Coming Close on the Paraffin Pedi Promo

It's a new month already, February is past and we're already into March. Before you know it we will have the first quarter under our belt. I know you are all wondering how I did on my goal. I set a goal for the month of February. It was to sell 20 promotion; the promo was two paraffin pedicures for $99. I figured I worked 20 days during the month of February, so setting a goal to sell 20 seemed realistic.

I did many things to prepare to reach my goal. I forecast every day. Forecasting is looking at your day before it begins and making notes about each client. These are not nice or mean notes; they are business-related notes. For example, I noticed that I had two pedicures on my books for the day. I looked up each of those clients to see if they had a pedicure package with me. If they didn't, then I would make a note to talk to them about the promotion. I also looked at each client and wrote a retail item and an add-on I could offer next to their appointment on my schedule. This helps me to become aware of the services and retail that I can offer my clients. Forecasting can really open your eyes. I noticed that my client purchased cuticle oil a few months ago — chances are she needs a replacement bottle. This reminded me to ask her about it. I also noticed that some clients had not had a paraffin treatment before. This gave me the incentive to offer it.

I tracked to keep track of my progress. Every day I would chart the previous days sales and numbers. I would write down that I did three pedicures that day, followed by the stats. 3 pedicures= 1 promo sold, 1 package redeemed and 1 no go. I did this on the same piece of paper every day to know where I stand and to get a real sense of my numbers. By doing this, I realized that there were a lot of package pedicures and other promotional/discounts being redeemed. This helped me to see that I was redeeming a lot of package pedicures. This is important for me to know because, I may have gotten down on myself while looking at the number of pedicures I did vs. the number of promotions I sold. But, because I tracked my progress every day, I knew that was not the case and then I wouldn't give up.

In the end, I did not make my goal. Bummer! I went to work on the 28th, did a pedicure and sold the promotion to my client which was good. That was promotion number 15 sold. However, after that I went home sick and had to cancel out my day. I did miss out on the opportunity to sell more promotions. I was disappointed, but I have been at my salon for 17 years and that was my sixth sick day. So calling in sick is not something I do often or without reservation. I came to work, did one client, and could not continue with my scheduled day. So unfortunately, that cost me a few possible promotions.

I returned to work the next day, hopeful to sell the last of my promotions. I was ready and excited I was booked solid and had several pedicures on the books. When I woke up to go to boot camp, my exercise class, I noticed the weatherman was right and we really did receive the snow we were expecting.  I go to my boot camp no matter what. I never miss, unless I'm out of town. I didn't make it to boot camp because I couldn't get out of my neighborhood. There was a ton of snow. The roads were not plowed yet and schools had closed or delayed start times. Welcome to a winter storm in Minnesota!

When bad weather like this happens its can make your full schedule vanish in an instant. Many of my clients have children and when school is cancelled they have to stay home and tend to their kids. It also is a nightmare to get to work too. So, thanks to the heavy wet snow, I didn't make it to boot camp. (But I did get in a workout shoveling my driveway!) I was able to get to work, but my day fell apart as fast as the snow accumulated. I did manage to sell one more promotion, giving me a grand total of 16.

I fell short of my goal by four, but I'm OK with that  because I did everything in my power to reach that goal. I forecast my books, tracked my progress and offered the promotion to all of my clients who didn’t have a pedicure package with me. The good thing is I realized I am good at selling my “buy 3, get 1 free” pedicure packages. Many of my clients have taken advantage of that offer, so the pedicure promotion was not of interest to them.  We win some and we lose some. Even though I didn't reach my goal, I still did well. I still sold 16 promotions totaling $1,584 and I secured 16 pedicures for March. So, I look forward to that. How are you doing on your 2012 goals? Please post your comments, I'd love to hear about your progress!

Setting goals, forecasting, and tracking your progress — one more way to help you stand out above the rest and become the BEST!

— Jill