Shake The Fear!

Clients, Clients, Clients…!

Working with perfect strangers isn’t easy. My first client experience was a gem, but not everyone gets off so easily. I consider it to be fresh stylists “first lesson”. You can really tell a lot about a person when seeing them speak to new people. We have it a little harder then professional stylists because beauty schools clientele (even tho they keep coming back) tend to prepare for the worst. They can be a pill. Is imperative to remain focused and never let the client know you have NO idea what you’re doing! Student salon floors are the campuses greatest educational tool. You can learn more in 5 minutes on the clinic floor then you can in 5 hours in a theory book. They provide real hands-on experiences, supply opportunity to build your ability to sell retail, and offer a chance to build your first personal clientele. Trust me, especially for the regulars of student salons, when they find a student that does their hair just right…they’ll be with you until the end.

What really stuck for me was when my school handed us out a flyer with GREAT opener questions that will allow you to investigate exactly what the clients needs/wants and the perfect way to execute it. Here’s how I do it:

• Tell me what you like about your hair
• Tell me what you DON’T like about you hair
• What products do you use at home (SELL RETAIL)
• How do you style your hair at home, are they doing it properly? (Educate your client)
• When was your last service?
• Do you wear your hair up frequently?
• Or keep it simple: What brings you in today?

Those are brilliant ways to get your client speaking comfortably about what they want to see changed in their hair. Technicalities aside it’s also very important to make your client feel comfortable so get those conversational juices flowing. You’re more likely to receive a nicer tip if that client feels like they’ve made a new friend. They can fall in love with your personality so much that they’ll even come back if their hair wasn’t quite how they would have liked it! They’ll trust you’ll do better next time. Here’s a good common conversational intro’s:

• Compliment them!
• Stay away from topics of religion and politics
• How was their weekend?
• If a holiday just passed ask them what they did
• Compliment them again!

Try to read them as a person. If you target a specific group, like exercise you can start with a question: their interest in healthy food, diet, gym routines. Have they heard of acai berry or the importance of Jamba Juices “health shots” they include in their smoothes. Target what you think interests them. And if they’re the silent type…just let them take a nap. They’ll love you anyways!