I was going through some old pictures on my computer, trying to organize my life and espeically my ‘computer life’, and I found this picture.

I made me think how I haven’t been to Michael Cole’s website in awhile so I decided to give it another visit. I was also reminded how I have been wanting to go to his Salon Summit program for quite a while now. With the New Year starting I’m going to make a commitment to taking his course this year and improve my salon!

Oh yeah, looking at that pict I’m starting a diet!!!!

Oh yeah part 2.. here is his website.

MichaelCole

Part 5: The Close: When you are finished with a wonderful educational blowdry/style, escort your client to the front desk and ask the following questions:

1. What Take Home products do you need to take care of your hair?(then shut up! under no circumstances are you to add anything to the question such as… Or not. So if we put the whole thing together it would sound something like this… Do you need any hair products, or not? another fine examples is Would you like the conditioner we used on you that smells so good, or do you want to finish what you already have? If they ask you what they should use, then you should already have an idea of exactly what they should be using, not guessing or asking the client what she thinks, YOU are the professional)2. What day would you like to book your next hair reservation?(do not say anything after the question. let the client answer. If they ask you when you think they should come back, then HAVE AN ANSWER. This is the good part. There is no right answer so you can’t get it wrong. If you think 5 weeks, then say something like this…. With your hair texture, I think 5 weeks would be the correct time frame.)Now for the last step.Ready?Ask for a referral.This is easy once you get over your fear of looking like an arse or feeling way stoopid. A good starting point for developing your own way of asking is something like the following. “If you know anyone or have any friends that would appreciate the type of work I do, I promise to take real good care of them if you send them in.” or something like “I’m still trying to build my business, so if you have any friends, please tell them about me, for everyone you send in I’ll give them a referral discount and I’ll do the same for you just for sending them in.”Repeat…

Continuing the series…

Part 4: the educational blow dry/style.We as hair stylist take for grated the blow dry. We do it every day, it’s no big deal, just hurry and get it done because this client ran late so it put me behind for my next one and it serves him/her right to get a adequate blow dry, why, she’s lucky she is even getting her hair blow dry at all as late as she was. Besides, she’s paying for the haircut anyway…Wrong.The client is paying for a complete experience. It is your responsibility to do a complete service, no matter if the clients of this world are so use to substandard service that they don’t know any different and expect substandard service.How many clients book their appointments on specific days because they are going out with their friends that evening? Or, have a hot date and want to look great (and FEEL attractive)? More than I think we know.I know that most of my clients cannot style their hair like I do, or as good as I do. That is not the point. I don’t want them walking out of the salon looking like they do everyday. I want them looking like a more perfect version of what they do everyday. I want their hair to be amazing and beautiful. So much so that everyone they come in contact with comments on their hair. How would it make you feel for someone you don’t know to tell you your hair was beautiful? It sure would make ME feel good, but then I’d worry that they were trying to scam me because I don’t have any hair..?!?Anyway.Give the client a educational blow dry and teach them how to apply the styling products you use, show them step by step. It takes only minutes to do, and it makes a world of difference in the way that they client looks at you are their beauty PROFESSIONAL. I am constantly amazed by how many clients do not know how to apply mousse or any styling product, and have difficulty styling their own hair. A little help from you will go a long way towards them making YOU look better by making their hair look better on a daily basis. And what better compliment than for a co-worker of your client to notice how great their hair has been looking since she/he has visited you, and not just on the day of their salon visit, but on a daily basis. That is powerful, and dangerous. Dangerous because it is the spark that ignites the fuse that quickly turns an average stylist making minimum wage into a hairdresser on fire! A hairdresser that is a powerhouse of styling ideas and energy that could ignite an entire salon to become something more than just a hair shop, but a place clients go to feel better about themselves and their lives and they tell everyone they know.The educational blow dry is an opportunity to educate your clients on what products they should use and those products are available in your salon. You don’t have to sell, just educate. Nothing more, nothing less. Tell them what you are using, AND how to use it, then tell them they way.Take your career seriously, because it’s serious to your clients.

Do a decent haircut……If a bad haircut is a 1, and a brilliant haircut is a 10. Most clients cannot tell the difference between a 4 and a 7.Let’s compare it to restaurants. If you are exposed to the very best restaurants in business today and become accustom to eating their perfectly cooked food and precisely spiced dinners you will raise your taste level and no longer be satisfied by eating a steak at the local Denny’s. If you are a ‘foodie’ then you seek out and crave excellence in your food. but let’s face it. Most people are not foodies and some that think they are have the palate of a cow’s backside. The majority can’t tell the difference between a level 5 restaurant and a level 7 restaurant, other than price. The very same applies to hair.If you aspire to have a 5 star clientele then you have to be technically excellent, just a Gordon Ramsay is technically awesome as a chef.It is my opinion, most clients are satisfied with a level 5 haircut, because they have never had much better and if you’ve ‘never been to Rome’ how can you want something that you don’t even know exists or is possible. So, to be successful as a hairstylist (I’m equating success in this situation with making good money from having a busy clientele) you have to provide a decent haircut. Of course you should always continue your education and strive for excellence in your craft. But, you don’t have to wait to be successful. You don’t have to wait to have confidence and pride in the service that you provide. With a little practice and study you should be able to give a decent haircut to your clients.:shameless self plug:1 good way to increase your technical proficiency is to check out the HairMaven haircutting DVD Modern/Classic.Provide a solid service to your clients. Aspire to be Sassoon, but don’t give your work away today because you are not “the man” today. Be proud of the service you provide. Know that it’s a SEVEN step process and the haircut or hair color is only step 3.

