111 Reasons for using MIKAL's Salon Software

111 Reasons to Computerize with MIKAL 1. You can get an instant overview of your business with Management Check 2. Inventory can be managed easily from doing sales, orders and refunds 3. You’ll save 1 hour a week for every employee automatic payroll, sales analysis, tip tracking 4. Confirming appointments is a breeze by phone, with automated voice systems, or on-line 5. Ordering supplies is a 5 minute task - click on your reorder report 6. Pricing inventory is quick & easy - use shelf talkers and bar-coding 7. You’ll have past histories to compare sales for any time periods 8. You can document all Employee history (good & bad) Late, absent, hours 9. You’ll know the composition of your client base with demographic reports 10. You can see where your new clients are coming from demographic reports 11. You can track your advertising reasons and effectiveness 12. You can track your promotions for effectiveness and cut costs 13. Booking multi service appointments in seconds - even days of beauty 14. Analysis of inventory allows you to keep the correct quantities on hand 15. You can see your retail best sellers in a flash - turns and sales leader rankings 16. You can see which color/professional products are most used & keep enough on hand 17. Payroll is a 2 minute chore instead of 2 hours and all tax forms are done 18. Tracking clients who no-show or are always late and resolve every sale 19. Mail your clients for targeted marketing promotions weekly in minutes 20. Email brochures & welcome letters to new clients in seconds 21. Track employees retention, who’s keeping & who’s losing clients 22. Allow clients to book appointment on the Internet 24-7-365 23. Allow clients to cancel & change appointments with a few clicks 24. Let clients check their own appointments on the Internet 25. Train new desk staff easily without long indoctrination period 26. Control your cash flow at a glance with the tally reports 27. Balance your Cash at night in 5 minutes and backup in 5 more! 28. Stop wastage (theft) of products by tracking sales and professional use 29. Stop/deter cash shortages or theft from the cash drawer 30. Give employee/technician all the chemical formula necessary for each client 31. Inform employees about Clients preferences, Birthdays etc 32. Employees can see Clients Service & Retail history and Picture immediately on screen/workticket 33. Generate Gift Certificates/gift cards quickly and track redemption/expirations and stop theft in this area 34. Track Gift Certificates, Outstanding & Used and eliminate accounting 35. Sell and track packages and series sales easily - and expire easily 36. Check on all appointments to see if they have been confirmed 37. If any errors were made at checkout, you can view who made them 38. Inventory Checking to see if you’ve received what you ordered or charged for - know what and when you purchased from each vendor 39. Inventory reports on items that need to be increased or decreased in stocking levels – remerchandising your retail area to increase sales and cut costs 40. Who are the clients who spend the most by Employee or overall and rank your clients by sales, visits, avg ticket, service or retail sales 41. Be automatically reminded to call a client on a certain day 42. Have an instant printout of recommended Home use products and use the customer card as an RXprescription pad 43. Have as many commission/payroll schemes as you like - individually 44. Instantly check on your salon/spas profitability over any time period 45. Contact your clients by email for inexpensive and effective marketing 46. Create any mailing piece & send it by mail or email 47. Notify clients of impending Vacations or employee time off 48. Mail promotion to ‘rescue’ lost clients with welcome back cards/e-mails 49. Mail clients INSTANTLY when a Employee quits, to soften the blow & retain the client using our 4 letter program - keep up to 87% of their clients 50. Use the Electronic Mail system to eliminate post its and messages 51. Record and view any comments on each individual visit 52. See the Cost of Product for your Services only 53. See the real cost of Retail products with the inv cost report 54. Automatically check your Retail Profit margin on each product 55. See who in the salon/spa is selling the most of a particular product 56. See who is doing the biggest numbers