Tip #2 of 10 in the series - Hybrid your book – Some clients insist on and demand to be taken by appointment.  Some client’s lives just do not allow for the structure and commitment that making an appointment imparts.

Learning to manage a hybrid book is a powerful marketing tool and a way to see your appointment book work for you, not against you.  A hybrid booking system is one in which you accept appointments and work walk-ins in between these appointments.  Ideally, in a hybrid system, 50% of your traffic is on the book and 50% are walks in.  If you are delivering 4 haircuts per hour you would book on the hour and the half hour and take the walk-ins on the 15 and 45 min marks.  The secret to managing this successfully is to take the appointments on time every time (or maybe a few minutes early when possible).  You would only pull a walk-in from the waiting room when the time to complete the cut fits in before the next appointment time has arrived. The double bonus here is that you build a reputation for always running on time and you train clients to be respectful of your time by showing up on time.

This system allows for you to build a full book and a busy business that appeals to and accommodates both types of clients and their lifestyles.  The more you can build a world that fits more people the bigger and better a business you will build.

Your appointment book is your interface between you and the world of your clients.  Your appointment book does way more than just tell you who to cut and when to cut them.  In this 10-installment blog post series I will share my top 10 tips for managing your appointment book.  You can extract the maximum value to you and your business from this powerful resource and tool.  I welcome your comments and discussion.