BUILDING A BOOK!
Building a Book!
In our industry there is no question that building and maintaining a strong book of reliable clients is the key to our success. Over the last thirteen years I have built a strong book, lost some of it, and rebuilt it again. I’d love to share the lessons I have learned with you in this week’s blog post. It doesn’t matter if you’re just starting out or if you’ve been behind the chair for years, hopefully some of my experiences can be translated into further success for you and your hair business!
First, let me start by talking about WHAT makes a strong book of clients.
A book of clients starts with one. That’s right, all you need is one client in your chair. One client that is not only satisfied but ecstatic about you and your work, will exponentially create the client book of your dreams.
A solid and profitable book of clients is about 100 people. This would mean that you have 100 clients you see for a service every 6-10 weeks or about 10-12 clients in your week. This size book is good for the part time hairstylist or as a goal for a new stylist.
A healthy, successful and money making book is filled with about 150-200 clients. This is broken down like this: 12-18 clients a week on a 10-12 week rotation.
I think one of the most important tip’s that I can share about WHEN is the right time to build a book would be that you have to be dedicated and ready. And, I don’t mean ready in the sense that your training is adequate or that you’re ready to make money. You have to be dedicated to CONSISTENTLY provide unparalleled customer service on a regular basis to the same people. Your dedication cannot waiver because the second that you slack off is the moment that your clients feel it, and they move on to a new stylist or business. Make sure that you make this commitment to yourself! Sit down and create the perfect work life balance scenario so that your clients know when you’re available and that they can rely on you for their needed services!
Let’s discuss WHY it is important to build a book and track your progress! So many times when I’m teaching different classes I get this question; “My clients do not rebook but I don’t know how to encourage them to do it and I’m not worried about it so much because I am always busy. Why should they rebook and why should I pay attention to it if I’m making good money?” Well, if you’re anything like me then you know that your bills are coming on time every month. With bills due and trying to save for vacations, I always wanted to have an idea about how busy I would be, and how much money I would make, each week and month. Keeping track of your client base and documenting how often your clients are returning to your chair or business creates a forecast for what you can expect for the upcoming week’s income.
It’s also important to track your progress so that you know when it’s time to raise your prices or adjust your schedule. Once you hit the bench marks listed at the bottom of this post, you’ll be able to gameplan for when to promote yourself with a price boost!
Aside from tracking your book for monetary reasons, it’s also important to understand HOW building a book is also building your personal brand. For each client that is excited about their service and happy with the results, you can expect them to share your information with three people. Now keep in mind, for any client that is unhappy with their service or experience you can expect them to share it with 10 people. It’s so important to try your best, but acknowledge if you could have done better! In upcoming blog posts I’ll be sharing how to maximize and create a 5-start client experience but for this post, let’s just keep it in mind. This being said, if you’re building a book then you have to get feedback! If you have some hours that aren’t booked, use that time to send survey text to the clients from the week before. This will ensure they are either satisfied with their service or it will open the door to allow you to remedy an unhappy client. Here is an example:
“Hi Sam, this is Bobby Mack from Bobby Mack & Co Hair Studio! Thank you for your visit last week! I wanted to check in about your experience and to make sure you’re loving your hair! Are you satisfied with your studio experience and services?”
If yes, use this as an opportunity to rebook: “Great! That’s awesome to hear! I took a look at my schedule for the next few months and here are some times that are available for your next haircut! Monday, February 1, 2021 at 6pm or Tuesday February 2, 2021 at 2pm. Would you like to reserve either appointment so that we keep you on track for your hair goals?”
After scheduling: “Thank you for scheduling your next appointment! I look forward to having you in my chair again! In the meantime, for every friend or family referral you send, I’ll offer $10 off your next service! See you in February!”
If no, use this as a chance to offer a remedy for their dissatisfaction: “Thank you for sharing that feedback! It’s always my goal to have each client loving their hair and feeling good about their studio experience. I would love the opportunity to work with you in the future. Would you be interested in coming back for a complimentary adjustment?
Small messages like this will show your new clients that you care, not only about doing hair, but about them as a person. The personal relationship you build with them is just as valuable as your ticket price.
Taking the WHY & HOW to build a book and adding in the right MARKETING strategies will boost your service requests, size of your book, and recognition of your reputation. Here are a few of the best ways to build a book through marketing:
Word of mouth: Offer incentives for your satisfied clients to send in their friends and family as mentioned above. The most loyal clients travel in a pack. Groups of friends or family members will likely remain loyal to your business seeing as they all have you in common. This will reduce the pressure from their friends to “try their hairstylist”.
