The moment can come without warning... no symptoms, no indications of distress, and without mercy. It can happen in the grocery store, at the dinner table or on the golf course. It starts with a flash of pain to the brain, an accelerated heartbeat, and a shocked look in the victim’s eyes. It is a sudden bolt of realization that years of dedication and dreams are ending with a flat-line of business profitability. But with quick response, emergency assistance and the correct diagnosis, most businesses can be saved before they take a turn for the worse…and it’s too late.

Unfortunately, flat-lining – the silent killer of hopes and dreams – is striking more than ever in businesses across America. Businesses that have grown and prospered in the past are now finding it hard to maintain a healthy bottom line and grow each year.

Before you can breathe life back into the lungs (and bank account) of your business, it is important to complete a quick but detailed examination to detect the cause of the problem. Warning: too many times the wrong diagnosis can lead to years of pain, discomfort, and loss of profitability.

Check your pulse…
When was the last time you checked the “blood pressure” of your business? Your company’s “heartbeat” is the customers who visit, refer, purchase, and return to you. An easy way to check in with your patrons is a simple survey. In general, find out what they like, and what you could do better. Ask specific questions to gather valuable information. Stay on purpose; if your profitability is down, then ask sales questions; such as whether they heard about your gift certificate packages the last time they were in, or if they knew about your refer-a-friend program. In other words, if your business is bleeding profits, and you need a tourniquet not a Band-Aid, don’t spend valuable time asking if they like the new color you painted the reception area!

Where does it hurt?
Try to localize the pain for proper diagnosis. Unfortunately, many times the problem is where we least expect to look, and may not show up as an obvious symptom; but can be indicated by many secondary signs. In the case of low profitability and low sales, we may immediately want to blame the discomfort on a poor economy. BE CAREFUL when doing this, you may end up visiting St. Peter and the pearly gates before it is your time!

“The economy is bad – people just aren’t buying” is a pseudo-symptom and a bad excuse for employees to use for poor sales numbers. The truth is, more times than not, the employees are just not offering. In the hospital, an EKG would be ordered to check heart rhythms; in business we may need an “SSS”. A Secret Shopper Survey can tell you if your employees are making the offers to clients. Check in to see if your guests are being invited to purchase gift certificates, additional services, products, special packages, etc. Ask yourself the most important diagnostic question: How much profit is being lost to missed opportunities?

Plan a date for surgery…
Before the big day in the O.R., the day when the secret shoppers will sneak unexpectedly into your place of business for an exploratory look at how your team functions, it is very important to take some pre-op steps. First, and most importantly SET YOUR TEAM UP FOR SUCCESS! The intention is to always have a good result and try to catch your team doing it right. Let them know you are trying to raise customer service practices and give them the Secret Shopper Survey questions BEFORE the survey begins.
>br> TO BE CONTINUED…Next month, find out what do for post-op follow-up, maintenance, and also what to do when you unexpectedly lose someone! In the meantime, call 877.378.8212 for a FREE Audio CD and survey document on How to Run a Successful Secret Shopper Survey in your Salon!