The Constant
Starting at Impressions front desk in 2006 when he was 19 years old, General Manager Paul Petrowsky is a seasoned professional who owner Sarah Taylor says is responsible for much of her own success.
by Stacey Soble
Data Stories: Keeping Score to Do More
At the Data-Driven Salon event, Van Council, co-owner of the Van Michael Salons and Spas in Atlanta, shares how he leverages data for everything, including helping team members and salon locations achieve goals and reach new compensation levels.
July 6, 2017
3 min to read
According to Van Council, who co-owns Van Michael Salons and Spas in Atlanta, we are living in an increasingly data-driven world, and your employees are already keeping score. “They wear Smart watches and FitBits to measure their fitness and sleep patterns.”
Council brings that same mentality to work by using ZeeZor, a performance app that lets each service provider see both their numbers and the numbers of their colleagues in real time.
“The person who brings in the most money to your salon may not be your most valuable player,” Council says. “You have to use all the metrics available to measure them in different ways, then make your competitive people competitive against themselves and their colleagues.”
An avid bike racer, Council said he truly understood the importance of daily measurement and goal tracking when he started working with a coach. He wears a performance device during each day’s training session and his coach reviews his numbers with him every day. “If you use the typical method of sitting down with each employee every three months to review their goals and performance, it’s too late to do anything about those past three months,” Council says. “But if you use a tool that measures performance daily, you can enact real change.”
The metrics Council tracks daily for every team member include: service sales, retail sales, SGP (service guests’ purchases as a percentage), average transaction $ amount, average retail ticket, number of clients, number of clients rebooked.
How does measuring daily make a difference? “When we started, the SGP rate was 22%, and today about 35% of customers buy retail. It’s changed the way we calculate retail commission,” Council says.
Each day, at each Van Michael location, the manager performs a daily lineup, reviewing one of the salons service standards while keeping the team up to date on anything happening at their location or throughout the company.
“During the lineup we always acknowledge the top five stylists in service sales and retail sales from the previous day,” Council says. “It’s a fast, fun way of recognizing the team.”
Although Council can pull up these numbers in ZeeZor at any time, he still have his managers go through the process of preparing a weekly report that gets emailed to him. “A weekly report is sent to me from each manager each week. It makes them take ownership in the results of their location.”
When it comes to working your way up the ladder at Van Michael, seniority doesn’t mean. “It’s all based on performance, which means a new stylist can come into the company and quickly shine.” In order to receive a promotion and price increase, a stylist has to meet certain criteria: They have to be booked at least two weeks out; maintain a retail per client ticket rate of at least $10; maintain a new client retention rate of 35; a new client request rate of 25%; and reach 80% of their service goal.
All team members have the opportunity to earn additional retail money when they hit certain yearly benchmarks. At $30,000 they earn $3,000; at $40,000, they earn $4,000; at $50,000 they earn $5,000 and at $60,000 they earn $6,000.
Metrics also dictate longevity. Council maintains minimum benchmarks that stylists must meet to remain on the team, including $95,000 annually in service sales, $18,200 in retail sales or $113,200 in combined sales. “If they can’t maintain that after two years, we let them go,” he says.
Since all team members can see each other’s numbers, it creates a healthy competition among the locations. “Each year, I take the top 20 service providers to a private dinner—everyone knows who is going by watching the numbers.”
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
More Salon Management
The Most Wonderful Time in Salons and Spas
Planning is in full swing for the most anticipated events and promotions for the 2026 holidays. As owners share their favorite ways to celebrate, they prove that a carefully planned event can also build culture, increase client loyalty, boost sales, and set a business up for a successful 2027.
by Stacey Soble
Leading with Empathy, Humility and a Mastery of Systems
When things run amok at Mane Attraction Salon, Owners Chris and Jenny Knudsen say General Manager Sami Hernandez is their go-to resource and ultimate sounding board. Meet Sami in this installment of Meet the Manager.
