WHAT ARE YOUR NUMBERS TELLING YOU? By Kym Krey
As creative professionals, numbers, reports, and financials aren’t usually our jam. In fact, most hairdressers would rather do almost anything else than spend an hour with their computer reports, hoping that if they just don’t pay attention to the numbers, everything will just magically be OK. (P.S. that’s no way to run a business!) But within these simple numbers lies a fascinating insight into your business.
Think of them as the Scoreboard that measures how well you’re doing what you do every day.
Your numbers tell the story of exactly what is being done well in your business, what is being ignored and what really needs your attention!
Not how fabulous your foils are or how beautiful your blowdries…. your scoreboard measures the impact and effectiveness of how you’re delivering your service.
They literally point to specific issues and say “Hey! Look at this!” The problem is that so many of us don’t take the time to learn what they’re trying to tell you and instead, end up running their business virtually blindfolded, making decisions by guesswork, repeating the same things over and over again, stabbing blindly in the dark. Year after year of exhausting 12-hour days and missed lunch breaks, squeezing in every client we can and trying desperately to make ends meet. Does that sound familiar? It’s not the picture you had in mind of how business was going to be, right? The great news is that numbers don’t have to be complicated, and they certainly don’t have to be boring. 88
Hair Biz Year 15 Issue 5
Let’s break it down: The most common numbers or KPIs (key performance indicators… think important numbers!) you need to measure include: - Average client $ spend - Retail % of total income - Rebooking % - Client Retention % - Productivity per hour But what are each of these numbers really telling you about how well you do what you do? Average Client $ Spend: Links directly to the quality of the consultation and measures how your clients are responding to each Stylist’s consultation.
It measures their ability to expand the conversation beyond the basic maintenance services the client has booked and inspire each client with possibilities they never even knew existed for them. Consultation is not just finding out what the client wants done. How on earth could we possibly expect them to know exactly what to ask for? We’re the highly trained professionals! That’s like going to the doctor and being expected to know exactly what tests and medications we need to be prescribed! We don’t know. All we know is that we have a problem and don’t know how to solve it…. that’s why we’re going to an expert to guide us. Consultation measures the Stylist’s ability to spot issues and problems that can be improved and explain ideal solutions to help that client get closer and closer to their ‘dream hair’. It also measures their ability to inspire and encourage freshness and change, rather than getting stuck in the dreaded ‘Same again?’ rut. Overall, to me, it measures mindset, effort, and presence.
