The Salon Owners Podcast: Phorest FM Episode 72 (w/ David Barnett)
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Welcome to the Salon Ownerโ€™s Podcast, Phorest FM Episode 72. Co-hosted by Killian Vigna and Zoรฉ Bรฉlisle-Springer, Phorest FM is a weekly show that puts forth a mix of interviews with industry thought-leaders, salon/spa marketing tips, company insights and information on attending Phorest Academy webinars. Phorest FM is produced every Monday morning for your enjoyment with a cup of coffee on your day off.

Phorest FM Episode 72

You have the technical skills, but you are still frustrated with a mediocre paycheck? You seem pretty busy but your income is nowhere near what you need it to be? For the fourth and final interview of this yearโ€™s special #30Days2Grow series, Killian and Zoe welcome back salon coach and industry expert David Barnett (High Performance Stylist) to the show. Known for taking salons and stylists to 7 figures, heโ€™ll discuss his tried-and-tested formula & techniques for increasing prices and charging what youโ€™re truly worth.

Related:

David Barnett is offering free 30-minute consultations for anyone looking for some advice or help with an aspect of their business. Pick a date and time that works for you โ€“ itโ€™s fast and easy: https://meetme.so/DavidBarnett


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Transcript

Killian Vigna: Welcome to the Phorest FM Podcast, Episode 72. Iโ€™m Killian Vigna.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: And Iโ€™m Zoe Belisle-Springer.

Killian Vigna: This weekโ€™s episode concludes our series of #30Days2Grow interviews.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: Joining us on the show to discuss what your prices really say about your salon and how to know when itโ€™s time to raise them is regular Phorest FM guest and salon coach David Barnett from The High Performance Stylist.

Killian Vigna: So grab yourself a cup of coffee, sit back, relax, and join us weekly for all your salonโ€™s business and marketing needs. Good morning, guys. David, welcome back!

David Barnett: Good morning.

Killian Vigna: Itโ€™s going to be just a couple of weeks ago that we had you again?

David Barnett: Yeah. No, you know what? Itโ€™s great to be back again. Feels like I was here yesterday and it was fantastic. I love being on here and I love meeting with you guys. And I always get great feedback, which is always fantastic, you know. So, yeah, a pleasure to be here again.

Killian Vigna: No, worries!

Zoe Belisle-Springer: So weโ€™re on the very last week of the #30Days2Grow Challenge. And the whole idea behind this 30-day challenge is that we live in, you know, in a deep discounting culture. And we were talking about this loads last year. Salon prices have, like, largely remained the same over the course of the last decade, Iโ€™d say, even.

David Barnett: Uh-huh (affirmative).

Zoe Belisle-Springer: So you know, when you came up with this whole idea of charging what youโ€™re worth for the episode, and Iโ€™m just really curious to see how exactly you get intoโ€ฆ like, how do I know what Iโ€™m worth?

David Barnett: Right. And that isโ€ฆ that is, of course, the big question, right? You know, and first of all, I mean, at first, the thing is first and foremost, is that of salon owners and stylists are fearful of raising their prices, right? They are actually more fearful than the guest, you know. I mean, theyโ€™ve kind of got this thing in their head that, โ€œIf I raise my prices, nobody is gonna come in.โ€ Right? Or, โ€œEveryone is going to be so upset with me. And if I keep them low, Iโ€™m gonna be packed.โ€

And just, that is not the case. Itโ€™s not how it works, you know. I mean, I think what made that most evident to me was when I went and worked over in New York City. You know, I was walkingโ€ฆ I walked into this salon, and you know, I ended up being a stylist there. But they were charging like astronomical prices, like, you know, I mean, the lowest price haircut was $130. I went in there charging 200. My boss was charging 500.

