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: One of the
hardest things about this

industry is when you lose a
client to another stylist, you

can't ever really prepare
yourself for it, it's super hard

to accept, but it is the circle
of life and the circle of this

business. And your clients are
going to decide at some point to

go somewhere else. So it's a
reality that we have to face.

But it's a difficult one, I
still have a handful of clients,

my OCS that's what I call them,
my original clients. I've had

them for over 15 years, some of
them have been with me since the

beginning, like my first client
is still with me after 22 years.

And honestly, it really amazes
me because that is not typical

of this industry. In fact, new
client retention averages in

this industry at only 32%. What
new client retention looks like

is three visits or more within
six months. If you have that,

then you kind of know, hey, this
client has chosen me to be their

stylist moving forward. I'm
their girl. You know, you've

really connected with these
people. They don't just feel

like clients, they feel like
friends or even a family member,

especially if you've had them
for a while. And the expectation

is that there's going to be like
this beautiful conversation,

right? They're gonna come to me,
and they're gonna say, hey, for

XYZ reasons, I'm gonna have to
find a new stylist. And you're

like, Okay, I get it, you know,
I wish you well and you hug it

out. And they go their own way,
right? That's not how that

works. It's usually like you're
scrolling on Instagram or

Facebook. And all of a sudden
you see them posting a selfie

with their new haircut, tagging
their new stylist in it, and oh,

my God, it's like a knife in
your back? No, yes, it is normal

people do move on at some point.

But it doesn't stop it from
burning. Like you're like why?

It definitely stings. But
knowing some of the reasons why

clients move on can help ease
the pain a little bit and help

you understand a little bit
more. It could be something as

simple as a scheduling conflict,
or it might be something a

little bit more complex, like
maybe for some reason, their

trust in you wavered. Or maybe
your prices went up and they

just can't afford to come to you
anymore on a regular basis.

Unfortunately, we never get to
find out the exact reason it's

kind of like that ex boyfriend
that you broke up with. And like

you really, really, really
wanted to know why it didn't

work out. But he's just giving
you like these really fake

generic reasons. Sometimes it's
that too, like, you don't always

get the meat and potatoes behind
why the client actually moved

on. But some of the more common
reasons are, as you become a

more seasoned stylist, maybe
your prices have gotten to a

point where you are no longer
affordable to them. That's not

wrong, you know, it's great for
you. But unfortunately, you're

going to lose some clients along
the way along this path of

success. You know, maybe you saw
them a few times, and everything

seemed really great. But maybe
you didn't connect with them on

a personal level that really
resonated with them. Maybe you

were a little inconsistent,
maybe you know, they came in one

time and you were super
impressive. And then they came

in another time and you weren't.

As your schedule gets a little
busier and a little tighter,

it's really, really important
that you keep your clients on

your book. So you're gonna want
to make sure that you pre book

all of your regulars so that
they don't have the

inconvenience of not being able
to get into you when they want

to. One of the benefits of
having a regular stylist someone

that you see on a regular basis
is knowing that you're going to

have that sweet spot in your
schedule booked before you

leave. Having to call and trying
to fit into some timeframe that

doesn't work for you is worst
case scenario for retaining a

client. Trust is definitely a
key factor in keeping your

clients happy and loyal. And
trust is not just one

dimensional, like yes, they need
to be able to come and spill the

beans and know that you're not
going to tell their business all

over town. But trust also means
being able to come to you and

saying hey, I want something
different and knowing that

you're going to have the skill
set to execute on any kind of

big changes that they may want
to make with their hair. You're

the professional so make sure
that you are always offering the

latest and greatest trends to
your clients or they're going to

get bored. Also make sure that
you are offering solutions. Like

do they have a dry scalp? Do
they have split ends like what

does their hair need? That maybe
it didn't need the last time

they were in your chair, they
are there for your

recommendations, you are the
professional, it should not be

up to them to come in and ask
for solutions to their hair

woes, you should be generously
handing these out as they are

depending on you to give them
those. And maybe you know what

they're kind of new and they're
wanting something a little bit

different, like offer a
guarantee with your services.

Like if for any reason you're
unsatisfied with a certain

aspect of your color or cut
surface, I'm happy to make

tweaks to that service within a
two week period of time, I'm not

talking about bringing the
client in and redoing the entire

thing that's typically not
necessary if communication was

good. But it is nice to know
that if for some reason,

something didn't turn out
exactly like you wanted it to,

or they wanted it to that that
trust is there, that

relationship is there. And that
door is open for them to come

back and communicate with you
and let you know, hey, I really

didn't love this certain aspect
of the service this time.