of any particular service 57. Analyze the Services to where the Dollars are coming from 58. Know each employees Dollars per hour over any date range 59. Know the employee average ticket by service, product or client type 60. See your average Service ticket by employee or the salon/spa 61. See you average Retail ticket by employee or the salon/spa 62. Know how many clients are served daily, weekly, monthly or any date range and by the hour of the day with appointment analysis 63. Check Year to Year/Quarter to Quarter/Month to Month comparisons of salon/spa/spa sales, avg ticket, clients 64. Check Year to Year comparisons of each employees service sales 65. Check Year to Year comparisons of each employees retail sales and 6 other periods 66. Know daily (& over a date range) your Service sales % vs. your Retail sales % 67. See your fixed overhead broken down as a % of your sales 68. Check on the amount of redos/refunds/discounts that each employee is doing 69. Send your clients Birthday cards with a few mouse clicks 70. Send Referral or Thank-You promotions in 5 minutes each week 71. Use the Points program for a client rewards/frequent buyer/client loyalty program 72. Track which Payment method your clients prefer 73. Be able to book standing appointments in seconds over any time period 74. Have a computer view of all upcoming appointments for all available away from the desk at a glance 75. Employees have detailed information about each appointment & all info to perform services - time it takes, prices, ability to squeeze/do multi-services or clients 76. Get rid of that unwieldy, large, cumbersome paper appointment book 77. Produce goal setting reports about each employee for staff reviews 78. Track all employee Time Off- excused and unexcused absence time 79. Track all employee hours on the job both productive and administrative time 80. Create special discount or incentive coupons and track their use 81. Book multi service, multi employee appointments in seconds 82. Track who made or changed every appointment, & when 83. Control all access, by employee, to any part of the system easily 84. Print sales receipts with client points and next appt date/time 85. Track employee tips for IRS compliance 86. FAX or e-mail your Purchase Orders in a minute to your vendors 87. Create an order for a supplier automatically in 30 seconds 88. Quickly produce a cost of goods on hand report on Retail or Professional stock 89. In seconds, see which Retail Products need to have their minimum quantities changed up or down and have SMS do it automatically 90. In seconds, see which Professional Products need to have their minimum quantities changed up or down 91. Track physical inventory counts against computed amounts to find ‘wastage’ 92. Track & save employee sales history by any date range 93. Get rid of 3x5 file cards for Color/Perm/etc formula and the file drawers 94. Keep Client Information (name/address/phone/etc) secure 95. Get rid of a lot of paper stuff - take it all home on one zip disk at night 96. Compute & save payroll in 30 seconds 97. Book holiday time (salon/spa & individual) as far in advance as you like 98. Protect against booking an employee when they are not available (time off/hols/etc) and prevent overbooking rooms and pedicure chairs 99. Promote your salon/spa as an organized business to staff, vendors and clients 100. Run your business system and know the staff is all running it the same way - there is only one way to do things 101. Use EMBA to dramatically increase rebookings 102. Offer On Line Booking to make it convenient for clients to book 24/7/365 and quiet the phones at the front desk 103. JITA fills your book when there are cancellations 104. Use your Credit card service provider 105. Offer Gift Cards you handle and have no processing fees 106. Offer memberships like massage envy 107. Use AutoPilot to send out automatic e-mails to clients based on last visit, reminder, birthday and thank you to new customer criteria 108. Interface automatically to your Quickbooks 109. Interface automatically to your Demandforce 110. Use our tablet app to update client information while you are mobile in the salon 111. Track gift cards and sales from multiple locations And much more………… Call MIKAL for a details list  800-448-5420 sales@mikal.com www.mikal.com www.freddengler.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday MIKAL