And the standard of work was justโ€ฆ you know, it wasnโ€™t evenโ€ฆ I would sayโ€ฆ okay, it was good. Iโ€™m gonna say it was good, but it wasโ€ฆ it was classic, okay? It was classic. So there wasnโ€™t anything really exciting about it, or innovative, or different about it. And it just made me realize that, you know, the price is based on the service, you know. On the standard of service and the experience that the guest is having, you know.

And that was where they blew it away. You know, the customer service was absolutely amazing. So I think itโ€™s a case of, you know, how good is the experience that youโ€™re giving to the client, you know? Thatโ€™s where it kind of stems from rather than worrying about the prices. Because once youโ€™re given an amazing experience, then, the price becomes less relevant.

Killian Vigna: Itโ€™s got to be somewhere that people want to come back.

David Barnett: Uh-huh (affirmative).

Killian Vigna: And this is where we saw the issue with these marketplaces and stuff, where to get people in your doors, you were giving 50, 60 percent off these vouchers and Groupons and stuff like that. But those guys never come back, because theyโ€™re constantly chasing the discount.

David Barnett: Right.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: Yeah, itโ€™s funny. I, like, know youโ€™re a football fan. Youโ€™ve been to the Super Bowl. Youโ€™ve had the VIP stand. I donโ€™t know if you saw the Super Bowl ad for Groupon this year, but they were saying like, โ€œWe encourage local business,โ€ and this and that. And I was like, โ€œOh, God.โ€

David Barnett: Really? Wow. I, you know, I justโ€ฆ I just dislike the word discount, you know, immensely. I just feel likeโ€ฆ you know, I never, ever discounted any services in my business. It was either complimentary, right, free of charge, or it was full price. You know, I just think thatโ€™s just a muchโ€ฆ I think itโ€™s just a much classier way of doing it, you know.

Killian Vigna: Yeah.

David Barnett: Either invite somebody in for a complimentary service. And that way, they kind of understand the next time is going to be full price. But if you give them a discount, they kind of expect the discount next time, too. Or, you know, โ€œWhy wouldnโ€™t you? You gave it last time.โ€

Killian Vigna: But what, also, stops your other clients going, โ€œWell, hang on. Why are they getting it for half the price-โ€œ

David Barnett: Exactly.

Killian Vigna: โ€œโ€ฆ when I keep coming back to you?โ€

David Barnett: If you want to upset your regular clients, do a big Groupon and say itโ€™s for new clients only, and see what happens, you know. But Zoe, getting back to what you initially asked me, you know, about how you even know if youโ€™re charging what youโ€™re worth. Right? And then, first of all, before you even think about what you want to charge, youโ€™ve got to look at what you can afford to charge. All right?

And so many hairdressers open their own business, and they donโ€™t even know what their break-even is. All right? So itโ€™s aโ€ฆ itโ€™s an easy thing to find out. You know, what are your set charges that youโ€™ve got every single month? What are the bills youโ€™ve got coming in that you know youโ€™ve got to pay?

So first of all, and foremost, it should be what you want to pay yourself, you know. What can you afford to live on? Right? That has to come number one. I was working with a client recentlyโ€ฆ with a salon recently, she hadnโ€™t paid herself for two-and-a-half years.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: At all?

David Barnett: You know, sheโ€ฆ at all. Sheโ€™d been living off her husbandโ€™s wages, trying to build a salon business. And everybody else had been getting paid and she hadnโ€™t been paying herself, you know. And I said to her, immediately, I said, โ€œThis is what we need to fix like right now. You do not have a business right now, you know. You have a charity, you know. And weโ€™re not in this to break even. Weโ€™re in this to have a living, and hopefully, a very, very good one.โ€

So first and foremost, I said, โ€œWeโ€™ve got to find out what the number is. So you know, how much you are willing to pay yourself. Enough, as well to live on, right? How much is your rent? How much is your electricity? How much are your products, you know? And any other team members, what are the wages there? What is your break-even? You know, what does it cost you to keep those lights on?โ€ Right?

