CONQUERING YOUR CONSULTATIONS!
The first way to value your work is by analyzing the level and mastery of your technical skill. This means that your services are only worth as much as you know how to do, right!? Wrong. Aside from how well you can complete the hair services, each of us as stylists are ONLY as good as our CONSULTATIONS! The more you educate yourself on how to effectively communicate, the more you can charge for your services!
Complete a consultation successfully and you will ALWAYS meet the expectations of your client. Why? Because YOU set the expectations at the jump off of the service!
If you fail to stay in control during your consults, or if you half-ass your introduction, I can guarantee that both your service dollars and client satisfaction will suffer. Regardless of how many years we all have been behind the chair, we each offer our own UNIQUE views on what will look great on the client and what we know we can each individually achieve in one appointment. The 3-7 minutes that it takes to respectfully listen to your client and then offer your professional opinion is what will build your book, your brand and your bank account!
Of course it’s important to master your craft by constantly educating yourself, staying on top of trends and practicing new techniques. But what is even more important is to harness the power of confidence in your consultation and to be able to clearly convey a plan of action to your client!
This week I am releasing a Bonus Member’s Only Blog Post breaking down how to complete an effective consultation! I’ll be sharing ways that I have found success in the conversations and negotiations that take place each time a client sits in my chair. This bonus post will include easy to follow consultation scripting, appointment planning, and information about the art of customer service!
Gain confidence and take control of your consultations to watch your service requests and income exponentially increase!
Here we go!
I always joke that every time a client walks into the salon they act slightly confused. They fidget with their phone, rush into showing inspiration photos or sometimes don’t clearly share what they want. There is a reason for this. It’s because they are nervous…
Sometimes we forget that it's a vulnerable position to be in when having to talk about our appearance. To sit in front of an oversized mirror, under spotlights, and in front of a stranger that will have their hands in your hair can provoke insecurities and anxiety. This is why it is super important to WELCOME your client to the salon and your chair. Allow them to get settled into the chair by hanging their coat or handbag, placing their belongings on your station and allowing them a second to get acclimated to the space they will be in for the next few hours. While this is happening, do NOT start petting your clients hair. Skip the finger raking and combing out the hair for a minute. You haven’t even gotten to know them as a human first. Remember, clients are not mannequins. Let’s disarm them before we touch their hair.
DISARMING your client, and treating them as a guest in your space, will slowly lower the barriers that organically rise when meeting someone new. It’s hard to know exactly what experiences or questions they have without allowing them a moment to take a deep breath. During this time I make sure to stand in front of them so that I can make direct eye contact and show that I am truly interested in getting to know them. Here is the script I like to use to disarm my clients while I stand in front of the chair:
“Hi Sarah, I’m Bobby, it’s a pleasure meeting you!”
Sits Sarah in the styling chair and organizes her belongings. If she is wearing a hoodie or bulky top, I’ll ask that she changes into a salon robe.
“Thanks for coming in today. I was excited to see you in my schedule. Tell me about your hair!”
Asking a broad question about their hair will encourage the client to speak openly about what they are feeling about their hair which gives them a chance to give you the queues for what you should focus on during the visit.
Most clients will talk for about 30 seconds about their hair when asked a generally open ended question. While they talk, take some mental, or actual notes if it helps, on the key points that they express. In each service you want to under promise and over deliver. Usually a good rule of thumb is to guarantee THREE things that they can expect as an outcome.
Before we jump into which questions should be asked, remember, the words “NO” and “CAN’T” should never end up in a consultation. Restructure your NO’s into a question. Here’s an example:
Client: “I want my ends to be ashy and more of white blonde.”
Instead of saying “I can’t do that because it will damage your hair” say this:
Stylist: “Ok, so I understand you want brighter ends and to change your tone. Are you comfortable cutting 2 inches off in order to protect your hair’s integrity and to prevent further damage?”
Client: “No, I don't want to cut a lot off today.”
Stylis: “No problem. In order to maintain the length of your hair I recommend that we take the lightening process slowly over time. If I do this, you’ll definitely feel lighter today, and then we can work towards your ashier color goal over the new few appointments. Are you comfortable with that?”
By changing your “no I can’t do that” to a question for them, you're flipping the topic back on to the client to have them make a new decision. Either they get the color that they truly want by cutting off the damaged ends, or they choose a different goal in order to maintain their hair’s integrity. This will allow you to LEAD the client in the direction that you feel is appropriate, instead of TELLING them hard yes’s and no’s. Remember, no one, in any situation, likes to be told “NO”.
Here are the questions to ask during a consultation in order to create realistic expectations and an exciting path to their dream hair:
When was the last time you had your color and cut done?
How frequently are you comfortable coming in for your color and cut on a regular basis?
What shampoo, conditioner and products do you use in your regimen at work?
If you could change anything about your hair color, cut or style, what would that be?
Do you have any inspiration photos that I can see in order to GET AN IDEA of what your eye is drawn to?
