11th February 2022
Here’s the thing, salons constantly update their team’s skill levels when it comes to cutting, colouring, styling, even perming! But when it comes to retailing, it tends to get left behind. A real shame as good retail is like having an extra member of staff generating revenue without much hassle. The only hassle is filling up the shelves and keeping on top of your stock levels.
And yet, educating apprentices, hairdressers, technicians, front of house and (yes) you, always seems to get missed out on. Sure, when a new range is taken on board then usually an educator comes along and shares the features and benefits of each and every product, which, based on past experiences of delivering such info, is usually forgotten before the company educator has left the building. I know this to be true having spent more than 25 years delivering product information, (that’s not to say it was wasted time, it has it’s value but the way we learn doesn’t fit in with the way we sometimes are taught).
Don’t get me wrong, it’s actually very important to know details about every product stocked in the salon, enough info to at least excite the client, but ultimately, boring the person sat on the seat whilst talking ingredients frankly doesn’t do it in anymore, it never actually did even though it was the standard chat about products.
Today’s client wants to know more about WHAT IT IS, WHAT DOES and HOW TO USE IT. These 3 very basic points are the backbone of the selling process. EDUCATE YOUR CLIENTS. Everything used on a client’s hair should be explained in an exciting and professional way, clients want to see that you know what you are doing, you know what you are using and are confident in what the end result is going to be because of your choices.
Add to that the need of your clients to feel inspired and individual, team education about understanding client lifestyles, their demographic, what age category they fit into, are they Gen X Y Z A B C D 1.2 3+ etc, who influences them and what they do with their hair at home, and suddenly you have a serious conversation to consider when recommending anything that you want the client to purchase.
It’s all about TELLING not SELLING, creating engaging and interesting stories about the client’s hair and what they do with it that gives the individual sat in the salon seat confidence to open up and talk with you about everything that they normally don’t share, that being, their hair care regime at home!
You will be genuinely amazed at how interactive people can become when they are the focus or topic of the conversation, so educate your team to think about what they say, why they say it and does it have benefits to the client (are they going to purchase recommended products), this will lead to benefits for the stylist (confidence grows and recommending becomes intuitive) and benefits to the salon owner (a healthier bottom line).
Invest in education, get your product suppliers to deliver short, sharp product info booster sessions focussing in one individual family of products one at a time. Invest in allowing your team to ‘self-learn’ when they have quieter periods. Invest in external trainers (of course I’m available!!! email me Emil_mcm@hotmail.com) to help your team see the bigger picture about retailing.
If you do invest in education for everyone, frequently, then your business will benefit from it, I promise you that!