And then once we figured that out, then we can reverse engineer it from there. We work backwards. And Iโ€™mโ€ฆ okay, so letโ€™s for instance, letโ€™s say, itโ€™sโ€ฆ Iโ€™m just throwing numbers out there. But letโ€™s say itโ€™s 1,000 bucks or 1,000 Euro a month to keep the lights on. Well, if your average ticket, then, is 50, 50 Euro, $50, whatever it may be, then how many clients have you got to see in order to do that?

Then we break it down to a daily basis. All right? So obviously, you know, if itโ€™sโ€ฆ if itโ€™s 1,000, youโ€™ve got to see 20 clients, right, which, of course, wouldnโ€™t be hard to do. So youโ€™re seeing one a day, you can afford to keep the lights on. But you know, if it ends up being 4- or 5,000, then, you know, obviously, the numbers are a lot higher.

But you need to have that number. Itโ€™s so crucial. And the majority of salon owners that I work with, when we first sit down, and I say, โ€œOkay, whatโ€™s the break-even to begin with,โ€ they donโ€™t know it, not off the top of their head. And weโ€™ve got to know that number. You know, youโ€™ve got to beโ€ฆ have that intimate relationship with your business that you know exactly how much it is in order to keep the lights on.

And then you can start to say, โ€œOkay, this is where my prices need to be. This is where I can afford to have them.โ€ Once youโ€™ve found out that price point, then itโ€™s like, โ€œOkay, now how much more am I worth?โ€ You know, so, you know, my experience, obviously, comes into that, you know. Where youโ€™ve worked previously. How many years youโ€™ve been in the business. What the experience for the guest is like, you know.

So what else are you doing? Like you know, for instance, in my own salon, we did a lot of scalp massage for every single client that was getting a blow dry or a haircut. For anybody whoโ€™s having colour, we did hand and arm massages. You know, I have clients that also, they use these relaxing eye pillows. So if theyโ€™re lying down at the shampoo bowl, theyโ€™ve got these lavender, warm eye pillows.

So little things like that make a massive difference and thatโ€™s got to affect your price point, as well. So once youโ€™ve got the bottom line, we start to build on that. โ€œOkay, how much am I worth,โ€ you know. Of course, community comes into it. We can even look at other salons, of course. What are the benchmarks for what theyโ€™re charging, and how am I different from that?

But I think that is how we establish exactly where our price point needs to be rather than guessing it, you know. Another salon that weโ€™re working with right now โ€ฆ in fact, I had the conversation with the owner this morning, because I told her that we needed to raise her prices. If she stays where she is, thereโ€™s no way that sheโ€™s going to have a business in six months to a year from now.

So we put up the prices across the board. Now, probably only 5 bucks, 5 pound, actually it was in the UK, so 5 pound across the board on each service. And she called me this morning worried about it. You know, โ€œIโ€™m worried about the price increase.โ€

I said, โ€œWhy? Whoโ€™s complained?โ€

โ€œNobody yet.โ€

โ€œSo, okay. So you havenโ€™t had any complaints yet.โ€ I said, โ€œYouโ€™ve got this in your own head.โ€

She said, โ€œWell, one of the other stylists said that one of her regulars didnโ€™t re-book. She always re-books.โ€

I said, โ€œWell, maybe sheโ€™s on vacation and sheโ€™s not sure when her next appointment should be. Letโ€™s follow-up with her perhaps in a day or two, get some feedback on her last visit, and find out what it is. Donโ€™t jump to conclusions that sheโ€™s got a big hang-up about the price and sheโ€™s never coming back. Because as long as you are delivering, or over-delivering on their expectation on the service, then theyโ€™re gonna come back.โ€ You know?

Killian Vigna: Yeah, donโ€™t beโ€ฆ donโ€™t be biased on, โ€œItโ€™s just because I increased a price.โ€

David Barnett: Right.

Killian Vigna: Anything could happen that day. Anything in their life could have happened-

David Barnett: Yeah.

