Guided consultation for beauty chains and franchises: method and value

Reduce the variance, don't raise the peak

In a network the client expects the same experience in every location: that's why she chose a brand rather than an independent salon. When the difference between two sites is obvious, the brand's promise weakens and the advantage of the network is lost.

The effective lever isn't training the best performers, who are already good, but a minimum method everyone applies: the same information gathered, the same proposal structure, the same document handed over. It raises the lower end, which is what determines how the brand is perceived.

Adoption in a network needs particular care. A method imposed from head office gets applied formally and worked around in substance; a method built with location managers and verified on the documents produced holds up far better.

At network level

• Define a minimum method, not a manual.
• Verify on the documents produced, not on statements.
• Involve managers in building it, not only in communicating it.

The minimum method works because it's applicable on difficult days too. A long protocol gets followed when there's time and abandoned when there isn't, which is exactly when the gap between locations widens.

Measuring on documents also gives the network a useful operational picture: which locations document, which don't, where proposals close and where they don't. That's information no revenue report provides.