Happy Birthday to us! Happy Birthday to us! Happy Birthday MIKAL! Happy Birthday to us! WOW 32 years ago this week we took our salon software concept and made it official with our Incorporation and formation as a business! Do you know where our name MIKAL came from? Remember - this was before fax machines, there was no FedEx, IBM had a PC with a 10 megabyte hard drive, the cost of gas was $1.30 and inflation was 6%. Our serial number 00001 is still our client (the first 6 are still our clients and still in business) We have been so fortunate to be in this wonderful beauty industry and to have such great clients. You, our clients, are our greatest treasure and have helped us to achieve our vision and our dream. We are truly "livin the dream" Thank you for 32 wonderful years! Fred Dengler - Co-Founder of MIKAL Your MIKAL Team Bob, Glen, Bill, Andy, Diane...... Come celebrate with us at Camp MIKAL Aug. 23-25 513-528-5100 sales@mikal.com

MIKAL helps salons achieve

Dear Fred, Thank you very much for your guidance and doing what you can in assisting us! Based on my understanding of the software and strategies that you provide, you definitely have the ability to help get my business on track and profitable in a reasonable amount of time. My hope is that with your tools and expertise, the salon can very soon serve as another successful turnaround testimonial for you and your company. As mentioned at the show, once the salon has achieved the necessary financial results using your systems, I would be happy to do everything within my power to introduce you and your company to the contacts that I have established over the years within hotels, resorts, and country clubs and hospitality clients in general. Very nice. These notes keep our batteries charged up here at MIKAL!

