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Originally Posted by peach  I agree with everything that you said, especially the promising of levels of profitability and increased sales. But with consultants, the improvement must be measurable in these areas or you will soon be out of a job and client leads. However, paying someone 10k to get a 10k yearly increase in sales would not be a great investment but maybe worth the risk to some salon owners.
I have an extensive list of references that potential clients can refer if needed and I am sure that Steve does as well.
All consultants have to balance their advise with the cold hard truth. There will be times when the clients cost structure will make them non-competitive; other times market saturation will make investing more money an unwise choice. As a consultant, you must be willing to give that advise when the evidence and data dictates, which may mean losing a client or 2 along the way.
Your best bullet point was- "do not let your tanning salon become stale" constantly change it even if you are happy with your profitability. Keeping your store interesting is the most important thing an established store can do. |
There are many different situations that a salon operator can find themselves in.
Burnt out because nothing seems to work.
Frustrated because their business that was once profitable is now struggling and they don't know why.
Not willing to execute the required task to be successful because it takes too much effort and they do not want to work that hard.
Opened a salon without an effective business model and has never tasted success.
Opened in a market that will not support a tanning salon.
Absolutely no advertising and believes advertising is a waste of money.
Did not change with the times, especially in regards to todays marketing.
Terrible salon structure and pricing.
No training for staff or incentive for staff.
The operator that blames everything and everyone except for the person that is responsible.
Can a Consultant help in all of these situations? Yes a qualified one can.
In almost every case a long detailed conversation with a consultant that should cost nothing will help an operator refocus and have a much better understanding of what is required to help their particular situation. At that point a salon operator is in a better situation to determine if assistance is needed or they now have a better understanding of what they must do to change their situation.
People that do nothing will never experience any positive change. Those that finally realize that something must change or they will probably fail and loose everything are more likely to identify and make those changes and in many cases that requires qualified assistance.
If you notice the people that suggest Consultants are not needed are people that have never used one. Those that have gotten assistance always say it is worth every penny spent.
This is probably the reason every fortune 500 company uses a variety of Consulting companies. Nothing more powerful than surrounding yourself with knowledgeable people.