Hair Consultation in Houston
Consultations offer hairstylists much more than simply the opportunity to discover which hair style or color the client is hoping to achieve. They also offer the chance to develop rapport and assure customers they are in capable hands. At our Houston hair salon we require new clients to book a consultation if they are looking for color.
Here are some helpful ways to provide effective communications for every step of a clients salon consultation experience, if you’re a hairstylist.
HOUSTON HAIR SALON
A Positive Attitude
From the moment your clients step into the salon communication begins and the correct greeting is essential to help put the customer at ease and set the right tone for their time in your salon. We look at some ways to help take your customer from the door and into the salon chair, seamlessly:
• Greet the client with a smile and if known, by name. If their name is unknown, introduce yourself
• If you are not ready to attend to the client immediately, acknowledge their presence with a nod or a smile. Indicate approximately how long you may be and where they can wait
The Salon Chair
Once you have the client seated for a consultation, now is your chance to explore your clients’ needs in depth. Every client is different, and some will need more encouragement than others to express their requirements. Having some strong opening questions ready, which encourage clients to define their needs, can be useful to spark conversation. Here are a few of our favorites:
What are you hoping to achieve with your hair today?
Does the client want the same service or a completely different style? This question also sets expectations, which you can work to achieve.
What styles and colors really appeal to you?
This helps discover client aspirations and options, which they may not be confident enough to suggest for their own hair.
Shall we look through some styles together to get some inspiration?
Working through an Essential Looks trend book can be a real ice-breaker and offers the opportunity to be involved in the process of finding inspiration, together.
Would it help you to fill in a questionnaire?
Some clients may feel more at ease with a structured questionnaire. This can take the pressure out of a consultation if a customer is struggling to answer questions face to face. Remember every client is unique.
How often do you shampoo your hair?
Give the stylist useful feedback on hair type and care routine.
Consultation For Hairstylists in Houston
Questions during consultations are a vital tool to help establish requirements but what’s more important is an ability to listen and absorb the information your client gives you. The more you can understand, the more able to reassure your client and make recommendations which really meet their expectation. We’ve put together some techniques to help you build understanding:
• Sit preferably face-to-face and at eye level. This will convey a sense of openness and reassure a client that they have your full attention
• Repeat back to the client the key requirement they have previously outlined to assure them you have listened properly
• Analyze the client’s hair type, personality, style requirements and physique. (These nonverbal cues can offer a wealth of information to the savvy hairdresser)
A New Look
If you have a firm understanding of client needs after a consultation, making recommendations becomes a much simpler process. Matching their requirements with the benefits of a different cut or color ensures that you are still keeping their needs at the center of their salon experience.
Keeping A Record
Maintaining a record of your client’s visit or consultation is an excellent way to continually build and improve your customers experience as well as provide a useful reference source for other salon team members. Record cards offer the following benefits:
• A record card can be referred to in case of any complaint
• You can continually build a deeper understanding of client requirements with each visit from the customer
• Should the regular stylist be away, a new stylist would be able to take over.
• Special skin and scalp conditions can be recorded
The consultation doesn’t end with the first visit but is a continuous process that ensures you are constantly meeting your clients needs and maximizing product and services opportunities, while importantly building the loyalty of that client.
Hair Consultation FAQ
The consultation is when we can see the hair texture when it’s dry, how you wear it, and when you can explain all of the little details of what you want done. Get specific with the look you’re going for, and save a few example pictures to your phone if you think it would help illustrate your point.
It may seem like a lot of things to do before you start your appointment but a consultation can all be done in 10 to 15 minutes and you will find that most good hair salons will want and allow time for a hair consultation.
If you’re getting your hair colored, clean hair helps the hairstylist evenly and thoroughly see your hair.
The more knowledge you gather about your clients and their hair, the easier it will be to match their needs. That’s why a thorough analysis of the present hair condition and its 5-year history is key for a good consultation.
If your coming for a haircut appointment, wear your hair the way you normally would. This way the stylist can see your hair texture and what you generally do with it.
You can schedule your appointment online at lush-hair-folk.com/book-appointment. Reservations for your appointment are held with a credit card. You can find us inside Eden Salon Suites.