Another way to gain their trust
is be dependable. Like if

they've got an appointment at
one o'clock, be there at 1255

Make sure when they walk in the
door that you are ready, and you

are there to start their
service. Communication is key in

any relationship. And that
includes the relationship that

you have with your clients, it's
really important for them to

know that they can come in and
have open dialogue with you

every single time you know,
maybe it's your clients. First

time coming in, it's super
important that you give them a

thorough consultation, asked
certain questions like What do

you like about your hair, what
don't you like about your hair,

you're gonna get a lot of really
important information in this

thorough consultation that is
going to help you pick the

appropriate cut and style for
them the appropriate at home

regimen for their hair, it's
gonna give you massive intel on

what they like and don't like
how much time they spend styling

their hair, what products
they're using. If your client is

using something from a drugstore
that's not pH balanced, then

that super expensive color
service that they just got with

you is going to wash down the
drain and just a few shampoos.

So it's up to you to make sure
that you know what they're

using, and to make sure that
they have the appropriate

products before they leave the
salon. Another thing you need to

know is like how often is that
client coming in for color

services, there is no reason to
give a client that comes in

every 12 weeks, this super high
maintenance hair color that

they're gonna hate. Because in
six weeks, their roots are going

to look crazy, and they're going
to be like this chick didn't

listen to me at all. The
consultation process is not a

one and done situation, you
should be having a two to three

minute consult with your client
every time they come in. And I

never ever, ever want to hear
any stylists say the words, same

as last time. That's the carnal
sin. Do not ever do that. Take

the time, dig deep. Find out
what they really loved about

their last service with you and
find out what needs a little bit

more attention this time. Maybe
you've noticed that a particular

client hasn't been on your book
in a while and you're not really

sure? Like, have I lost them?

Are they just creating more
space in between their bookings?

What is it exactly? What I
really like to do is I have some

postcards that I've ordered from
Vistaprint super affordable and

easy. And it's just an I missed
you card. And it's just letting

the client know that you've
noticed that they haven't been

on your book. It's not
aggressive. Cold calling a

client asking them why they
haven't been in in a while is

like not effective. You know, it
just puts them on the spot and

it makes them really
uncomfortable. But what these

postcards do is it lets them
know that you've been thinking

about them. Because I find that
to be very flattering. Oh,

you've noticed that I haven't
been in in a while. That's kind

of cool, right? I'm just letting
them know, Hey, I'm thinking

about you. I miss our time
together. If for whatever reason

I don't see you in the future, I
want to let you know how much I

enjoyed being your stylist. And
if anything ever changes, and I

can be of assistance in the
future, please use this card to

receive 20% off a future service
with me. And that lets them know

like hey, like yeah, maybe right
now I have to step away from

this relationship for one of the
various reasons that people do.

But if for some reason they ever
want to come back to me, then

the door is always open. Losing
clients definitely stings. But

it also creates new
opportunities. You know, now you

have room for someone new, a new
chance to impress a new

opportunity to forge a new
connection with someone and it

made me someone really fun. And
maybe like one of those people

that you would have missed out
on if your book would have been

so full. You couldn't have
squeezed him in. I personally

love a new client. For one
thing, you know, it gives you

the opportunity to really show
off your skills like they've

never been in your chair before.

Maybe they've heard some really
good things about you and you

definitely want to follow
through on that reputation. But

you know, it makes you feel good
because you made a new

connection. And they're usually
looking in the mirror and

they're like, oh my gosh, I've
never loved one My hair this

much, you've got my blonde the
perfect color, this is so

amazing. And that definitely
builds your confidence to like

every day behind the chair is
not a win. And these first time

encounters with a new client
definitely help build up your

confidence. I have maintained
great relationships with my

clients that I haven't seen in
years. That's something that's

really, really important to me.

If I see you out in public, I'm
going to come up and say hi, I'm

not going to be the awkward girl
that stares across the room,

like I don't know who you are,
that's just not me, that's just

not something that I would do.

Now, I'm not saying you have to
do that. But it's just something

that I enjoy doing. I definitely
like following them on social

media too. And just keeping up
with all the changes in their

life and commenting and liking
and making sure that they know

that I still appreciate the time
that they gave me, no matter how

far back that was. It doesn't
have to be awkward. I think that

there is a lot of stylists out
there that would just rather

step back and just never think
about it again. But I live in

kind of a small town and I'm
going to run into people. And I

want to make sure that I always
part ways with any relationship,

any client that I've had in a
really positive way, clients are

always going to come and go, and
you're going to miss some more

than others. You know what I
mean by that. But what I want

you to take away from this
episode is that if you are

keeping a positive mindset, then
it's a lot easier to let go of

these situations with just
gratitude in your heart for the

time that you spent with that
client and just knowing that

that guy is going to be replaced
with someone else. That client

is going to create a new
relationship with a new stylist

and that stylist is going to
have something to be grateful

for. And I'm going to have a new
client in my chair and that's

something that I can be grateful
for.

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