It’s important to let the client do the talking at this point of the consultation. A great way to acknowledge that you’re not only hearing what they are saying, but understanding what they mean is by MIRRORING. Mirroring is the behavior of imitating and acknowledging the gestures, topics of conversation, and attitudes of another person through body language. Here are the ways which you can mirror your client during a consultation:
Stand in front of your client. Not behind the chair. This creates a more personal connection and signals that you are ready to listen.
Maintain eye contact. It can be a habit for all of us as stylists to keep our eyes focused on their hair as we start to brainstorm how to tackle the project. However, it's so important during the consultation to hold eye contact while the client shares their hair goals with you in order to acknowledge that you’re hearing their wants.
Nod your head in agreement. It’s important to keep your arms uncrossed and nod your head while the client is sharing their thoughts. This can be hard to do if the client is requesting something that you know isn’t realistic but will help when it comes time to tell them their goal isn’t achievable in the day’s session. Remember, no one likes to be told NO.
Show genuine interest. This person has scheduled time out of their life to come and see you, a professional, to trust with changing their appearance. Take pride in that! Listen to what they are saying and ask genuine questions in return.
Slow down. Oftentimes we get in our own way when it comes to getting the most out of the consultation. Regardless of how far you’re running behind or how many minutes the client was late, be sure to slow down your speech and take your time. Talking too quickly or rambling on with your words will either give the client the impression that you’re nervous or unsure of what to do. Take your time.
Now it’s your time to shine! You’ve listened to the clients “wants” and now you have to be clear in setting their expectations for this session. Whether you have 2 hours or 8 hours to complete their service, it’s important to remember to clearly explain what you know the outcome will be. Try to stay away from phrases like “I’ll see how much I can lift you” or “we’ll see how light I can get your hair.” You’re the professional! You should KNOW exactly how you’re going to tackle the project and what it will look like at the end.
A good way I have found to cover my bases is to literally list the services I am going to complete. For example: “Great, so today I’m going to start with a full highlight, a root gloss, an all over gloss, an olaplex treatment then I’ll trim your hair and finish with a blowout and style. How does that sound?”
By doing this you are preventing any confusion as to what services and steps you’ll be doing, but also mimic what their receipt will say at check out. For those of you who are uncomfortable with talking about service charges, this is a great way to tell the client what they will be paying for without having to get into the numbers.
The last check in before I mix up their color is a final question. “Do you have any questions for me before we begin?” This gives the client the opportunity to ask or inquire about anything they feel unsure about.
The last statement before you walk away from your chair should spark EXCITEMENT! Say something like:
I can’t wait to get started!
You’re going to look beautiful!
I really think you’re going to love your hair!
Here is an example of the dialogue in a thorough consultation for a blonde client:
Bobby: “Thanks for coming in today. Tell me about your hair!”
Sarah: “I’m pretty low maintenance when it comes to my hair. I have been getting highlighted for years and I feel like I can never get as bright as I want. It’s always brassy and I still see dark at my roots quickly after my color.”
Bobby: “Yes, I can totally see that there is some warmth in your blonde. How often do you like to get your color done?”
Sarah: “Usually every 4 months or so.”
Bobby: “Ok, great. We can totally work with a color that will last a few months for you. Tell me about how you wear and style your hair regularly.”
Sarah: “I try to only wash my hair twice a week so I usually just let it air dry and then throw some loose curls in it when I am going to be on zoom or am seeing friends.”
Bobby: “Alright, we can definitely switch up the color placement so that you feel brighter, especially when your hair is wavy. Your hair feels pretty good for not having had a cut in 4 months, I’d say we should trim your ends and reshape your layers so that your color looks its best and we prevent having to cut off inches in the future. Are you comfortable with about a half inch off the length?”
Sarah: “I didn't really plan on getting a haircut today.”
Bobby: “I love the long hair on you so I definitely don’t think that we need to cut a lot off of your length, but in order for me to be able to brighten your ends and intensify your blonde, I’ll need to trim the perimeter of your hair in order to protect the integrity. Would you rather skip the haircut today and stay slightly darker, or would you be comfortable with a half inch off so that I can get you as close to your hair color goals as possible today?”
Sarah: “A half inch is ok, the layers around my face could probably use a trim too.”
Bobby: “Awesome, so today I recommend that we do a full blonding service to brighten your ends and take care of your regrowth. I’ll make sure to take care of any areas of darkness that you don’t like seeing. After this, I’m going to balayage some of your ends to remove the old glosses and prep your hair for the new tone. I also recommend we do a subtle root gloss which will allow a softer grow out and get you the color longevity between appointments that you're looking for. I’ll be sure to neutral more of the warmth you're seeing with an all-over gloss too. We’ll finish with a deep conditioning treatment to seal in the new color before we start your haircut and style! We can get you on a 3-4 month schedule for maintaining this color. Do you have any questions?”
Sarah: “Sounds good, I don’t think I have any questions.”
Bobby: “Great! I’m excited to get started, I really think you’re going to love the results!”
There you go! You can now confidently walk away to mix up the color knowing that the client is excited about your vision for the services and confident in your skills to create their goal! If you use this blog as a template for your consultations then you’ll definitely see an increase in your client’s satisfaction and retention! Give it a try and let me know how it goes!
XOXO
Bobby
