it’s about making step by step improvements over time.

If you’re familiar with the SMART goal setting method, you know goals should be specific and measurable, so saying “I want to make more money this year” isn’t going to cut it. The best place to start?

“I want to increase my daily earnings by X%.” AND “I want to increase my average ticket by X%.”

With StyleSeat’s new Stats Bar, you can keep a close eye on your hourly wage, average ticket price, and daily earnings. That way, when you set goals for yourself at the beginning of the day, you can track your progress.

EARNED AND PROJECTED

Every day, you’ll be able to check your projected earnings from the Home tab — this is the amount of money you are expected to make based on how many services you have booked for the day and how much they cost.

So, if your projected earnings for the day are $500 and your goal is to increase your daily earnings by 25%, you need to make an additional $125 today. How are you going to do it?

MAKE MORE TIPS

You can assume you’ll at least make some tips but there are a few tactics you can use to encourage clients to be extra generous : )

• Boost your professional image. Whether they mean to or not, clients will pass judgments based on how you present yourself. Dress like a million bucks and clients will subconsciously take you more seriously. You don’t have to break the bank on designer clothes — it’s about being polished and put together. Always convey that you are in control, have great taste, and take your professionalism seriously.
• Give clients an unbeatable experience. Use your client notes and remember important personal information. What did you talk about during their last visit? Do they have any important events coming up? Do they have any beauty/wellness concerns you’ve been working on together? Check in and make them feel listened to and like they are getting personalized treatment. When clients feel like you’re going above and beyond, they’ll be compelled to increase their tip.

UPSELLS AND ADD-ONS

The most effective way to increase your salon income on the spot is to offer add-ons and products. The trick to owning upsells is to stop worrying about being salesy and really believe in your recommendations.

• Take the opportunity to give mini-consultation during each appointment. See how your client is feeling about their hair/brows/skin, see if they have any events coming up, and see if they’ve been considering any new treatments.
• Introduce them to each product you use, walk them through how to use it, and tell them why you chose this specific product to use with them today. Remember, you’re the expert, you know exactly what it will take for your clients to look and feel amazing. If you make genuine recommendations there’s nothing to feel awkward about — they will thank you.
• Come up with a few add-on services that are high value to your clients and low cost to you — things like therapeutic oils and treatment masks. If your client is getting a service that could benefit from one of your add-ons, make the recommendation. Even if the add-ons are only an extra $10, that can add up to thousands of extra dollars at the end of the month.

FILL THE GAPS IN YOUR SCHEDULE 

Want to see a big boost in those daily earnings? Fill the gaps in your schedule.

• Take a look at your openings for the day. Would it be nice to have a break at that time? Could you use that time to do something else productive? If not, consider running a promotion or offering a discount to get those extra bookings for the day. If the time is going to be wasted anyway, you might as well fill those spots, potentially sell some product, and work on building your relationship with some clients.
• Get the word out first thing in the morning. Reach out to clients on your waitlist, send out an email marketing campaign, and post an Instastory to let clients know you have last minute openings.
• If you have some short gaps in your schedule, you can offer additional services to the clients you already have booked. Have a client coming in for a color appointment? let them know you have time for a haircut and could give them a trim while they’re in the salon.

When your daily earnings increase, your average ticket price and hourly wage will also start to grow. Remember, comparing yourself to other professionals is the easiest way to get distracted. So take some time this week to set a reasonable goal for yourself and use the stats bar to stay laser focused.

Have tips on increasing your daily earnings? Share them in the comments below!

Learn more about StyleSeat here.

For more business tips, check out these articles:

• How Stylists Use Instagram to Boost Bookings
• Should I Charge for No-Shows and Late Cancellations?
• Get Clients to Book Online