Our “Practice Now, Shine Later” series continues with another business building idea: host a holiday open house. It’s not too late. Really you can pull it together in a week. One of my employees Kimberly suggested that we have a holiday open house for our clients. We thought, “How can we pull this off?”  We did and so can you. Here is what we did. You can plan this with your salon owner and coworkers in a hurry by following these guidelines. Keep it simple and get all the employees involved.

Pick a Date: Our holiday open house is next week. We picked a Thursday instead of a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. We thought the weekend was too busy with scheduled clients. Our Thursday hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. This offers a longer day than our weekend hours, which means more clients can attend.

Get the Word Out: Get a flyer and signs made ASAP and put them up in your salon. Post signs on all stylist mirrors, in the restroom, etc. Give every client a flyer when they arrive. They can read all about it while they are waiting for their service. That way if they have any questions, they can ask while they are here.

Arrange for Refreshments: We decided to keep it simple and serve holiday cookies and hot cider. We placed an order at Sam’s Club for large cookie trays. We also placed an order for several gallons of cider with the grocery store. We also decided where the table will be set up and that the front desk staff will make sure the table is well stocked. We purchased a large hot beverage dispenser and picked up holiday napkins, plates, and cups.

Complimentary Services: We decided to give away complimentary brow waxes, pumpkin paraffin wax treatment, and mini manicures. You can upgrade to Shellac for $5. All services are based on availability and no appointments will be taken to reserve spots. We thought this was an excellent way to introduce clients to some of our services.

Door Prize: In order to get client info and get people here, we decided to have a drawing for a door prize. Clients can enter to win a year of shampoo and conditioner. (That’s four liters of shampoo and conditioner.)

Limit One Per Customer: What can we sell that will be a special offer that will entice clients to rush in and get one? Gift certificates! Clients can buy a gift certificate for $100 and get a $20 gift certificate free (limit one per customer). This is a great way in increase your gift certificate sales.

Post it Everywhere: Get the word out — not only in the salon but out on the Web. Post your flyer on Facebook. Put it on your Web page, text it, Tweet about it, and e-mail it to your clients. Have your staff talk about it and invite their Facebook friends. Have staff put the flyer on their page. You can also do an “Event” and invite clients on Facebook. The more you get the word out, the better the attendance.

Special Offer: Book any service that is new to you and get 50% off. This means the day of the open house you can get 50% off any service you book that you have not had in our salon before. Example: You have never had a pedicure here, book it during the open house and you’ll get 50% off your pedicure when you come in for your appointment. (Be sure to make a notation on the appointment to honor the discount.)

Gift Pack Incentive: We have many of the holiday gift packs available from Pureology, so we put them on special for that day only. We also have all of our holiday items displayed and offer a complimentary gift bag with any gift certificate or retail purchase. Just a little something to make it easy to shop and no wrapping at home required.

We are also doing something fun for the employees. We are having a pot luck. Everyone is bringing a dish to share. (This is for staff, not the clients.) We are wearing jeans and UGLY Christmas sweaters or holiday shirts. This will help with our holiday theme and the employees like perks too!

This is part of the “Practice Now, Shine Later “series because a holiday open house is the best way to break into client events. If you get the logistics worked out on this party, you can follow the same steps to do other events like a Teen Night or Girls Night Out, etc. This is the easiest and best way to get started. It can be simple and great without the headache.

Talk to your boss and get going! You can make this happen — there is still plenty of time. Get your team together, brainstorm, and delegate. It’s a lot easier if each department has a job and can take some of the responsibility. I gave you an outline, you just have to fill in the blanks. Copy what we did or make up your own. Tweak it and make it yours. Hosting a holiday open house — one more way to help you stand out above the rest and become the BEST!

— Jill