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
Stylist and Owner Jyl Craven Discusses the Game Plan that Helped Her Reach More than $550,000 in Sales
With a combination of inspiration, personal development, a strategic plan and pure grit, Jyl Craven pushed herself to top $500,000 in salon sales--in 2018 she hit $550,000.
February 28, 2019
3 min to read
Setting a strong example for her team, Jyl Craven always pushes herself to grow her own service and retail sales at Jyl Craven Hair Design in Canton, Georgia.
In 2016, she brought in more than $300,000. That next May, she attended the first Data-Driven Salon Summit and heard Denise Deering, a colorist with Juut Salonspa, detail her strategies to bring in more than $500,000 in sales per year. Realizing that $500,000 was a possibility, Craven set herself a new goal, and in 2018, she took in more than $550,000 in individual sales.
“Every year I choose something new to focus on, and last year it was hair extensions,” Craven says.
Craven believes education is at the core of her success, and she doesn’t mean just the technical kind of education. “I started the year off with a personal development class. If you don’t feed yourself, you can’t feed others,” she says.
Craven also sets each day up for success. “After having breakfast and getting the kids off, I workout each morning listening to an audio book for spiritual or personal growth. And, I often spend time on positive self-talk or expressing gratitude. I get into the salon by 8:45 a.m., and we have a quick huddle about the day ahead and pick one topic to review. For example, a recent theme was ‘Always and Never’—we never say no. When we can’t do something, we always say, ‘What we can do for you is…’”
Balayage and extensions are two of Craven’s favorite services—last year she leveraged social media to position herself as an expert in those two areas. She brought in Bellami extensions, Evolve hair systems and CR Labs, and started addressing clients’ issues with hair loss.
“A lot of it is pure grit—I want to do the best for my guests every day. I want to make people feel beautiful,” she says.
Craven also attributes her success to her belief in the brands she carries—Kerastase, L’Oréal Professionnel and Shu Uemura—and as a result $100,000 of her 2018 total sales was retail.
“I personally use them, and I talk about products throughout the service. At the end of the appointment, I’ll put all the products I used on the counter when they check out. If I put up five, they’ll usually take two.”
Craven always talks about the value of treatments with her guests, and about 90% of her clients upgrade their service with a treatment, which comes with a scalp massage and a neck rub.
“We make it a whole experience, and once they have it one time, they opt for it again,” she says.
Although Craven does work with an assistant and she does review her schedule in advance to close any gaps, she says she’s also careful not to overbook herself. “We’ll have four to five add-on services each day and we need the time to be flexible.”
On May 19-21, the Data-Driven Salon Summit in Atlanta, Georgia, will spotlight data stars like Jyl in a hands-on workshop approach to mining the metrics to drive salon performance. Learn more at datadrivensalon.com.
Check Out the Other Stories in the DATA STARS Series:
Stylist Amanda Paul Explains How She Averages More than Two Services Per Guest
Harry Wood Shows Stylists How He Brings In $60K in Retail Sales
How Gadabout Motivates the Guests Services Team to Pre-Book
Stylist Jamie Cress Shares Her Strategies for Driving Retail Sales
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