Not All Clients Are Equal: How the 80/20 Rule Can Transform Your Salon Profits

3 days ago
4 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Reviewing salon data and identifying the top 20% of customers.

Are you fully booked… but not seeing the profit you expected?

Or working hard to fill your calendar — and still feeling behind?

Whether your chair stays full or you’re trying to increase bookings, the real issue may not be how hard you’re working.

It may be where your time, energy, and marketing focus are going.

In the February 2026 ANHC PRO Business Mastery Series, Dior Metcalf of Primus Beauty Ventures walked salon professionals through one of the most powerful business tools available: the 80/20 Principle.

His core message was simple:

“You can do less and make more — if you focus on the right customers, services, and products.”

This isn’t theory. It’s strategy.

And it starts with data.

What Is the 80/20 Rule?

The 80/20 Principle (also known as the Pareto Principle) suggests that:

80% of your results come from 20% of your inputs.

In a salon setting, that often means:

20% of your clients generate the majority of your revenue.
20% of your services drive most of your sales.
20% of your products account for most of your retail movement.

But most beauty professionals treat everything — and everyone — the same.

That’s where profitability gets diluted.

Step One: Get the Data (No Guessing)

Dior emphasized that this process must begin with real numbers:

“You gotta start with the data. You can’t be making decisions like this based off ‘I feel like I know my top customers.’”

Here’s what to pull from your system (booking software, POS, CRM):

A 12-month sales report by service
A 12-month sales report by client
(If you retail) A 12-month report by product SKU

Then:

Identify the top 20% by revenue
Identify the bottom 20% by revenue
Everything in between becomes your middle 60%

Only then do you decide what to adjust.

What to Do With Your Top 20%

Your top 20% clients or services are your profit engine.

They:

Generate the most revenue
Refer others
Leave reviews
Trust your recommendations
Often require less friction

Dior explained that these clients should receive elevated treatment:

“If they’re bringing in 40% of your revenue, those customers should get a better experience.”

That does not mean constant discounts.

It means:

VIP experiences
Early booking access
Personalized touches
Birthday recognition
Exclusive appreciation events
Strategic price increases (yes — on your strongest services)

If they already love you, small price increases often don’t create churn. They create margin.

What to Do With the Middle 60%

This is where efficiency wins.

The middle group still represents meaningful revenue — but they should be systemized.

Dior’s recommendation:

Automate booking
Pre-sell or pre-book
Bundle services
Standardize processes
Use tech to reduce manual friction

The key word here is efficiency.

This group should run smoothly without requiring your highest emotional energy.

What to Do With the Bottom 20%

This is where most salon owners get uncomfortable.

But ignoring this group drains profitability.

The bottom 20% may:

Take excessive time
Be highly price-sensitive
Require disproportionate effort
Use many resources for low return

Your options:

Raise prices
Set service minimums
Refer them out
Remove the service entirely

As Dior explained:

“If they’re taking the same amount of time but making less money, you probably should look to get rid of that.”

This isn’t about disrespect.

It’s about reallocating your most valuable asset — your time.

The Inventory Angle (For Product Sellers)

If you sell products — this principle may be even more powerful.

Inventory is cash sitting on a shelf.

Instead of stocking 10 versions of shampoo:

Identify your top 2–3 SKUs.
Increase velocity on what sells.
Reduce slow-moving items.
Free up cash flow.

High-velocity inventory improves margins and liquidity.

The Strategic Shift

Dior summarized it clearly:

“Focus is like a superpower.” 2026 Beauty Business Mastery Se…

When you:

Focus your marketing on your strongest service
Focus your time on your highest-value clients
Focus your retail on your fastest-moving products

You simplify operations.

You reduce waste.

You increase margin.

And many businesses implementing this model see 15–25% profitability improvements once executed strategically.

Why Strategy Matters (After the Data)

Pulling reports is step one.

Deciding what to adjust is step two.

That’s where professional strategy makes the difference.

Should you:

Eliminate services?
Tier your offerings?
Create VIP programs?
Raise pricing?
Bundle differently?
Adjust your marketing avatar?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer.

Your strategy must match your brand, your capacity, and your long-term goals — especially if you want to grow, scale, or eventually sell your business.