Review….How to make money working in a salon consists of

1. The Consultation.Step

2. The mind blowing, big deal shampoo. Sure, no big deal. I do a good shampoo, at times I even do a great shampoo when the client is cute enough and I’m not running behind and I’m in the mood. You’ve heard this repeated over and over again so many times you don’t even register the words in your brain. You hear it, but do nothing (not you guys reading this, but all those other hairstylist out there). I’m here to tell you that the big deal mind blowing shampoo experience is so rare that when done properly, clients cannot help but comment. Cannot keep the words in, just have to tell you what an amazing experience that was and they want to come back just for the shampoo. This is the effect you want.It surprises me that the majority of my clients tell me that they have never had a hairstylist give them a shampoo so great, or even half as good. What does that tell me? Not that I’m so great, or that I have some natural talent or ability. NO. It tells me that hairstylist are so damn lazy and nonchalant about their business and clientele that they just don’t care. That also tells me that if I do my job correctly that I will never have a shortage of business because my competition (other salons and stylist) don’t care enough to give a full service.It’s heart breaking.It also blows my mind when stylist on various forum groups on the web complain that they don’t have any business. Well I’ll tell you why you don’t have any business. You don’t have anything that the clients wants and thats either because you don’t know what the client wants or you just don’t care.Here’s what a client wants:1. You to listen and translate what they are saying about their hair.2. They want a mind blowing shampoo experience.

3. They want to be able to style their hair beautifully and easily.

4. They want to feel beautiful.

5. They want to be appreciated.

Here is what they don’t want:

1. Some hair ‘artist’ to do what ever they want and not listen.

2. An ‘earth quake’ or ‘tsunami’ shampoo in which they are soaked.

3. A hairstyle they can’t fix.

4. Rushed in because you are late and rushed out because your next client is here.

5. To be surprised when it’s time to pay the bill.

The salon experience is not unlike a restaurant experience. You make a reservation, your upset if your table is not available on time, just like your client is upset if you are not on time for their hair appointment. You expect every aspect of your dinner service to be good, and if it’s not, you remember it. Do you expect great bread or are you surprised when you get it? I’m more surprised, what does that tell me about MY business..?.. How about the salad course? The main entree’? Service? Knowledgeable and friendly or rushed and irritated when you can’t make up your mind, either the chicken or fish or pastrami burger? Was dessert offered? Was it good? Were you rushed out of the joint to accommodate another person who is now more important than you because you have already paid?I think that we as clients have just come to expect bad things when we go to restaurants that we just put up with it and are totally blow out of the water when something is really great. That is what I want my clients to feel like when they leave my salon. I want them to realize I actually listened to them about their hair hopes and dreams. I want to deliver that to them to the best of my ability. I want them to gush to their friends about what an awesome shampoo that they received, nothing like they have ever had before! I want their hair to not only look beautiful, but I want it to feel beautiful. I want their experience to be above and beyond what they come to expect in the average salon that my salon is in a different category all together.The shampoo is an IMPORTANT part of the system. With out it, everything else falls flat.“My steak was good, but the salad has dirt on the leaves and was swimming in dressing”

I am going to assume that you are a working hairdresser, working behind the chair in a salon of your choice. What I’m going to share with you if integral to your success as a hairdresser. Makes no difference if you are working in a $5 a haircut super duper cuts or a $100 a haircut super salon. Truly successful hairdressers will do these things naturally. Some of us really have to work at them.Step 1: The consultation….This is a very important step of the client/stylist transaction. I shouldn’t even have to bother mentioning this but it’s appalling how many stylist either ignore the consultation or become a ‘servant’ or become an ‘ego’ and don’t even bother listening and do what every they want to. Let me clarify.Response A: I’m too busy (either with clients or within my own self centered mind to pay attention to your wants, hopes or dreams, I’z gotz probs o’mine own). I can tell just by looking at you what you need or I’m in full on TRIM mode.Response B: I have no opinion, I’ll do what ever you want, I just want you to be happy and like me. My favorite saying is “Is that ok?”, or “Please, step on me”.Response C: I’m so FABULOUS that I don’t listen to anything the client says because, I KNOW what you need even if you don’t or are not ready for the fierce beast I’m going to turn you into. You may be a little upset now, but in the end, you’ll LOVE me.Walk to the front desk, introduce yourself if it’s a first time client. Walk your client to your chair. Then say, “Let’s talk about your hair. What are WE going to do today.” Ultimately a truly successful client experience is when the end result is 50 percent you and 50 percent the clients ideas. If the balance is skewed too far one way or the other the experience is not beneficial to either and ultimately will not work. Listen intently to your client, explain your ideas, and come to a conclusion that you both are happy with. No matter how long you’ve been doing a clients hair, keep consulting. Keep Improving, Keep growing and changing. I don’t even want to loose a client because I wasn’t brave enough to change her hair, or didn’t care enough to listen to her when she or he was looking for change.The consultation is something that the client remembers when they leave. You will be amazed at how many times you will hear a client tell you “No one has ever gave me what I wanted before.” or something like that. It’s amazing to me how many hairdressers don’t bother to spend a little time to consult with their clients before hand. I will be the first step towards giving a COMPLETE client experience so rare and eye opening that the client will be anxious to tell ALL her friends about you… It is THIS rare, complete client experience that builds a strong, viable business. Isn’t that what you want? Isn’t that why you went to beauty school in the first place, chose this as a career? We study how to do hair so much. Let’s spend a little time studying how to build a hair business to make those hair skills actually useful.Does that make sense?