When that loud bell rings…
I ran a full training day recently for a lively group of hair professionals about using colour analysis techniques in the salon. One of the first questions I asked them was What do you need to take into account when dealing with your client?
Their answers:
- Your client’s personality
- Your client’s lifestyle
- Her budget
- Her colour expectations
- Colour semantics
- Her likes and dislikes
The last one rang loud bells for me
Her likes and dislikes
Be careful with this one.
You might assume (God forbid!) that what a client likes and dislikes is based on her own previous experiences.
It ain’t necessarily so…
Sometimes what the customer says she thinks is not really what SHE thinks; she’s just regurgitating what some famous-for-a-nanosecond celebrity wrote in yesterday’s newspaper, or what her best friend’s mother’s Great Aunty Ermentrude was heard to say to the candlestick-maker’s pet budgie three counties away.
Some want to be seen to be ‘in fashion’ and will claim that “I loved it when my hair was sky-blue pink with yellow dots on,” when really they’d secretly love a classic mid-brown bob which is so much more in keeping with her colouring, her Classic personality, her Classic lifestyle and her budget.
Communication is the key
You need to spend quality time with your client to get to the nitty gritty of what she really, really wants.
And you cannot assume that every client is the same. You must spend time finding out what type of client you are working with, and whether she’s ready for what you have in mind for her right now.
- Because if you’re ready to dress her in a screaming red organza jump suit and she’s still at the stage of “I’d rather like to try something a bit stronger than beige…” you’re going to have BIG problems!
You’ve also got to consider what’s in fashion and how important that is to your client. Again, don’t assume anything. Just because you’re passionate about what comes down the catwalks or what’s in the shops doesn’t mean that everyone is.
For instance, if I was your client (heaven help you!), I couldn’t give two monkeys about what’s in fashion. I have been heard to exclaim very loudly, “If one more person mentions that idiotic phrase ‘on trend’ one more time, I will scream!”
So how do you find this out about me?
You ask me.
You cannot tell just by looking at me.
Until you ask me, you can only make assumptions… and you know what ASSUME means!
This isn’t rocket science. This is plain common sense.
The time you spend listening to what your client wants
will pay huge dividends
Then you can explain what you can do for her, in words that make sense to her, to help her look and feel utterly fabulous – at her pace, when she’s ready, and to suit her personality, her lifestyle, her budget and what she really, really likes.
Have you noticed?
Those hair professionals know exactly what you need to take into account about your client…
When you provide this kind of service, your client will love you forever, and that will produce long-term business and income for you, and a fabulous personalised journey for your client.
Now doesn’t that sound absolutely wonderful?
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