The Aspiring Stylist with Tracey Franklin

Morgan Franklin: Welcome to the
Aspiring Stylists Podcast with

Tracey Franklin. Where to begin,
grow and aspire to become the

best stylist you can be. Whether
you're thinking about becoming a

stylist opening a salon, or
developing your skills as an

experienced stylist the next
step of your beauty career

starts here. Each week we'll
discuss strategic ways to

design, plan and execute on
becoming a stylist that excels

behind the chair and above the
bottom line. Here's your host,

Tracey Franklin.

Tracey Franklin: Have you ever
thought about what your clients

think of you? Have you ever
wondered? Do they see you in a

positive light? are they judging
what you're wearing? How you're

doing your hair? The Salon, you
work in f&m this has ever

crossed your mind? It probably
should. I think the clients

perspective of you is incredibly
important. There's this whole

movement of I don't care, I
don't care what people think,

you know. And that's like a
really cute thought. But at the

end of the day, when it comes to
business, you can't have that

kind of attitude, you are in the
beauty industry. So looks are

everything right? How you're
seeing what they think of you

what they think of your work,
all of that matters. And you

cannot pretend that it doesn't,
you know, are you like someone

that's really passionate about
your craft and creates beautiful

work and you showcase it. And
all that is super wonderful. But

like when they look at you,
you're in a ballcap and cut off

shorts, that's a really tough
balance. But it has to be found,

at the end of the day, if a
client has never met you in

person, and all they have to go
by is what their friends have

told them and what they've seen
on social media, then, you know,

their perspective view is very
limited. And it's our job to

make sure that they're seeing
the whole picture. If you go to

a lot of classes, that's
definitely going to show up in

your work. But can they be sure?

Do they have any idea that you
actually go to classes? Or can

they just presume that that's
one good highlight job with one

good picture taken of it, if
you're going to class as you

need to document that that's
basically resume material right

there. Because if you feel like
you're not submitting a resume

with your consultation to your
clients, when they sit down in

your chair, then you're getting
it wrong, because that's exactly

what you're doing. You're trying
to impress them, you're trying

to convince them that you are
the person for the job, make

sure that you're excited about
your new certification about

this new skill set that you've
developed. I mean, that is

basically something that I want
to know, I want to know that my

doctor has taken those continued
education courses and in our

industry, we have to treat it
justice seriously. Can they

trust you to show up and show
out for them? Like are you going

to bring them your best every
single day? Because if their

perspective of you is what a
friend or family member has told

them, and you saw that person
for the first time and you were

having an off day, then that's
an impression that's going to

last with that person. And that
is information that they're

going to pass on like, yeah, my
hair looks okay. But she wasn't

very friendly. All of it
matters. They want to know what

you value, like what do you
value other than your craft? Are

you a family person? Are you
involved in your community? Do

you care about the environment
and your planet and things like

that, there are a lot of ways to
connect with someone. And it's

our responsibility to make sure
that we are attracting the right

client for us. So it's very
important that we are showing

them who we really are in the
most elevated and impressive way

possible. The clients
perspective has a lot of impact

on your business, building a
clientele is like trying to find

a lot of people who like you and
want to give you money. That's

basically what we're trying to
do here at the end of day to

simplify it. We want to find
people that we connect with that

want to hire us to do work and
want to pay us well to do it.

People are women, especially
they buy based on their

emotions. So if they have
emotionally connected with you,

you have done something truly
magical. And there are a lot of

ways to connect with people.

That's why it's so important to
have open dialogue with your

guests while they're in your
chair, if you're not finding out

things about your guest, and
you're not documenting those

either in your mind, and if
you're like me, you're not that

good at that. So you have to put
it on paper somewhere or in a

file somewhere so that you can
remember it, you need to be

getting as much information
about that person as you

possibly can so that a
connection can be made. I had a

stylist that had a special needs
child. And it got brought up in

conversation that the client
also had a special needs child

and what a beautiful connection
that was right like that is

definitely an area of your life
where you want to have the most

support possible. And I just
remember them talking about all

the programs available and all
the cool stuff that you could do

and all the way He's that, you
know, our community catered to

Special Needs families. And I
thought, what a beautiful

scenario we have right here. And
that's just one example. You

know, and it's a very specific
one. But every one has a

specific story that relates just
to them. So it's really

important to find that thing to
find that connection that can be

made, and really build on that
if your social media is leaving

them confused. And that's
definitely something you need to

work on. If you're posting a
picture of work that you're not

really proud of, because it's a
Tuesday, and you always post on

Tuesday, then you're really
doing your reputation a

disservice. If you don't have
quality content, don't post it.

