Key Word Consultations Make Great Income

by Karen Stevenson, PHD (Professional Hair Dresser)

From a Salon Owner’s perspective as well as a Behind the Chair Stylist, I am amazed how many stylists allow dollars to literally sift through their fingers! It’s not just about the money… it is about pleasing the customer, offering a higher level of communication, and acting as a hair stylist professional vs. a best friend and someone to chat with about the recent events of the day…not even addressing the hair consultation in its completion!

There are ‘code words’ that go on, the moment you sit your guest down for their initial consultation prior to shampooing their hair. Your guest may say, “I am so tired of my stick straight hair!” or they may innuendo how they spend so much time “straightening my hair each morning!” These types of sentences are not to be taken lightly! These are totally KEY words that you as a stylist must be tuned in to. If you are not sensitive to the key words, they will simply go over your head, as fast as the potential money sifts through your fingers.

Have you ever looked at your books and the three hour all over tint-back, full foil highlight, cut and style client cancelled on you? What a bummer! You have lost the potential income from that service, as well as have a big gap in your day. Nothing like listening to the key words from the guest that is coming in next, to fill that book back up!

What about the guest that just seems a bit frustrated. Instead of offering the same old trim with a style, why not ask her if she’s ‘thought of adding texture’, and allow that comment to turn on a whole new world of exploration in consultation for a texture wrap from our Controlled Effects that will allow her to wear her hair either wavy or straight for versatility? A texture service that literally HEALS damaged hair when used with Tiger Reconstructor and the Tiger baked into the hair prior to the service!

I cannot tell you how many times I have listened to my client, the moment she sits in my chair, expressing distaste for the humid weather creating frizz in her hair in just a few hours after she spent untold amount of time with her flat iron making her hair silky and straight. Why not offer her the option of the Smoothing System or the Straight Effects to change her whole daily regime and get her into the habit of healthier hair by putting down the flat iron, and offering her a wonderful alternative? Your Smoothing service or Straight Effects service will cut down her preparation time each morning, and her hair will love her back for it! Let’s face it, raking a flat iron over think fine hair over and over again is not a healthy alternative to a hair healing smoothing service in conjunction with a Tiger Reconstructing service that will offer her straighter hair as well as the higher level of condition. It would be doing her a SERVICE as well as you offering her THE service… all by just listening to the key words…

Many salon’s I’ve visited over the years have literally pushed their small pink and grey rods under the sink, gathering dust, just as much as their standard perms have been gathering dust. All the more reason to go invest in the larger Teal, Brown and Black rods and put some Controlled Effects Perms on your shelves! Nothing is more life changing for your guest with stick straight hair, than to offer a lovely Black rod all over texture perm to offer some body and heal the hair all at the same time! The texture wrapping we demonstrate in our classes of 15 to 20 rods all directionally and loosely wrapped make all the difference! I understand the pink and blue perm rods being pushed under the sink, but all the more reason to display the larger texture rods in your color area inviting conversation that brings awareness to your guests’ that perms are STILL IN… just not the same perms as they related to years ago! These texture services are SO fast, SO beautiful, SO life changing for your guests, and to us as stylists! They are quick, with beautiful results, and while you are at it… you can highlight or color their hair the SAME DAY! How is that possible? With our Structurizer within our Controlled Effects perms, and our Tiger Reconstructor treatment.

Offering a texture service, whether to straighten, smooth or add wave, are all part of being a hairdresser that cares about their profession. The ability to offer a shiny demi color over top to enhance and brighten, or highlights to give added dimension, offering permanent color the same day as your texture service allows your guest to walk out feeling FRESH and NEW and there is no reason for them to leave the salon and come back. Not only have you satisfied your guests’ needs, but you’ve added to your book in service dollars, repeat dollars, and let’s not forget RETAIL dollars!

How could you possibly allow your guest to leave your salon without recommending the products they need to maintain their beautiful color, or new texture, much less leave the salon to go use some brand ‘x’ shampoo that will cause your cut and style to look dry and brittle? It’s ALL about the advertisement your guest wears on their head, while people in the shopping center ask them “Who does your hair?” Retailing is just a part of the profession, no different than shampooing or styling. Retailing is part of your completed appointment, as you walk them to the receptionist desk to pay for their service, it is time to remind them how important it is to use QUALITY products that will allow their hair to maintain it’s looks, service, shine and integrity. It’s like selling a toothbrush without any toothpaste! You can’t have one without the other, in order to brush your teeth correctly… nor can you have great quality salon services done to your hair without taking care of the service by using the right products!

It should roll right off your tongue as if a famous 30 second commercial that they need ProDesign Moisturizing Shampoo to maintain moisture in their hair, the Weightless Cuticle Smoothing Conditioner of Rinse in their hair to maintain shine and lock in their color, and of course, they’ll need their Tiger Reconstructor for added protein and health of their texture service, and don’t forget their Shape Gel for volumizing, or Smooth for added shine and light volume, not to mention its amazing SPF 15.

Do not feel sheepish about completing your job. Make it your common everyday practice to recommend to your guest the top THREE products you feel they MUST have to take care of their hair, or to achieve the end result that you just created. They will love you for it… and at the end of the day, when you total your service total, you will be glad you did!

All in a day’s work… in the lovely creative ever changing world of Hair.

Contact ProDesign International at 1-800-235-7376 with any questions or comments.