Orlando Premiere Show follow up

The Orlando Premiere Orlando show just keeps giving! Salons attending our classes are using our systems to make some serious money! Call if you missed the show and we will send our class info out to you 800-448-5420 fredd@mikal.com www.mikal.com

Get over it salon and spa clients are ready to buy - but buy right

Who says there is no inflation so we can’t raise prices? Price Hikes are happening. As reported in Money Magazine Updated in 2016 Inflation is at 4% and some products are even higher: Fuel oil +22% Gasoline +11% Coffee +16% Milk +13% How are people responding? 39% cutting back on spending 28% adding more to retirement/savings 17% paid down/off credit cards 20% gave more to charity 16% gave less to charity 14% refinanced the house 14% changed health insurance So as salon and spa owners we need to raise prices (or quit serving coffee) at least 4%. Plus we need to have a small increase each year so clients don’t get sticker shock when we have to raise prices 20% because we have held the prices down for 8 years! We also need to appeal to the frugality of people by offering unbundled services and price levels. Packages, series, and memberships also help people justify spending while feeling like they are cutting back. Don’t rule out the new trend of Frugality Fatigue with the more well off. They have been good for EIGHT years saving, refinancing, cutting back and NOW many of them are ready to spend – just in a reasonable way. Fred Dengler MIKAL See more at www.mikal.com contact me at fredd@mikal.com

Experts join us at Camp MIKAL

INDUSTRY EXPERTS Max Out Your Systesm! - Demandforce’s Michelle will discuss the Hot Social media topics and how you can take advantage of the latest strategies - X-Charge’s David McKindrick will review all the latest compliance issues and the trends in credit card processing - What’s next with technology? BlueStar and HP will present the latest and greatest in tablets, printers, and POS systems to plan your tech strategies - Industry Trends from Paula at Kline will show you where the industry is and where it is headed with service trends, average tickets, retail and product lines and more - What’s Next? Join Fred Dengler for a vision of the industry over the next 36 months get ready!

Go wireless in the salon/spa for better client service and the environment

Enjoy FREEDOM in your salon/spa with the MIKAL CyberPreceptionist Tablet App. Combine the mobility of the new Win 8.1 tablets (not RT) with the Award Winning MIKAL Tablet App. Check in customers in seconds, book future appointments at your station, run digital ads for your salon and update client information from anywhere in your salon/spa. See the RSPA and VSR Innovative Award Winner - the MIKAL Tablet CyberPreceptionist App! CTRL + Click to see the video or copy and past into your web browser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boVIh3D-MuM Save over $100 on the packages and even more on the terminal licenses! Specials good for April 2014 Call us today for special pricing and set up details. Reduce lines at the front desk, get your client files cleaned up, market more effectively, and increase pre-booked appointments. The MIKAL CyberPreceptionist Tablet App. 513-528-5100 sales@mikal.com

Salon Today and MIKAL want your EMBA stories!

EMBA, your Employee Mobil Booking App, is HOT and the stories are great. In the last few weeks I've shared the Walmart and Bar Blitz stories with you and we get new stories each week about how Salons and Stylists are using EMBA to grow their business and have FUN! Salon Today magazine wants to feature YOU and your EMBA story. They love the idea of booking clients anywhere and any time. Rebooks are going up, new clients are being acquired and the places and ways are creative and fun. Send us your EMBA story and a picture and you may be FEATURED in the article. Do you EMBA when you are out and about? Where is the most unique place you have booked a client? When was the latest or earliest time in the day you did EMBA? Do you go out as a group to EMBA? E-mail MIKAL your story and a picture and we will forward to Salon Today! fredd@mikal.com 513-528-5100 www.mikal.com PS - Inventory BOGO is over the end of March. Buy an inventory option and get one FREE! Also CAMP Early Birdie is almost full. Save $110 on CAMP and pay is six easy squeezie payments. Call MIKAL and take advantage of these deals and specials!