by Stacey Soble
Pagoda Brings AI-Powered Operations to Skinovatio Medical Spa Locations
Pagoda, a new AI-native operating system for scheduling, payments, patient records, marketing, and client communications, launches at Skinovatio Medical Spa in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
by Staff
How Women are Rewriting the Rules of Grey Hair
At a panel discussion hosted by L’Oréal Professionnel in Paris in early July, French Philosopher Sophie Galabru explored the cultural shift where women are increasingly choosing natural, personalized color results over traditional grey coverage. In an exclusive interview with SALON TODAY, Galabru and L’Oréal Professionnel Colorist Pierrick Beringer discuss this shift and how salons and colorists respond.
by Stacey Soble
Warm Leadership and Analytical Precision
At Salon Blonde, Director of Operations treats the staff as the salon's most important guests, while her wonderful 'nerdy' side, loves data, systems, and numbers. Find out how she makes Salon Blonde tick.
by Stacey Soble
Trotting the Globe, Forging Connections, Fostering Artistic Creativity
In an exclusive interview with SALON TODAY, Salon Owner Salvatore Minardi reflects on his past 18 months as Intercoiffure America Canada's World Talent Exchange Ambassador and how his experiences will help encourage cultural and artistic exchange and support greater engagement between ICA and the global organization Intercoiffure Mondial.
by Stacey Soble
Client Retention Guidebook
Everything you need to know about client retention as a salon owner.
Success Grown from Within
Owner Shelby Bills says her general manager, Sydney Osborne, reminds her of the power of leading with heart. Find out how Osborne became a great leader in our lastest installment of Meet the Manager.
by Stacey Soble
How Salon Leaders Can Process the Pain and Lead Forward When a Team Members Leaves Unethically
In her latest blog, Kati Whitledge identifies the five stages salon owners go through when a team member leaves the salon unethically, offering advice for each stage.
How AI Is Closing Revenue Gaps for Salons and Spas
The beauty and wellness businesses pulling ahead aren’t just working harder—they’re using AI to capture demand, personalize pricing, and convert more of every guest interaction into revenue. Here’s what the benchmark data reveals about the growing gap between AI adopters and everyone else.
Sponsored by Zenoti
The Premium Talent Magnet: The Modern Salon Playbook for Attracting Six-Figure Stylists
Stop chasing recruitment ghosts on generic job boards and start curating an elite team. Discover the framework that top-tier salons use to bypass phone tag, automate visual portfolio vetting, and attract high-earning, culture-first beauty professionals directly through real-time messaging. Turn your recruitment process into an exclusive brand invitation that keeps your highest-ticket chairs permanently filled.
Sponsored by Beautista
Five Revenue Leaks Hiding in Your Salon
Your calendar looks full, but is all of that demand actually converting to revenue? From phantom rebookings to underpriced peak hours, the 2026 Benchmark Report exposes five revenue leaks that most beauty and wellness businesses don’t even know they have.
Sponsored by Zenoti
The Heartbeat of Zandi K's Success
After moving to Colorado and teaching at a cosmetology school, Allison Stock joined Zandi K as a stylist, eventually becoming part of the Leadership Team, Education Team and Master Bridal Team. Today, as Director of Operation, Stock is Owner Nicki Wenz's right hand, managing human resources and operations, education and career development, and coaching and culture.
by Stacey Soble
Rethinking Retail in the Era of E-Commerce
In a world dominated by e-commerce, salon owners push back with proven strategies to increase retail sales while motivating team members to educate their clientele and delighting clients with retail-themed events and clever merchandising displays.
by Stacey Soble
The Harper Ellis Hair Co. Certification Program Teaches Stylists a Smarter, Safer Way to Install Extensions
The company's Concealed Bead Method is raising the bar for what professional extension education can deliver.
by Staff
The Micro-Salon Blueprint: How Kat Scott Quadrupled Income by Maximizing Her Suite
Scott maximized her micro-salon by transitioning from stylist to strategic owner, focusing on recruiting and station-sharing. By prioritizing her ownership role over behind-the-chair work, she grew her team to six stylists within the two-chair, 150-square-foot space before eventually moving to a larger facility.
by Staff