And I know that's, that's a
whole nother episode. But

honestly, like, Don't just post
to be posting, this is your on

line profile. This is what
people see social media is how

people are finding you. So don't
post things you're not proud of,

it may turn people off, make
sure your work is really

polished. If you are going to
post it, nothing makes a really

great cut and color look worse
than the wind blowing, you know,

and messing everything up. So
really focus on the quality of

the content that you post as
opposed to quantity. You know,

if you're someone that really
likes to go out and get wild,

have a little fun, hey, that's
you, I encourage that do you for

sure. But make sure that you do
you on a personal page, your

professional page is not the
place to air your breakup or

your wild night out. It is a
place for you to showcase your

work and invite people into your
beauty world. I really do feel

like there is a bit of an
exception to that. Like I do

feel like your clients like
little glimpses into your

personal life. But that's
exactly what they should be

glimpses not the full story,
they can ask you questions at

the appointment if they want the
full story, am I right? One

thing that your client is trying
to determine at your hair

appointment is whether or not
after they've met you, you know,

are you someone that they would
want to spend a few hours with

every six weeks or so? Are you
someone that they want to remain

loyal to are? Are you someone
that you know has done hair for

a few years and you've given
them a couple great haircuts.

And now it's just time to move
on. That is what they're trying

to figure out when they come and
sit in your chair for the first

time they are trying to figure
out whether you're their new

beauty bestie. So make sure that
you're putting your best foot

forward making sure the answer
is yes to that you know that you

are that person. Clients
definitely want to feel welcome

to be their selves, it is about
them. After all. If you're

confused on that, let me clear
it up for you. The hair

appointment is all about them.

Now I'm not trying to say you
should be standoffish about

details about your life. Like I
say it is a conversation and is

open dialogue they want to know
about you to again, they're

trying to determine if you're
going to be their new person. So

don't leave, don't leave any
details about your life out but

remain focused on them and
creating an excellent guest

experience for them. Because
that really is what it's all

about. They get to talk about
whatever they want to talk

about. Maybe they don't want to
talk at all, are we going to let

that bother us? No, because it
is all about them. Maybe they've

had a really tough day at work.

I want to give you an example. I
had a client who had a very

stressful job. And she came in
and I knew that when she came

in, she wanted a glass of red
wine. So I had that ready for

her. And she brought in three
magazines, it was usually a

People Magazine, US Weekly, and
you know, maybe some Home and

Garden magazine, but it was
always three magazines. And I

knew that when she came in with
her three magazines and wanted

her glass of wine that I needed
to give her some time I needed

to let her decompress. I always
give my guests a nice warm

greeting and make sure they're
comfortable. And then I get to

work and I let them get to work
on what they want to get to work

on. And so for some guests,
that's relaxation, and a lot of

no thank you to conversation. So
we have to be prepared for that.

And we have to not let that hurt
our feelings. It's extremely

important that we're picking up
on the cues that our clients are

giving us. And if they're quiet,
and if it's you know, one word

answers to your questions,
understand they need some time,

they just got off their shift
and they need a little bit of

time to decompress. Before the
conversation start. I knew that

when that last magazine closed,
we were going to get into the

nitty gritty of what's happened
in the last two months. And that

was always the fun part. Right.

But for her I needed to
understand her needs and you

need to understand your clients
needs as well. I encourage you

to let your clients see the real
you. Yes, I would recommend a

bit of a filter if you have a
very eccentric personality, but

really they want to know who you
really are. Your clients can

pick up on the fact that you're
not being authentic. I think

it's extremely important to be
authentic in every capacity with

your clients. And you know, if
they're asking for something

you're not comfortable doing,
then you need to have a

conversation about that and you
need to not fake it till you

make it when it comes to your
clients hair. Like you need to

make sure that if you're unsure
of how to deliver results that

you're open and honest with them
about that and that maybe you

alter it in some way A, but do
not let them believe that you

can execute something that you
can't. That's the worst thing

that you can do. clients that
you serve for years start to

feel a lot more like friends and
family. But I recommend that you

never stop treating them like
the VIP client that they are

when they walk through the door.

