The PhorestSalon Owner's Summit 2018 just wrapped up. See why it was the perfect way to kick off 2018:

THE DETAILS: More than 500 salon owners and managers from 5 countries were in attendance at the Phorest Salon Owners Summit 2018, held earlier today. The theme for this summit, the 4th in Phorest history, was “Great Starts Here.” Presentations and workshops were sandwiched with parties, fun and networking.

LOCATION: The Dublin Convention Center, Dublin, Ireland. 

THE CEO: Kicking off the festivities was Ronan Perceval, CEO and the co-founder of the software designed to build salon and spa business. "We don’t think of Phorest as a software company,” he says. “We are a ‘growing salon business’ company. Our software is a tool to achieve this.” Perceval created the software 14 years ago and chose to focus on the salon industry after working as a receptionist in a salon near his hometown in the west of Ireland. “I just love the passion and energy of the industry,” adds Perceval. “People are excited to come in a salon, and the day goes fast. I just wanted to stay in the salon world.”

PRESENTATIONS AND WORKSHOPS: There were four key speakers and intense workshops making this an exciting and informative day.

SPEAKERS:

TABATHA COFFEY: Industry insider, salon owner, coach and celebrity Tabatha Coffey squeezed a day of information into a one-hour presentation. “People are overwhelmed by choice,” she points out as part of her speech. “Part of the reason is because they want an expert to guide them. My life is 1000 decisions a day. I want someone to make decisions for me – the expert. You should be that expert when that someone is looking for beauty advice.” (See a segment of her presentation below.)

GAVIN HOARE: Salon Manager, Richard Ward Salon, London, Gavin Hoare manages a staff of 90 and a salon that sees 1100 clients each week. “Act like the expert you are," says Hoare. “But make sure to make your client feels important. 78% of your clients leave because they perceive an attitude of indifference from you.”

STEVE MARTIN: Director of Influence At Work and co-author of Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways To Be Persuasive, and The Small BIG: Small Changes That Spark Big Influence, Steve Martin spoke about the small changes that can make a big impact.  Martin chatted about his 6 principles of persuasion: Reciprocity, Scarcity, Authority, Consistency (see video in this post on this principle), Likeability and Social Proof. “People say they want more choice,” says Martin, “but then there is more disengagement. It’s good to listen but you have to listen in a different way. It’s hard to predict what people – your clients - will want in the future.”

VALERIE DELFORGE: Founder and CEO of Delforge + Co and business development strategist Valerie Delforge chatted about leadership and keeping your staff engaged. Her 7 steps of leadership include recruitment, 1 week induction, 3 months probation, a development plan, routine, performance and loyalty. “Your vision must be clear,” she says. “Tell everyone, create a board and think 1 step at a time.”

WORKSHOPS:

Work/Life Balance with Chris Brennan who shared his thoughts on how to get the best out of everything you do. What happens when a salon owner, a mom, gets the call to pick up her child at school who isn’t feeling well. “You have to have backup,” he says. “The good news is, you can manage a salon remotely with good software.”

The importance of visual merchandising with Rowena Doyle chatted about “Visual Sense.” According to Doyle, “The impact of your visual merchandising is the best way to represent your brand. It’s all about enticing.” Doyle points out that the average attention span is 2.8 to 4 seconds. “Visuals increase retention by 42%,” she says. “The human brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text.”

WHAT’S NEXT: Phorest is coming on strong in the United States and an alliance with Luxury Brand Partners was announced earlier this year. Already in several thousand salons globally, Phorest is in about 400 salons in the US, mostly on the east coast. Perceval says he plans on holding a summit in the US in 2019. MODERN will be there.

For more information about Phorest Salon Software, visit http://bit.ly/2mvEghr.

A snippet from Tabatha Coffey's presentation:

The importance of consistency from Steve Martin:

Photos courtesy Alan Rowlette Photography