Lash Team Coach & Mentor – Part 3 – Skill Improvement and Knowing Your Numbers

Posted by Maryann Matykowski on March 25, 2019

Welcome back to another installment of our series on coaching and mentoring a lash team! In this post, we will be going over even more insights to help you develop a winning coaching plan for your business. When putting your coaching plan together, there are a few things to consider. In this post, we will address three major areas you need to develop. They are as follows:

1. Technical skill improvement
2. Understanding your numbers
3. Development plan

Let's get started with our first area!

1. Technical Skill Improvement

When you implement a technical skill improvement plan, you need to access the skills each team member has – some team members will be more proficient in their technical skills than others. You need to develop a strategic plan to move your team in forward momentum. We want to keep our teams highly skilled and current in the trends of the marketplace. You may need to implement a tier level education plan. Each level will address the skills your team is currently at. With your less experienced team members, you will have to be more basic in their education. This will benefit your salon in numerous ways. More education equals more income and confidence in your team members.

How to Train Your Team

You may enlist an outside educator to provide education for your team. Vendors can help you out in this area – many vendors offer ongoing education for their clients. If your vendors offer this service, use it! The best way to keep your business growing is to have talent inside your walls. If you initiate a plan that requires your staff to attend regular educational seminars, everyone benefits. You, your business, your team, and most importantly, your clients will benefit. Your team is required to attend these classes as a part of your business model.

Attract the Best Staff

Most people looking to work for a reputable salon expect you to provide ongoing technical training. When I was in the position of hiring staff, that was the most frequently asked question. In my past, the corporate salon I worked for had technical training every quarter. We were required to attend and were reprimanded for not having had attended. I’m not saying this is the best policy, however, if one of your team members regularly skips training, they may not be the best fit for your business. You gain so much when your team participates: it sparks a sense of community, offers a challenge, and gives a little extra push for those who are competitive in nature. So, take some time and be thoughtful about what skills your team has. Start with some very basic skills that will benefit your newer team members. Review the skill set of more experienced team members and tailor a plan for them to brush up on things they already know or introduce something completely new. As for your very seasoned members, you have a unique opportunity to train them to become part of your salon’s artistic team. These seasoned professionals can become an integral part of your salon's education program.

2. Understanding Your Numbers

This is the most important part of coaching in my opinion. If you don’t track your numbers, you don’t know what you are doing and where you are heading. Most scheduling software has built-in programs that give you real-time data. You can see, at a glance, what services your team is rocking or where your team is falling short. From day one you need to make sure your new team members are tracking everything. You have to get them involved. They need to learn how to carefully look at the numbers in their business. How many services are they providing? How many hours are they working? What is the SPLH?

Service Provider Labor Hours

This measures if your staff is productive. If they are in your salon 30 hours a week but are only productive for 15 hours, you have work to do. I will address this in a future post. Nothing can cause dissatisfaction in the salon quicker than a team member that is not busy. It can create unease and a tendency toward negativity. Any team member who is not busy can become a bit of a distraction. If you are in this situation, you need to cut back on hours and only add hours when the team member is 60-80% pre-booked. This sounds counterproductive, but it is not. This is all part of the process. When your team member sits down with you and you review their productivity, this is when you can work with them to improve their business. A one-on-one meeting with every member, every month, is the most effective way to stay engaged with them and help them to grow.

3. Development Plan

Your development plan is all about goal setting. You should evaluate where your team member is at first. If they are servicing 10 clients a week, how can they build? The answer: conversions, rebooking, and recommendations. These are the ways your team members will expand their client base.

Conversions

Conversions are the people who you run into at the supermarket or the coffee shop. You know, the ones you hear saying how much they hate their hair, brows, lashes, etc. This is where you whip out your business card and then get them to call and book an appointment with you.

Rebooking

Rebooking is self-explanatory. You pre-book your client before they leave your salon. After your amazing service, you should book their next appointment. Your goal should be to have your team pre-booked at 60-80% of the month. It is so nice to see the look on your team members face when they see how booked they are at the beginning of the month. That, my friends, is the way your business grows.

Recommendations

Recommendations are a must. We all have those clients that we just love. We wish we had more just like them. Well, you have to ask. Teach your team members to ask for a recommendation. My language goes something like this:

Mrs. Jones, it was a pleasure to provide services to you today. I look forward to seeing you again next month. I just wanted to let you know I am still wanting to build up my clientele. If you know anyone who is looking for services, I would really appreciate you mentioning me.

It is super simple, direct, and professional. Most clients will be happy to pass out your cards and recommend you. You have to ask!

Follow These Steps for Lash Business Growth

That concludes this part of our series! We hope you stick around to learn more from GladGirl about how to build a successful lash business. We will catch you later in our next installment. Looking forward to the continued training!