The Power of Product

By Cait Muir

SO. MANY. SALONS. are missing out on the power of product in their businesses. Like, I am not going to sit here and tell you that “every client must buy 7 products each” or gaslight my clients with “this is the insurance policy for your hair” but I can definitely teach you how to cash in on products, and why you should – it’s literal money for nothing!

Here’s where I believe most people f it up…

One – YOU AREN’T BUILDING VALUE IN THE PRODUCTS

Any of us could have a client in our chair, look at them, and know five plus products that would literally change their life… but here’s the thing –if your clients don’t know why they need them, or how they will make their hair better, they’re not going to see the value in those products and they won’t want to buy them.

If you’re just telling them that they need them, but making them understand why, then you’re really not doing the work in building the value and helping them – you’re just another shitty salesman looking for a quick cash grab in the eyes of your client.

Two – YOU AREN’T SOLVING THEIR PROBLEMS

Fun fact: your clients don’t visit you because you’re awesome (maybe a handful of legends –but not the majority ha ha) they visit you because you are fixing a problem for them. Greys, regrowth, too long, weird shape, brassy, frizzy, flat, greasy, split ends – the list goes on. If their hair was perfect, why would they come in?

You want another fun fact? Your services don’t fix all of their issues, your clients need products to help to support their services after they leave (hence the terminology “aftercare”), and they need products to fix the problems that the services can’t.

How do you know what their problems are? You ASK THEM, you probe them and prompt them until they spill all and you know how to really help them.

Three – YOU ONLY TALK “AFTERCARE” AT THE POINT OF SALE (IF AT ALL)

This can stem from many things really…

- You may be fearful of being “too salesy”,

- You may not understand how to ask the right questions that lead you into the right product conversations,

- You completely miss all the correct touchpoints during an appointment,

- You are scared of rejection,

- You don’t like the products you have insalon, and/or

- You are focused on the target or the $ sale.

All of them are a problem, and all of them are more common than you think. And one doesn’t have to be specific to you, you could be suffering with a well-rounded combination of all of them! How would you feel if you get to the end of an appointment and you’re getting a handful of products you know nothing about shoved in your face? Ick? Me too – because this is so outside of integrity!

Four – YOU AREN’T IMPROVING THEIR LIFE

Lemme explain this – how do you know what your clients are doing wrong if you don’t know what they’re doing in their day-to-day?

Do you know how many people don’t know how to shampoo their hair properly? Or how many don’t know how to section their hair properly to be able to blow wave or straighten it? Or even that they need to properly blow wave their hair, and that blow waving will give them longevity with their heat styling? Or that they need to use a heat protectant before heat styling? The list goes on…

These aren’t rocket-science to us, but they can be profound for clients who don’t do this job for a living. The smallest assistance to their lives can be enough to keep them loyal for life! In saying that though – this isn’t a once off convo. It needs to happen at every visit. For example - we live in one of the most volatile and extreme weather climates in the world, you really think their hair is going to stay exactly the same for years on end? Unlikely. Ask more questions, spend a little more time on the deep dive. And that leads perfectly into my last point today…

Five – YOU ARE COMPLAISANT WITH YOUR CLIENTS

Look, correctly consulting for your services opposed to your aftercare is an article for another issue, but in short – why are you not giving every client the same level of questioning and care and interest as you do with your newbies?

I get it, we get to know our clients so well that we catch up on life, their saucy weekends, and their European holidays, and we also know what they do and don’t like with their hair, so we skim over the details and just crack in… right? It should not be this way.

Friendliness is fine, I hope you love the shit out of all of your clients, but this shouldn’t be at the expense of deep and meaningful consultations, where you get to the root of their problems, learn more about their daily and weekly hair routines, and find solutions for both with products and services.

I could spend hours on this topic, not only telling you “what not to do” but also giving you the “how” – and I am later this year, in my team friendly: THE HUSTLE [LIVE] in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. If you want to improve your client experience and sales process, then you should be there!

Head to iconiccoaching.com.au > EVENTS for tickets and deets.

XO Cait, Iconic Coaching