It is awesome to give your
client a big warm hug. It is

awesome to ask about Mikey
soccer game and stuff like that.

But never stop treating them
with the respect and the

dedication to excellence that
their loyalty to you deserves.

If a client has been loyal to
you for years, then yes, it's

nice to have the warm fuzzies
during the conversation, but

they also deserve your best.

Never stop giving them your best
no matter how many years you

serve them. It is a business
transaction, treat it like one.

So your clients perspective of
you can definitely change an

either a good or a bad way.

Maybe you're extremely
impressive. For the first

appointment, you've got this, oh
yeah, it's the first time I've

ever going to do this person's
hair, I'm going to be extremely

impressive. And then they come
in for their follow up

appointment and you feel let
your guard down a little bit,

maybe you didn't put as much
time into your appearance, maybe

you didn't follow through with
that follow up consultation like

you know you should have and
maybe you got a little lazy

behind the chair and they didn't
get that you know, our massage

or stellar blowout that they got
it their first appointment.

Consistency is the key and
nothing will change your clients

perspective of you more than if
you're wishy washy. If your

service is inconsistent. You
know, maybe on the opposite side

of that the first time was a
little rough. You know, it's

your first appointment, you had
a hard time connecting with them

on a personal level. But you
know, they come in and you're a

little bit more impressive the
second time because now you're a

little more comfortable, you
know, it can it can go either

way. My advice is consistency,
make sure that nothing gets left

out, you know, your last client
of the day should get the same

awesome care that your first
client of the day gets. I have

reinvented myself so many times
throughout my career, I went

from being a stylist to a salon
owner to an educator to an

industry leader and school
owner. And my clients have been

so supportive. Like honestly,
I've been so fortunate in my

community that I have been so
supportive, you know, even if

they're not my client anymore,
they're still supportive, like

they still follow me on social
media, I'm still getting the

added girls, you know, and still
getting the support and the

encouragement. But if you ever
find yourself on the opposing

side of opinion, I think the
best approach is be real, just

be real, maybe even a little
vulnerable. Maybe you've made a

mistake, you know, say sorry,
when necessary. Don't be so

proud that you're afraid to
admit defeat in some way. That

is to me, one of my least
favorite qualities about someone

is if I can't get
acknowledgement of wrong and

just a small apology, like I
don't need flowers, I don't need

anything excessive. I just need
you to be real with me

acknowledge that what you did
hurt my feelings or bothered me

in some way. And then we'll move
on, I promise you, you're gonna

get the same exact courtesy from
me if I have made a mistake made

you feel uncomfortable made you
feel bad in any way or unvalued

in any way. I'm going to be the
first person to come to you and

say I'm sorry and do whatever it
takes to make it right. Because

what you think of me matters.

But stand your ground. If
someone is just being obnoxious

if someone's just being picky,
if someone is just impossible to

please, than just be honest and
say, Hey, I don't think this is

a fit. Stand your ground. Do not
let someone tear you down. Do

not let someone make you feel
less than because maybe they

feel less than no matter how
hard you try. No matter how many

times you bend over backwards
for someone you may just not be

for them. And that's okay.

You're not going to be for
everyone and you don't need to

be find your people and serve
them. Well.

Morgan Franklin: Thank you for
joining us on this episode of

The Aspiring Stylist Podcast
with Tracey Franklin. If you

enjoyed listening and you want
to hear more, make sure you

subscribe on Apple Podcast,
Spotify or wherever you find

your podcasts. The Aspiring
Stylist Podcast with Tracey

Franklin is a Morgan Franklin
Production. Today's episode was

written and produced by Morgan
Franklin editing and post

production by Mike Franklin.

Want to find out more about
Tracey and the Aspiring Barber

and Beauty Academy go to
aspirebarberandbeauty.com