The 2 Basics in Building Clientele
Photo by Flickr user Mainstream
So hows your appointment book looking? If it's a little bare, and has for some time, you've probably been searching high and low for tips and techniques to get new clients in your chair. The internet is overwhelmingly full of advice in this area. Some of it is brilliant advice, some are just neat ideas, but the point is, you don't have to go far to find advice. The problem is knowing if it's good advice, and where to start with it. This week, we aren't here to give you more tips, but to help you think about all the advice you're bound to find. We read through stacks of articles about salon business tips, and we noticed most of it involves two basic elements:
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Becoming visible, and
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Being good.
It's really a simple process of telling people you have something they want, and delivering beyond expectation once they get there. But there are nuances to this simplification, so let's take a closer look at these elements.
Make Yourself Visible
Photo by Flickr user smjbk
We're talking advertising here, which can mean many different things limited primarily by your imagination. In the beauty business, word of mouth is the ideal. You want to get people talking about you, which is why the number one method of marketing yourself is to get on and maintain your social media! We've emphasized this point many times in this blog, but it can't be stressed enough. Past using that tool, the truth is no one can tell you the absolute best way of getting yourself out there to the clients you want. But it generally involves knowing two things well.
What are you good at?
Why would people want that?
But don't think you can say “I'm good at balayage, and people want it because it's pretty.” You and a thousand other stylists are good at balayage. Always strive to take your understanding deeper by considering the details of your location:
“I'm good at coloring and texturing naturally dark, coarse hair, while most salons in this town deal with lighter hair.”
You have something unique to offer; it’s just a matter of learning what it is and where it fits.
A Good Person Makes a Good Stylist
A lot of successful salon owners say you don't actually have to be great at styling hair to make money, you just have to know how to treat people. That is almost entirely true. It feels good to be treated like a human, and even if you're the best colorist in town, you'll have a hard time retaining clients if they feel uncomfortable in your chair. But getting a really bad haircut will make them almost as uncomfortable about coming back as being mistreated. And if it seems unreasonable to be expected to pander to the social expectation of your clients, remember this.
You're job is not to make hair beautiful, it's to make the client feel beautiful.
That person chatting away in your chair for twenty minutes is an individual human being with an incomprehensibly powerful human brain full of unique desires and opinions. It's the hair stylist's duty to negotiate with that individuality and find the crowning element.
Learning is Improving
If you hadn't noticed by know, there are just two basic activities that will lead to your success as a stylist: Get to know your client base, and get to know yourself. The communication and compromise between these two types of knowledge will be the source of some of your best ideas. If you're unsure how to attain that knowledge, the quickest way is to start taking risks. Challenge yourself, talk to people, and never assume you know everything.