December 7, 2015

SUITE SUCCESS SECRET #19

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USE CONSULTATIONS TO BUILD LOYALTY
 
Thought Process: The goal of business is to keep your clients long term.
 
As a salon owner, you understand how key it is to create customer loyalty in business. You want your client to leave feeling satisfied and coming back.
 
That is why the client consultation before a hair cut, hair color, or other beauty service is so crucial. As a stylist, if you do not have a sense of what your client wants, even a fabulous cut might not be appreciated.

What is the best way to talk, listen, and ask questions to make your client feel heard and served? Read on for experience-savvy tips on how to master that crucial client consultation.
 
When you begin your client consultation, do you stand behind your client and look into the mirror at them? This is common, but not the best practice. That’s because once you get behind them and start touching their hair, your knowledge and training start to take over – drastically decreasing your listening skills.
 
Instead, begin a consultation facing your client.
 
Smile, make eye contact and give them your absolute focus. This ensures that you listen to what they have to stay about their hair and lifestyle. Your client will feel the difference.
 
Don’t assume the person in your chair can easily communicate what she wants – or even knows what she wants. Encourage the person – people are vey shy about asking for what they want until they get use to it.

Imagine that the person sitting in your chair with a sign around their neck that says… “Please understand me.” Go slowly in the conversation, seek to understand, and be cheerful.

It’s important not to assume they know what they want. For instance, when a client says she would like two inches cut off, show her how short that would make her hair. Would it increase the curl and make it seem shorter? If you ask your client to show you what they think two inches looks like, you might be surprised by how far off they are.
 
Before you start cutting, double check you are both on the same page. Describe what kind of cut you plan on giving, and ask if they agree.
 
The secret is to understand your client’s self-image and dream for his or her hair.
 
Create a custom hair plan, with that dream as the end goal. Then you can work over time to get create the look they want. An effective consultation is the first step in building a long-term relationship that will get your client to come back again and recommend you to their friends.
 
After the initial consultation, get to know your client, build trust, and make them want to come back by asking “social” questions, just like you would ask a new friend.
 
The secret to creating customer loyalty is to build a genuine relationship that will make it difficult for them to want to go anywhere else. By showing your clients they come first, are sincerely valued and are being given loyalty, you are likely to get a mutual response.
 
In a world where business is not always based on genuinely caring and integrity, these qualities will separate you from all the rest.


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