First Chair - Spring 2008 Success Guide - (Page 10)

* first skills BUSINESS Present Perfect Presentation can be everything, and we’re not talking about a ﬁve-star restaurant meal. How you present yourself can have a major impact on your career. It’s not just inside the salon, but everywhere you go—how you look and how you carry yourself make loud and clear statements about who you are and the work you do as a beauty professional. To put it clearly, everyone you meet is a potential client. Hair stylists everywhere know that you can make connections with people even when you’re pumping gas or grabbing a cup of coffee. If you have a look they admire and you present yourself with conﬁdence, you might just have a brand-new client. Keep on your toes with a fresh cut and color that you update regularly, well maintained skin and nails, and most important, an attitude that’s just as lovely as you look. Want to make your way to session or editorial work? Network within the industry, and be prepared to work hard. Says Danny Lapointe, Artistic Director for Clairol Professional, “Find a mentor at your salon who does editorial work and see if you can work your way up to being her assistant on a photo shoot.” Moving Up the Ladder When you continue to grow, study and hone your people and technical skills, you then have the ability to win over almost anyone as a client. That’s because education not only builds your technical skills, it also helps you present yourself with credibility and conﬁdence.” —Joe Santy, vice president of education at Dennis Bernard, Inc. Rules of Referral When you’re just starting out, you need to build your clientele, but you don’t have the money to advertise yourself or the services of a PR ﬁrm. While some salons will spend the money to advertise their new stylists, some just don’t have the means or the know-how. That’s when you need to start relying on referrals: Have your happy clients spread the word for you, and reap the beneﬁts of word-of-mouth buzz. It’s free, it’s fun, and it might just set your schedule on ﬁre! There are many different ways to structure your referral program. Most programs reward the referring client with a free service after she refers a certain amount of clients to your chair. (If you plan on giving ‘reward’ services, make sure to discuss this with your salon owner and get approval ﬁrst.) At Nick Ciarletta’s Indianapolis salon, Ciarletta’s Hair Design, the program is called “Send us three and yours is free.” Although not every client can send three other people,” says Ciarletta, “everyone will send at least one. Some will send two, and some will send three.” With new business coming your way, a few free cuts to your best clients is a great investment. It’s worked for Ciarletta for as long as he’s run his salon. As he explains, “Referral programs really work. They’re a tried-and-true method.” Want a simple add-on service that every client can appreciate? Think hair removal. You don’t need to work in a spa or have access to a treatment room to do a cleaning up on your client’s nape, eyebrows, lip or chin area. Suggesting hair removal can be a touchy subject, so Normajean Fusco, creator of Nufree Nudesse, a soy-based hair removal product, suggests tying the service into part of the whole beauty ‘look.’ “Say to them, ‘Can I make your hair cut look even better?’ Then, turn them around and shape just one eyebrow. When you are done, turn them back to the mirror and ask which side they prefer.” Once they see the difference, they’ll be hooked. Not only will they look better, but they’ll put more stock in your beauty expertise. A stylist who also does above-the-neck hair removal regularly with a system like Nufree Nudesse can expect to take in another $200-$300 per week, according to Equibal Labs’ research. Declares Fusco, “Hair removal is the next step in really giving a client a total look.” Hair Removal Revenues 10 MODERN SALON’S FIRSTCHAIR SPRING 2008 Learn more @ ﬁrstchair.com http://firstchair.com

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First Chair - Spring 2008 Success Guide Contents First Word First View First Skills: Styles First Skills: Business First Skills: Design School of the Year 2008 Tools for Success First Tools First Products First Happenings

First Chair - Spring 2008 Success Guide

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