Killian Vigna: โ€ฆ that they couldnโ€™t come back. So donโ€™t worry about the price andโ€ฆ Like, what do you tell someone who does worry that itโ€™s going to turn my clients off?

David Barnett: Sure.

Killian Vigna: So how do you get them to believe that this is not going to be the worse case scenario, or worst thing in the world?

David Barnett: Well, I think, first of all, you know, the most important thing is to know that you are ready for a price increase. Okay? And thereโ€™s a formula to do that. All right?

So this is howโ€ฆ you know, I had regularsโ€ฆ pricesโ€ฆ price increases in my salon. But each stylist had to show me they were ready. It wasnโ€™t a case of them coming up to me saying, โ€œDavid, I want to be paid more.โ€

โ€œOkay, Iโ€™ll put up your prices,โ€ or, โ€œOkay, Iโ€™ll increase your commission,โ€ you know.

We sat down, we looked at their numbers. And look, Iโ€™m going to give you the formula now that I use in order to know, you know, when a new stylist on the floor was ready for a price increase. Okay? So if youโ€™ve got a pen and pencil, you might want to jot this down. Okay?

Killian Vigna: Iโ€™m waiting to see myself.

David Barnett: So the first thing was that youโ€™ve got to be 75 percent booked. All right? Now, because of amazing, amazing software companies like Phorest, our life is so much easier. All right? This was such a difficult thing to track not very, very long ago. Now, weโ€™ve gotโ€ฆ you know, youโ€™ve just made our lifeโ€ฆ thank you. Thank you both and the whole team at Phorest, because you have made our life just so much easier, you know.

I mean, numbers are the one thing that as a hairdresser we hate to even think about, you know. Itโ€™s just the one thing that we just get so frustrated with, right? We donโ€™t even want to go there. Weโ€™re artists, right? And we donโ€™t even want to look at the numbers. Give that to the accountant. But now, we can click a button and we get all this information.

So firstly, 75 percent booked. If youโ€™re not 75 percent booked, donโ€™t even think about raising your prices. Okay? Thereโ€™s something else going on. If youโ€™ve been a hairdresser for a long time and youโ€™re still not booked at that price point, thereโ€™s probably something else going on.

But anyway, 75 percent booked. We also track the amount of services the person has done in a month. So not the amount of clients, the amount of services. So if someone came in for haircut and colour, then, of course, thatโ€™s two services. All right. They need to have done 130, 130 services was the benchmark that I set for new stylists.

The third thing that we tracked was retention. Right? So 60 percent retention rate. All right? So if you havenโ€™t got 60 percent of your clients coming back in โ€ฆ and the way that we kind of judged retention was that if they havenโ€™t been back in within three months, okay, twelve weeks, then you werenโ€™t retaining that guest. Okay? So if you want to know what your retention is right now, you might want to, you know, track it from three months ago right up until today and that will give you your retention rate.

The other thing that I loved to track was new guests, especially for a new stylist on the floor. They had to have eight new clients coming in per month. All right? So two a week, which isnโ€™t a lot. Right? And now, if it was a stylist that wasโ€ฆ had been with me sometime and they had a full book of regular clients, I wouldnโ€™t track that as closely, because, of course, they havenโ€™t got room for new clients. If thatโ€™s the case for you, then donโ€™t worry about that one. Okay?

The other thing that Iโ€ฆ the other two things that I also added to this, which was ones that we came up with ourselves, because I believe that these last two, they tell me that the client really trusts you and it tells me that theyโ€™re definitely going to come back in. And that is, first of all, retail. All right? The retail per client ticket needs to be about 10 pounds, all right, or $12.50 we had it at. And so that means that basically, the average client is buying at least a bottle of shampoo from you. Some clients I know donโ€™t buy, and some clients buy three. So on average, youโ€™ve got to be selling one per guest.