Great Inventory ideas from a MIKAL client

From Kenneth and Mary Beth - 2 locations MIKAL Salon Software clients since 1986 Great Inventory and marketing ideas! Well, the downturn" hit us about 3 years ago. Inventory just piled up, and our retail sales fell through the floor! Just want to share some forces that are helping us remain successful. I have made inventory a calling with the extra time available to clerical staff. Clients, with support testimony from staff, told me they don't like asking for prices on products (which change constantly). After talking with manufacturers for six months about shelf talkers, we went "rogue" and created our own for a better price. We purchased plastic shelf talkers on the net ( $15 per hundred, I believe). We purchased a good label maker (could even be borrowed, or bought used). I assigned the new front desk person to set up the shelves and create the labels. (She is a former makeup artist for Saks and a manager of art galleries in California-ouch!) It has been the best idea I have had in a while! Clients love shopping without asking for prices b/c they are embarrassed. Clerical staff see immediately which products are low. Housekeepers and other support staff return products to the proper space reducing waste and lost sales. That little difference has made us more efficient and allows me to order in minutes every three to four working days. Don't need to tell you why that's good. You cannot imagine how happy I am to spend less than an hour maintaining shelves of eight product lines (and I have eliminated items that do not sell as I can special order and have them in days). Use the MIKAL Inventory ranking report each month and eliminate the last page (lowest ranked) items each month. Glen at MIKAL says you can also see these items as a screen under your MIKAL Management Check! I justified the expense of the label maker further by labelling/organizing closets and professional areas. This simple change has made us more efficient, neater, and less wasteful. On the sales end, we created a lovely promotion which rewards clients over multiple visits. We configured a bookmark (or frequent buyer retail card) which has a special promotion over four sequential visits. To get the bookmark checked or card punched you have to come in every 6 weeks for 4 visits in a row. I will let you know the results of the Discount Reason Code at end of year, but I think it has been one of the most successful promotions we have ever run. It is quite humerous: at St. Charles we have some clients from the wealthiest families in New Orleans striving to schedule appointments in such a way as to use the discount! They have been very vocal thanking Kenneth for rewarding loyal clients. For the first time in my work history, we have clients fighting for a $5 referral discount. Bill (their MIKAL consultant) showed us how to execute the Client Analysis Report(?) daily so we can update emails for birthdays and referral rewards. This is the phrase that has worked for us: " M__ we're not sending you your birthday special as we don't have your _______ (email/b-day) on file. I will correct that right now for you. Just put that info right here on your ticket." Anyway, am hoping to see you for your next Camp MIKAL. It is well-timed for a night at the Cincinnati Reds baseball game or maybe a Bengals pre-season game! Mary Beth Thank you for sharing MB and Kenneth! Learn more about MIKAL and the great control and marketing features at www.mikal.com or call 800-448-5420

3 Trees

3 Trees Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, ‘Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty.’ Then the second tree said, ‘Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take Kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull.’ Finally the third tree said, ‘I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest Tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me.’ After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, ‘ This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter’, and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest. At the second tree the woodsman said, ‘This looks like a strong tree. I should be able to sell it to the shipyard.’ The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship. When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, 'I don't need anything special from my tree, I'll take this one’, and he cut it down. When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces, and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams. Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time. Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and He stood and said 'Peace' and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat. Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it. The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, God will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His Ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.

MIKALs EMBA hits the bar scene

EMBA hits the bar scene Okay I received some e-mails and calls about EMBA after Jimmy the salon owner's Walmart story. So here is another EMBA story: (if your missed the Walmart story it is below the Bar Blitz story) One of our MIKAL salon owners (who asked to not be named) said going to Walmart on Friday night is lame. Her staff started using EMBA the smart phone booking app a few months ago and some of the girls noticed when they were out after work at clubs people would comment on their hair or learn they were a stylist and say "hey give me your card and I'll call you next week for a haircut" but they NEVER called! So when the stylist got EMBA she started booking the prospects right at the bar. This idea got around the salon and some of the girls would go out together and have a few drinks, dance, and book some appointments with new clients (you can enter a new client in EMBA) The owner liked the idea and she decided to package it. She says now her staff does a "Bar Blitz Night" every month. They all go out together and take their smart phones, EMBA, and some new client Gift Certificates. They hit 3 or 4 places and the owner pays for a beverage (yes she is the designated driver) and the girls mingle, have fun and hand out the Gift Certificates and book appointments right on the spot with EMBA! She says when the girls hit the bar as a group they get noticed and start networking. I asked if there are any no shows since the bookings might be forgotten overnight.... She said it was a concern but no problem because EMBA confirms with an e-mail or text the day before the appointment. What a deal - new clients - a girls night out - fun - and business building! So after that story Walmart does sound a little lame... But here is the Walmart story - you decide.. One of our salons told me their staff is going crazy with EMBA the MIKAL Employee Mobile Booking App scheduling clients all over town! Jimmy our salon owner called me and said "I've got to tell you about EMBA and my staff" Here is Jimmy's story: The first weekend the salon started using EMBA one of the stylists came in on Monday and said she had booked 6 of her clients at Walmart Friday night while she was shopping after work. She said her clients came up to her like they always do to say hi and then said I've got to call the salon and get in for a haircut. The stylist said don't bother calling I can book you right now on my smart phone. The clients loved it. Standing in the Walmart pet food section the clients were booked! That week the other stylists noticed she was busy and her clients were coming in talking about EMBA at Walmart. The next Friday when the salon was closing Jimmy saw 4 of his stylists getting ready to leave and it looked like they were going out somewhere. He asked them where the were going to grab a bite or a drink and they told him they were going to Walmart and get some bookings! The stylists said the entire town goes to Walmart on Friday nights and shops and hangs out and that is where they were heading with their smart phones and EMBA. Jimmy told me he loves it. But he is kind of sad too. He said "remember when the staff would all close on Friday and would go out and party? Now they go to Walmart! What happened to us? True story - I swear it! Fred MIKAL CEO and EMBA lover