Thank You Gift: But don’t go overboard. If you have a bunch of samples around the salon, or if you can make them, offer your new clients a sample of your favorite product as a thank you for their visit. If samples aren’t an option, give them a $5 coupon towards their next full color service within the next 12 weeks. Write “$5 expires on (00/00/00 the date three months from their appointment)”. This will encourage them to come back in a timely manner and also relay that you are grateful for their business. Keep in mind, incentives like this are good to offer ONLY when building a book. Once your book is full, don’t give away any money!
Reviews: For me and my business, reviews played a major part in my success! Asking friends and family to write a Google, Yelp, or Facebook review spread the word of my work and brand faster than I could have ever done with just physical word of mouth. Offer your clients a complimentary conditioning treatment at their next appointment for writing a review! Letting a hair mask sit on for 5-10 minutes is a free way to have your client feeling rewarded for taking the time to promote you!
Where to find your clients: In today’s social media world it’s hard to not get caught up in the idea of being IG famous or a TikTok influencer. Remember, for every one successful influencer making money on their posts, there are millions of people creating content failing to garner fame. Don’t let the hype of social media distract you from your bread and butter clients which pay your bills each month. Make sure that you have a strong book before diving too deeping into fun and catchy social posts. Focus on finding people within a 2 hour driving range of your studio’s front door for most of your target marketing.
Salon Brand: Ahhh yes, this is always a long topic of conversation in my classes. Countless times I hear how stylists don’t feel they always have the support of their salon, or their personal brand doesn’t match the aesthetic or effort of their own. This is what I say to each of them:
You’re creating a business within a business as a stylist. Remember that without the salon, you’d be doing house calls. So, ask to meet with your boss to sit down and present your ideas for marketing to them. Don’t wait for anyone to build your brand, that’s your responsibility.
Work with what you’ve got, don’t fixate on what you don’t. Find ways to enhance current programs at work adding your personal touch to sales strategies and marketing campaigns. See what your boss and team are willing to do COLLECTIVELY to encourage clients to come to the salon. Teamwork is the dream work and it’s the money maker!
BENCH MARKS: (based on 40 hour work week)
Here are the ways to track your success in Building a Book! Each week fill out the few statistics below. This will help you track your growth and keep you accountable! As I work with my Pro and Master Member’s, I use this charge as a jump off to start analyzing their client book. Try it on yourself!
____ Number of clients per week
____ Number of clients per month
____ Percent of new clients
____ Total Services
____ Total Service $Total$
____ Percent of clients that rebooked
Small or Starter Book:
5-15 Number of clients per week
20-60 Number of clients per month
More than 50% of your clients are new each week
10-25 Total Services per week
$500 to $1250 Total Service $Total$
50% Percent of clients that rebooked
Average Book:
15-30 Number of clients per week
40-80 Number of clients per month
Less than 25% of your clients are new clients each week
25-45 Total Services per week
$1250-$2250 Total Service Dollars
75% Percent of clients that rebooked
Full Book Maximized:
20-40 Number of clients per week
80-160 Number of clients per month
Less than 10% of your clients are new clients each week
30-60 Total Services per week
$1500-$3000+ Total Service Dollars
90%+ Percent of clients that rebooked
Alright! You’ve made it to the Full Book Benchmark! High five the shit out of yourself! That was no easy task.
Now that you’re here, you should think about raising your prices. This is the point in my career where I started to double or triple book to try and accommodate as many clients as possible. Please please please take this advice if nothing else; quality over quantity will ALWAYS prevail. There is no way that my work, or your work, is equally as good when servicing three clients vs one client at a time. When I did this, quite a few of my clients dropped out of my book. They didn’t enjoy their experience as much because I wasn’t focusing on them as much. Raising your prices is always a better way to reward yourself over the concept of trying to fit more people into a workday. Build your client base, maintain your client book, raise your prices. Inevitably once you raise your prices, a few clients may not be able to afford you, and that’s OK. You deserve the recognition of your investment in education and time. Your service prices should reflect that. And! This will allow you to start to see a few more new clients that can afford your ticket price and fold into your client base. With each price increase, a few people drop out and new faces pop in, and that is the organic course of growth!
If you’re looking to stop no-shows, retain your clients and build a financially stable book, let’s work together! Email me to discuss options to upgrade your membership! As a Pro Member, we would work together to customize the right plan of action to build your book!
Thanks again for following along with The Bobby Mack Collective!
XOXO
Bobby Mack