And then the last thing is add-on services. All right? We wanted to see ten add-on services per client. So thereโ€™s, you know, quite a few benchmarks there that really tell you whether you are ready for a price increase or not. But at least, if you are hitting those, then you know that itโ€™s a guarantee thereโ€™s not gonna be a problem. All right?

If youโ€™re under on any of those, then I would say youโ€™re taking a little bit of a risk. Youโ€™re probably going to lose a couple more than you would like to lose. But, and we always found that once they were hitting these benchmarks, then it was a no-brainer, you know. And we would normally increase either the haircut or the colour, one or the other. Normally, not both, because it means that if the client books in for a haircut and colour, sheโ€™s getting hit with a double whammy there. So we would normally keep it one or the other, so as not to upset the guest.

Killian Vigna: But just looking at that formula there, itโ€™s an achievable amount to say, โ€œYeah, Iโ€™m ready for the price increase.โ€

David Barnett: Right.

Killian Vigna: Thereโ€™s only one thing there that stands out to me that I might have a doubt about andโ€ฆ excuse meโ€ฆ itโ€™s having to sell the retail product for every client. But, for anyone that listened to Davidโ€™s episode a couple of weeks ago where heโ€™s talking about upselling products, after listening to that episode, you should have no qualms of being able to off-sell a product to every single client.

David Barnett: Yeah.

Killian Vigna: That was a literally great formula where you just put the three products constantly in their mind.

David Barnett: Right, right. You know, it all comes down to education, you know. And this ties into the client experience. You know, youโ€™ve got to be educating your guests on what youโ€™re doing, you know. They want to know why you picked up that product. They want to know why youโ€™re using it, why you chose it for their hair, you know. Why that specific product?

Thatโ€™s all you need to be doing, talking to them about it. And you know, having that in there as a benchmark for themโ€ฆ for the stylist to hit is, of course, gonna encourage them to have that conversation, you know. We need to have a goal there for them to hit.

Killian Vigna: Now, this is a fantastic formula, because we say, like, โ€œIncrease your prices.โ€ But like youโ€™re saying, you have to have a reason why. This here right now, it highlights why you should increase your prices. Not just, โ€œIโ€™m giving a cheap service, Iโ€™m going to increase my prices,โ€ because thatโ€™sโ€ฆ thereโ€™s no value there.

David Barnett: Right.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: But even more than that, I mean, obviously, a lot of people think like you were saying that theyโ€™ll get backlash from, you know, raising their prices. But if anything, if youโ€™re actually ready to raise them, like you said, and youโ€™ve done that formula, if anything, youโ€™re actually raising your reputation by raising your prices.

David Barnett: Absolutely. So true, Zoe, right? I mean, youโ€™ve got toโ€ฆ youโ€™ve got to keep growing. Right? I mean, everything else in our industry goes up in price. Right? Your rent goes up. Your product cost goes up. Probably your software goes up in price as well. Iโ€™m not sure about that. Not very often right? Far as to say, itโ€™s pretty consistent.

But I mean, you know, everything gets more expensive, you know. Itโ€™s very expensive to live every single year, you know. And also, youโ€™re getting more experience. You deserve to be raising your prices. That is the bottom line. That you deserve to be doing it, you know. And you know, I canโ€™t stress more that itโ€™s all about the experience, you know. Donโ€™t think about the price. Think about what else you can offer them, you know.

It reminds me of this story. I moved back to Wales about a year ago, right. And Iโ€™m from this small town originally, called Menai Bridge, right. Menai Bridge is on this little island called Anglesey, which is like one of the furthest, most western regions of North Wales. And this little town, I mean, like, probably like the fanciest restaurant you could get there would be a really good pub dinner, you know.

Killian Vigna: Yeah, I like a bit of gastro-pub.

David Barnett: Yeah, a gastro-pub dinner, you know. But that was kind of like about it, right. And then someone said to me, โ€œHave you heard that a Michelin star restaurant has opened in Menai Bridge?โ€

And I was like, โ€œWhat?โ€ I said, โ€œNo, I didnโ€™t know that.โ€

He said, โ€œNot only that, they are fully booked six months in advance.โ€ Right?