MIKALs EMBA goes to Walmart

One of our salons told me their staff is going crazy with EMBA the MIKAL Employee Mobile Booking App scheduling clients all over town! Jimmy our salon owner called me and said "I've got to tell you about EMBA and my staff" Here is Jimmy's story: The first weekend the salon started using EMBA one of the stylists came in on Monday and said she had booked 6 of her clients at Wal-Mart Friday night while she was shopping after work. She said her clients came up to her like they always do to say hi and then said I've got to call the salon and get in for a haircut. The stylist said don't bother calling I can book you right now on my smart phone. The clients loved it. Standing in the Wal-Mart pet food section the clients were booked! That week the other stylists noticed she was busy and her clients were coming in talking about EMBA at Wal-Mart. The next Friday when the salon was closing Jimmy saw 4 of his stylists getting ready to leave and it looked like they were going out somewhere. He asked them where the were going to grab a bite or a drink and they told him they were going to Wal-Mart and get some bookings! The stylists said the entire town goes to Wal-Mart on Friday nights and shops and hangs out and that is where they were heading with their smart phones and EMBA. Jimmy told me he loves it. But he is kind of sad too. He said "remember when the staff would all close on Friday and would go out and party? Now they go to Wal-Mart! What happened to us? True story - I swear it! Fred MIKAL CEO and EMBA lover

EMBA is a huge success with salons and spa

MIKAL salons are experiencing a big increase in Rebooks and Prebooks using EMBA the employee mobile booking app! Salons report that after installing EMBA the stylists and nail techs log onto EMBA on their smart phones while with their client at the end of the service and rebook the client right then! The clients love it because it speeds up the check out at the desk and their service providers make sure they get their best appointments! The staff loves doing the booking on EMBA because they know the client is locked in for their next service and the proper booking was done. Plus they look cool doing it and are in control! Amy, one of our MIKAL Salon Owners says her massage therapists and estheticians book their clients for the next 4 or 5 visits right in the treatment room to make sure the client is scheduled for a series of appointments. The clients love getting the extra attention and buy into a program of visits. Then Amy says the BIG payoff is the receptionist signs the client up for a 4 or 5 visit series so the client saves money and the salon gets the full series payment up front. Paid for and Booked! WOW Get the EMBA option, app, set up, and training for FREE this month just for buying 24 months of service up front. Call MIKAL for details at 513-528-5100 and EMBA!

MIKAL gives EMBA to the salons and spas

EMBA - Employee Mobile Appointment Book Imagine being able to book client appointments from anywhere. On your smart/Iphone. With anyone. At any time. The Employee Mobile Appointment Book gives you the freedom, power, and flexibility to do this! When you see a client out and about and they say “I really need to call in and book an appointment” you can now say: “Let me book it right now for you!” All you have to do is log onto the MIKAL Mobile Appointment Booking app on your smart/Iphone. Select the day, time, service, and your client is booked. What if you meet a new potential client? You can enter their basic information, find an appointment and book them. Fast, easy, and done! Pick a date. MIKAL knows your schedule. Pick a time. MIKAL shows best start times. You will only book perfect appointments! Pick the service. Your services. Your prices. Your times. Pick a present client or enter a new client. PLUS: Get your schedule real time. Check clients in at the salon. See who is waiting for you. You are in control! Call MIKAL today and get EMBA going! 513-528-5100 or sales@mikal.com See EMBA on our web site under On-Line Booking at www.mikal.com

Just In Time Appointment Ideas - make your salon more money from Fred Dengler

Today’s client is conservatively impulsive! That means they hold on to their money as long as they can but when the urge hits them to buy something - they do! (Remind you of anyone you know?) At the same time in this economy clients have slowed down their visit frequency. Clients are stretching their appointments out and did you know if your average client puts off their visits by just one more week that can mean a 15% decrease in sales volume? OUCH! JITA is the answer. Just In Time Appointment offers take advantage of the new buying trends and increase client visits and income. JITA looks at your book each morning and checks for available times. Then JITA e-mails/texts clients who you want to offer these appointment opportunities to. Only each service provider’s clients that have opted in to JITA, only for the services you want to promote, only for the times of day you want to build, and only to clients that do not have a future appointment. JITA makes smart marketing offers! So you need to get JITA going NOW! It only takes minutes to set up and runs every day automatically. Plus you get the Automatic Opt Out program for FREE and one hour of phone/internet training on any MIKAL software option FREE. Save $200 and get $75 in training free and get JITA going for increased income. Call MIKAL for details at 513-528-5100 and see the attached info. JITA will build your business fast. Fred Dengler CEO - MIKAL sales@mikal.com

Cash Flow articles call to get a PDF of these for FREE

Cash Flow Ideas Articles How about some cash flow ideas? Here is a description of my articles on increasing cash flow. Call MIKAL (513-528-5100) for a FREE PDF version of any of the following articles: If you need some motivation and a TON of cash flow ideas read the inspiring story first. It is a true success story! Take Control of Your Business gives you a number of initiatives you can start that will have a positive cash flow impact on your business. Don’t know where to start? Look at the P&L worksheet to get an idea of industry percentages, where you are now and where you want to go. Are you doing lots of business but don’t seem to be making money? I hate to bring up the “T” word but you need to read the Stop Theft article. Want to use your MIKAL system to make lots of money? Check out the Front Desk, 5 Million, Rebook, and Membership articles. Just pick one every 2 months to execute and move your business forward! Are you dusting too much inventory every week? Look at the Inventory article. If you have ANY questions call us at MIKAL 513-528-5100. We are here to help you make money! Sales@mikal.com www.mikal.com Fred CEO – MIKAL Also check out my blog www.freddengler.blogspot.com for more ideas

SuperCharge your Salon Profits for 2014

Supercharge Your Salon Profits in 2014: How about getting a jump on sales and profits with some easy, fast, and cheap Marketing Ideas First you need to realize that the Money is Out There! We have opportunities to make money every day that we pass up due to: Ineffective systems and support, Poor/slow/no automatic new client and return client follow up, Failure to CLOSE sales, Systems that do not make us money, and of course a Lack of time and time wasting habits. Now for the ideas: Let’s change your ineffective scripting. How many PRICE CHECK Phone Calls do you get a week? Most salons only book 1 out of 4 price checks for an appointment for one simple reason and what if we could DOUBLE the bookings? 1 booking a week times 50 weeks times $40 average ticket times 5 visits a year generates $10,000.00…. Price Checks that Create Bookings need to do three things: 1. Give them something extra when they call to check on your prices 2. Show you care by making the offer right then when they are on the phone 3. Invest in their first visit with you HOW TO DO IT: When the client calls and says “How much is a XYZ Service?” You say “I’d be happy to give you that information, in fact if you give me your name and address I’ll sent you a ($XX Gift Certificate good for your first visit!” Get their name and address for the envelope, go ahead and do your normal price check script and then CLOSE the appointment! The Next Step – Automate It! Put the name and e-mail in your MIKAL software and send the offer via e-mail or text and they will get it right while they are on the phone with you. Get Them to Come Back The average salon only keeps 30% of new clients for a second visit and only 14% of new clients for 5 visits! Quick Lube shops keep an average of 52% of their oil change clients for a follow up oil change. We need to get them back in. That happens by rebooking before the new client leaves! A new client costs a salon between $30 and $60. How do we keep these clients? New Client Welcome Book Put a book or value pack together with 6-10 offers. All are buy something to get something and retail buy 2 get 1 at half off. Add up all the values and list them on the front of the book/value pack. Place signs in the waiting area, front desk, and stations “Get your New Client Welcome Book Worth $80.00” The Key is the Client MUST rebook before leaving to get the book! You will DOUBLE your new client 2nd visit bookings! Make Better Decisions Do You KNOW Your Retention? Computerize your Retention Tracking Do You Track Success with Your Staff? Computerize your Goal Setting Do You Send thank you & reminders each week? Computerize your Automatic Marketing Do You Order Product on Computer? Computerize with Easy Product Ordering MIKAL SYSTEMS WILL DO ALL THESE THINGS AND MORE! Client Loyalty the EASY Way Loyalty Programs do equal BIG $$$. You can use low tech punch cards to generate more sales and loyalty or automate your points program with MIKAL to track and reward clients the easy way. Ideas that maximize your points rewards systems include: Clear ALL client points one time each year (pick your slowest month). Give extra points to drive sales to slow days, times, services, staff - don’t redeem points during your prime times! Always Redeem points as a discount off the regular price, not as a payment type – don’t pay commission on redeemed discounts! Market to encourage redemption with regular e-marketing blasts with your MIKAL software system. MIKAL prints the points on each sales receipt, the client work ticket, and points show in their on-line booking information. Script Your Service Up$ell: The up-sell is the biggest money maker in business. Ask Wendys, MacDonalds, Victoria's Secret…………. Industry teaching is when you have the client in the chair/room you pitch the up sell But this have never been effective because it is Pushy or seems like a Bait and Switch. So when should we offer the Up$ell? Up$ell at Booking Time: When the client calls for a haircut have an add on upsell ready to offer. While you are looking for the appointment just ask if the client has heard about your hair department specials. When they say no then tell them how your new Conditioning treatment will make their hair feel great and be easier to manage. Offer the special price and then ask “How does that sound?”. Call us at MIKAL for more booking scripts. Sell every 6th client a $15 service in a 4 stylist salon generates $16,000.00 a year - This strategy works! We even build the up-sells into the On-Line Booking System! Back to Basics Are you sending weekly New Client Thank you, Referral Thank you, Reminders, and Birthday cards? You need to stay in front of your clients and touch them on a regular basis. The problem is time, consistency, message, and costs But not with MIKAL Software featuring AutoPilot Marketing! AutoPilot Marketing Set it and forget it – it keeps selling for you! What will Regular Marketing Do? In a 4 stylist salon we want to get one more visit out of just 25% of the clients That is about 300 visits If the average ticket is $30 that generates increased sales of $9000.00 Plus tips, plus add-ons, plus retail….. Our e-mails and texts look like you personally sent the message. You can attach graphics also. Let’s Take a Breath…..What will these 5 strategies make you? How about $35,000 in a 4 Stylist Salon? So call us at MIKAL and make plans to get these strategies in place. Look at our MIKAL software that has these programs built in! You can use the system for as little as $12 a week and in a 4 operator salon can generate $35,000 a year. Spend $12 a week to make $700 extra dollars a week. What are you waiting for? Call MIKAL 800-448-5420