And the thing was, right, you wouldnโ€™t have thought that this clientele would have been in that area. But they knew that the experience they were going to offer was gonna be like nothing else. And itโ€™s, you know, I think itโ€™s a minimum of 95 a head to eat there. Thatโ€™s not including any wine or drinks or anything else. And they go and open up their bookings for a set amount of time now, like twice a year. And the thing completely sells out, you know. And theyโ€™re fully booked six months at a time.

And if you look at a lot of these Michelin star restaurants, you know, in order to get the Michelin star, itโ€™s all based on the experience, you know. Itโ€™s theโ€ฆ itโ€™s the theater of it. Itโ€™s not just the price. And itโ€™s-

Zoe Belisle-Springer: Itโ€™s the [crosstalk 00:18:12].

David Barnett: Yes, exactly. You know, itโ€™s this experience that the client gets to have, you know. And itโ€™s the same for us.

And at the moment, thereโ€™s so many salons out there that arenโ€™t thinking outside the box, you know. So many of us are fighting over the same clients because the experience is pretty much the same. And it can be the smallest little thing. Like for instance, I had a client once who came in to me and she just got back from Japan. And she sat in my chair, and I said to her, โ€œDid you get your hair done when you went to Japan?โ€

She goes, โ€œOh, my God, I actually did.โ€ She says, โ€œI went in and I got a blow dry and youโ€™ll never guess what happened.โ€

I was like, โ€œWhat?โ€

Well, I was expecting her to say like, you know, โ€œThe blow dry lasted a week or something, or three weeks or something.โ€ And she didnโ€™t. She said to me, โ€œWhen I went in there, they took my glasses off me.โ€ Right, she wore glasses. โ€œThey took my glasses off me and they put them in this special box. And then after Iโ€™d finished the blow dry, they put the glasses back and they have never been cleaner. They were like unbelievable. Iโ€™m not sure what was in it, what they did to it. But I put them on and I was like, Oh, my God, they are like better than new.โ€

And thatโ€™s all she was raving about. And I was like, โ€œGod, I love that.โ€ You know, it cost them probably nothing to do, took no time at all. But this client was raving about it. And thatโ€™s the little stuff. That is the magic that I think that is so obvious. You know, for me, I mean, itโ€™s so obvious that so many salons could be doing this, just crushing it, you know. Just standing out head and shoulders above everybody else by adding a couple of these little things.

Killian Vigna: And like that, youโ€™re saying, โ€œLook outside the box.โ€ So donโ€™t just look at what other hair salons are doing-

David Barnett: Right.

Killian Vigna: โ€ฆ or other beauty salons do. Look at your local restaurants. Look at your local bar or optician, anywhere you go that thereโ€™s a service going on.

David Barnett: Right.

Killian Vigna: What else are they doing?

David Barnett: Yeah, 100 percent. 100 percent. You know, at another salon recentlyโ€ฆ just while weโ€™re on that subjectโ€ฆ being an island, of course, we get the occasional day of rain, occasionally. And that, you know, one salon has this rule in place that whenever itโ€™s raining, they insist on walking their guests with an umbrella to their vehicle. I mean, that stuff reminds me ofโ€ฆ kind of like, you know, five-star hotels back in the 1940s or something like that. You know, to have that cool man-

Killian Vigna: Concierge.

David Barnett: โ€ฆconcierge service.

Killian Vigna: Yeah.

David Barnett: But again, it takes somebody a couple of minutes to do it. But the knock-on effect from that, the reaction from the guests, and of course, the posts now, theyโ€™re going to be putting it all over social media, are just incredible. And thatโ€™s what theyโ€™re going to talk about. Not going to talk about the amazing haircut, because that is now expected. Alright? Theyโ€™re going to be talking about the added service.