Salon Success

How about this: Success is simple Retail needs to increase and more than 2 weeks on hand needs to be eliminated. Management and service providers must be held accountable for each clients prescription being done and consultation on retail. Management needs to implement the automatic e-marketing, referral rewards, and Just in time appointment options - a one hour investment that markets automatically every day! Rule change: Just charging what your menu says services cost will increase sales 2-5 percent. Rule change: No client gets to a service provider without checking in at the desk. No client checks out without a workticket. No discounts unless they are supported by a salon coupon or authorized special or it comes off the service providers side of the ticket. Management manage: Meeting with service providers each week on sales vs goals will increase sales 5-10 percent. The story that inspired you this past week from MaryBeth was not about memos, e-mails, spreadsheets etc.. It was about working with EACH operator to increase business, working with EACH client to get them back in and more often and also had nothing to do with trying to BUY business with grope ons and crazy discounts. We build a profitable business one happy client at a time every day.

inspiring from one of our clients

Fred, I want to share with you one of the biggest challenges of my career in the beauty business and how I recovered with the knowledge I have gained from you and your team and with our software. In March of 2011 two employees moved several blocks down to a booth operation. One stylist was the top producer who had seven years with us. The other stylist had been with us for twenty years and was a reliable performer. They accounted for more than $200,000 of gross income. Our contract was implemented in 2007 so both were excluded. I considered them to be loyal employees. It's the familiar story: both came to us with nothing and we supported them with supplemented education, benefits, and support in their personal lives. After many tears, I dusted myself off, prayed to God to guide me, and on the way to work a few days after this bombshell I heard these strategies in my head: Cash Flow: I called all the "monthlies" which could be negotiated and did so. We had recently cut back to bi-weekly payroll which was fortunate. I used the inventory software to make tough calls on products leaving and staying. I had a tasteful sign for "SALE" items and devoted about 12 linear vertical feet to that area in a visible area (beside shampoo area) When distributors challenged me I remained steadfast. I asked my top producer if she could give me two Saturdays a month. (She said "yes". :) I discontinued the housekeeping position in the daytime and hired three new talent salaried stylists over a six month period to perform these duties. Retail Sales: I created retail specials for six week periods and produced framed signage at each station, easel signs, and foam board signs on restroom doors.We used an in-house graphic design software then emailed the product and specs to Kinkos and produced a professional looking sign for a very reasonable price. I created bundles of all kinds seasonally. We put small cards with retail promotions in every welcome bag for new clients. Service Sales Marketing: I used my appointment book to identify client types: * 1. Clients who came every 8-10 weeks for haircuts only. * 2. Clients who came every 4-6 weeks for haircuts. * 3. Clients who came every 8-10 weeks for color and cut services. * 4. Clients who came every 4-6 weeks for color and cut services. * 5. Clients who came regularly for Japanese Straightening or keratins. The minute the stylists left on the last day, I began contacting clients by email or by telephone if no email address was available and offered the following: *1. Next haircut is on the house. * 2. Next three cuts are on the house. * 3. Next color and cut are OTH. *4. Next three (3) color and cut OTH. * 5. Next keratin or Japanese Str8r OTH. I personally made calls for up to five hours a day. Over a six month period I continued to place emails and phone calls to clients who had not returned. I personally recommended a stylist(s) for each client. ALL LOYAL SERVICE PROVIDERS WERE PAID IN FULL FOR SERVICES. Clients who received one free color and cut received a promotional card to get the next cut and style free with their next color service with any stylist of their choice. I bought a unique hole punch and used that to punch a business card to create a gift certificate to check against the transactions. Result: Departing stylists were frantically texting and calling loyal stylists about what clients were coming in. Stylists wondered why the departing stylists had so much time to text and call. Loyal stylists were increasingly busy and verbalized that the departing stylists had made a mistake. They expressed loyalty to our salon. Clients verbalized to me that they had wanted a change for a time but were reluctant to "hurt" the long time stylist. Within two months 2/3 of the contacted clients for the 20 year stylist visited. Within 2 months 50% of the contacted clients for the top producer visited. Clients verbalized to me how much they appreciated my personal attention. A few clients returned but did not want to take advantage of any offer. Final Page: In less than two years, our numbers returned to the March 2011 figures. On March 1, 2013, not even two years later, the booth rental salon closed its doors. We could not have survived this challenge without many years of education and input from your team. We could not have recovered so well without the software. I have learned many painful lessons and maybe they can help another owner. My dear friend, Fred. One last tid-bit. I paid off the last piece of debt incurred after the walk out and another salon disaster last month. We had borrowed almost a million dollars across a bank, SBA, and SBA loan and paid it off in less than eight years while growing the SECOND location. Thanks for being a key piece of our success over these decades.

Salon owner holiday marketing ideas from Fred Dengler

Get Your Piece of the Holiday Pie! It's going to be a rough holiday season for many salons and spas, with an overall expected sales gain of just 2% to 3% over last year. The big chains will be advertising and slashing prices early and often to drive traffic into their salon/spas. And that will be especially hard on smaller salons and spas - unless they've done something to set themselves apart in the minds of shoppers. All across the country, salon and spa owners are being forced to make a difficult choice: slug it out on services and price with the biggest salons, spas and chains, or develop a niche that the big players don't cater to. With the expansion of national franchises and chains into every neighborhood, the Drug and Grocery stores carrying our professional products, the Internet bringing so much merchandise to consumers, competing on price to sell services and products isn't a viable strategy. Coupons and specials upset the staff with discount customers who come in once and do not return. Two options that can bring success: stock products too specialized or to appeal to mass merchants; or personalize your service to make that the distinguishing feature of your salon/spa. Creating Unique selling points that WOW the customers and differentiate your salon/spa. Look at your customer's experience in your salon/spa. Five sense the process your customer goes through. What can you do to give every customer a wow with every sense? What can you do in a sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste way that will make the customer enjoy their time at your location more? Is your location spotless with all products dusted? Do you have inviting artwork on the walls and stimulating fashion videos? Do you have scented candles or fresh brewed coffee to stimulate the customer's sense of smell? Do you give the customer clean, fresh smocks and towels? Is your music designed to get your message and salon/spa culture across to the customers? These areas (and many more) can be considered and used to increase your customer's enjoyment! Use our Holiday Successful Promotion Check list with items like: -Do you have a flyer to hand out at the front desk at client check in for our Holiday specials? -Do you have a Gift Card Display? -Do you have your Hint Kit together to get present clients to get their spouses to buy something special for them? -Do you have your Gift Basket Give Away raffle set up to capture everyone's e-mail and cell phone? -Are your gift baskets and shrink wrap sets ready to go - on the shelf November 15th ? Over the 45 days before the December 31st you will see 90% of your regular clients. Now is the time to make the small changes that will WOW the customers and keep them coming back for more in the slower months of January and February.