So you know, when youโ€™re putting these things on top of what you do normally and youโ€™re over-delivering on the expectation, then your prices can easily reflect that. And they wonโ€™t evenโ€ฆ they wonโ€™t even blink at it.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: Obviously, thereโ€™sโ€ฆ there has to be this change and the, you know, the leaders in the industry have copped on to it. So now, itโ€™s time for everyone else to, you know, move on with that. But what if, for instance, a stylist or an owner wasnโ€™t quite ready to raise their prices and faced a little bit of a backlash, like we said? What issues can you come across after implementing a price hike?

Killian Vigna: Not just the issues, but how do you also kind of make it fool-proof to prevent the issue. So donโ€™t just be reactive, be active.

David Barnett: Yeah, you know, I mean, like I said, I mean, first of all, youโ€™ve got to have a formula. Youโ€™ve got to be ready for it, you know. I mean, I think thereโ€™s a lot of hairdressers out there that are fully booked, all right, and havenโ€™t raised their prices for years. For me, thatโ€™s a no-brainer. Okay?

Now, if you are still going to get a backlash from it, you know, if youโ€™re worried about that, then I think that you handle it in the moment. You know, first of all, youโ€™ve got to make sure that you are informing them that there has been a price increase. And thereโ€™s ways of doing that. Like you could even just talk about, โ€œHave you seen our new menu,โ€ or โ€œThe launch of our new menu,โ€ you know. And that can, of course, include the price increase as well.

You can also talk about โ€ฆ if you know that โ€ฆ if you feel like thereโ€™s certain clients are going to be sticky with it, I think itโ€™s fine to include in the consultation that, โ€œJust to let you know.โ€ And you know, โ€œItโ€™s because of other things that are happening. You know, itโ€™s because of product increases.โ€ Itโ€™s because you havenโ€™t raised them in five years, you know. โ€œAnd yet, my rent and my product cost has all gone up, you know. And weโ€™re having to do this now.โ€

And itโ€™s also fine for some clients to chose not to come and see you anymore, you know. Be okay with that, because youโ€™ve got to open some space for your new clients, you know. Maybe they are not supposed to be your client forever. Maybe theyโ€™re supposed to go and see somebody else in the salon, you know. If youโ€™ve got younger stylists are coming through, itโ€™s a perfect opportunity for them to pick up those clients as well.

So I think itโ€™s just one of those things that is always evolving and that weโ€™ve got to be okay with it.

Killian Vigna: And like that, if youโ€™ve got a plan in place, informationโ€ฆ information is key. Be open, be transparent.

David Barnett: Uh-huh (affirmative).

Killian Vigna: โ€œWhy are you doing this?โ€

David Barnett: Yeah.

Killian Vigna: โ€œWell, itโ€™s costing me a lot more to do your haircut now.โ€

David Barnett: Uh-huh (affirmative). You know, what we used to do actuallyโ€ฆ just recalling nowโ€ฆ but we used to celebrate it. Okay? So what we would do if one of my stylists had a price increase, we would put a little poster up in theโ€ฆ you know, all of my clients actually went into a little changing area, changing room. Theyโ€™d change out of their shirt or out of their top and theyโ€™d put on the robe. And there was a little poster that would go on the mirror in there and it would say, you know, โ€œJoin us in celebrating Kaylaโ€™s success. You know, sheโ€™s reached another level in our salon. And her haircuts have gone from 50 to $55 now.โ€

You know, and it would be, โ€œOh, great.โ€ And sheโ€™d actually sit down and say, โ€œCongratulations.โ€ You know?

Killian Vigna: Thatโ€™s actually cheeky. [crosstalk 00:24:03]

David Barnett: Youโ€™re not looking at the price, youโ€™re going, โ€œMy stylist has just graduated in her skills.โ€

Killian Vigna: Yeah. Moved to another little level.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: But in saying that, I mean, I can totally relate how that would work. Because if I look at my relationship with the barber that I go see, Iโ€™ve been following him from shop to shop and looking at his achievements. And Iโ€™m just so proud of him. Every time he does something great, then Iโ€™m like, โ€œYeah, whatever. You want to hike your price up? Do it. Like youโ€™ve been training so much for it. Like Iโ€™ll be more than happy to support you,โ€ you know.

David Barnett: And you what, I think that is the mentality of so many clients, yet we donโ€™t think it is. You know, weโ€™ve already made up the decision in our own head that, โ€œNo, no, that will not be the reaction that my clients give, you know. Theyโ€™re gonna freak out because mine are totally different, you know. Mine arenโ€™t going to pay any more money.โ€

But I honestly believe that thereโ€™s more guests and more clients out there that are just like you, Zoe, who would actually congratulate people and expect it.

Killian Vigna: Thatโ€™s amazing. I mean, like if thereโ€™s any guidelines to get out of this, itโ€™s that. Itโ€™s so crystal clear. Itโ€™s like 75 percent booked, 130 services. Use this as your guideline.

David Barnett: Yeah, you know, that just gives them something to aim for, as well. You know, I mean, it takes away that awkward conversation of one of your team members coming up to you, either, you know, they think theyโ€™ve caught you on a really good day, or maybe itโ€™s after a couple of beers after work, and they say, you know, โ€œAny chance of a pay raise?โ€ Or you know, โ€œI wish I was earning some more money.โ€ Or, โ€œMy prices should be going up.โ€

You know, my answer ends up being, โ€œOh, my God, I completely agree with you. I would love to pay you more money. Letโ€™s sit down and look at your numbers,โ€ you know. And as soon as you do that, it tells you straight away and if itโ€™s notโ€ฆ if theyโ€™re not on track, then you can say, โ€œYou know what? Youโ€™re just off on a couple of things, but we are so close. So letโ€™s just make sure we focus on those areas. And yes, 100 percent, letโ€™s raise prices.โ€

Killian Vigna: So donโ€™t look at that as a scary thing of your staff wanting a pay raise because youโ€™re moving your prices up; support them to get to that stage themselves.

David Barnett: Exactly. You know, thereโ€™s a formula for everything and I think, you know, youโ€™ll find that the team will just work harder towards it once theyโ€™ve got that in place.

Killian Vigna: And that comes back [inaudible 00:26:17] your leadership. Take ownership. Itโ€™s like, yes, this is going to be not an issue. Itโ€™s going to be a thing that will come up.

David Barnett: Right, right.

Killian Vigna: Own it!

David Barnett: Yeah, 100 percent.

Killian Vigna: Thatโ€™s brilliant, David. Thanks again for joining us. And delighted to have you in for the last week of the #30Days2Grow, because that just there, it really summarizes the whole month. And are you ready? Check it out. And if you still donโ€™t know if youโ€™re ready, give David a shout.

David Barnett: Yeah. You know, as always, I just wanted to finish on that, as well, Killian. That if thereโ€™s something going on in your own business and you would love to have 30 minutes with me on a call, I always love to offer this for any of the Phorestโ€ฆ Phorest crew, the Phorest team members, is that, you know, Iโ€™m always available. So please let me know if I can help in any way. Iโ€™d love to jump on a complimentary call with you and see if I can help you figure it out.

Killian Vigna: Yeah. And always, David, weโ€™ll include that in the link, in the blurb of this episode. And itโ€™ll go out on social media, as well.

David Barnett: Fantastic. Itโ€™s always a pleasure to be on. Thanks, guys.

Killian Vigna: No problem at all.

Zoe Belisle-Springer: So listen, guys, thatโ€™s it for us today. If you have any feedback, feel free to reach out on social media or leave us a review on iTunes or on Stitcher. Weโ€™re always looking for suggestions on how to improve the show. Otherwise, have a wonderful week and weโ€™ll catch you next Monday.

Killian Vigna: All the best.

Thanks for reading!

#LetsGrow


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