-Erin O’Reilly, Evergreen Beauty College

“Hello Erin,
This is Robert: first let me congratulate you on having a long term goal of opening your own business. I have taken your two great questions and will answer them individually. But first, let me make a broad stroke statement to be sure that you and your clients are safeguarded. Be sure that when you open your business, you meet all local and state authority requirements for having a home based business. If possible, speak to other home based business owners in your field of business and ask their advice.

And now to your questions:
1. How do I choose products that I can use on my clients & also have available for sale?
a. A general rule of thumb is to carry two brands of products, one that is value priced and well known, but also can be bought in professional sizes. These often are packaged in larger containers and priced lower than retail products. The other brand to offer should be a treatment line which is perceived to be of a higher quality and can be offered as a specialized product line for skin with special needs. This will ensure that you are able to cater to all of your clients needs.
2. How do I research a product line that meets my needs: cost-effective, efficient ingredients, good quality & inclusive for all skin types & conditions?
a. A good place to start is to visit your local product distributor. They usually carry several product lines and can let you know the features and benefits of each brand, along with pricing and marketing information. Some may be very popular and sell very well, to clients in skin care salons and spas because they are well known. Other product lines may be less well known but have unique features that give the brand a higher quality perception or more exclusive positioning. Often, distributors have product awareness classes that you can attend to learn more in depth information.”

“Hello Matt,

Great questions, and thanks for writing in for help.

The CSC is first and foremost a customer service checklist for you to use to ensure that you have had a meaningful conversation with your guest.

Your instructor (coach) can help your guest understand that the questions you are asking are a necessary part of your training, and although the guest may not have booked a skin or nail service that day they can receive valuable advice from the conversation for future reference.

The consultation does take time to do properly and the guest should realize that in exchange for a quality service, they are paying a much less price for the service than they would in a salon, but it may take a little longer.

Matt, you may want to change the questions from “tell me your challenges”, to “tell me about your nails, skin or hair” questions. This will help the guest to begin the conversation with you easier.

If your guest draws a blank then ask another question. It may take a few questions to get the conversation going. Let’s role play this a little.

YOU:
Mrs’ Johnson, tell me about your nails

MRS JOHNSON:
Tell you what?

YOU:
Do they break easily?
Are you using any products on them currently?
Do you manicure them regularly?

MRS JOHNSON:
Well, I haven’t manicured them in a while, but I used to.

YOU:
Have you ever had a manicure here at the school?

MRS JOHNSON:
No, I haven’t.

YOU:
A regular manicure helps keep your nails and cuticles healthy.
We use wonderful products here at the school.
It does not take long and we have a manicure special available today.
I can do it after your haircut service if you like?

Matt, it does not matter if the guest buys or not. You have asked great questions, listened to the answers and made your recommendation and that’s what you are supposed to do.

Try it on your next client and good luck. You are practicing valuable skills that will undoubtedly build your business.

Let’s move on to your second question about suggesting a wax treatment to a guest without insulting them. Matt, if it is obvious to you that the client needs a wax treatment, they are probably aware of it too, so don’t feel embarrassed. My suggestion is to ask the guest about skin services they have had in the past, and facial products that they use or have used. It will soon be apparent if they have had a wax treatment before. If they do not mention wax treatments specifically, you can mention it along with other services the school offers in your skin “conversation” on the traveler. If your guest expresses interest in the service and you do not personally do the service, please seek help from your coach, and perhaps book a consultation with an esthetics student.

I hope these help…………..keep up the good work, and practice hard.

Regards

Robert.

“Hi Crystalin, thank you for asking such a grrreat question, I’m sure this will help many other students that would like to ask the same question but are too shy or embarrassed to do so.

Let me start by congratulating you for hanging in there. If you remember in the “Embracing Change” program, it talks about our number one fear …. REJECTION! and it sounds like you are handling it very well. Every grrreat salesperson has to handle rejection because its the nature of the game. All you have to remember is you are not being a pushy salesperson, you are delivering 5 star customer service by educating and recommending what you, as the expert, believe with all of your heart will help the client achieve a look or overcome a problem that they may have. IS THAT NOT GRRREAT? This should make you feel fabulous because it does not matter whether the client buys anything, it only matters that you deliver the same 5 star customer service to every client, every day, every time and as long as you believe in what you are recommending you have a clear conscience. What eventually happens is clients see that you are not pushy, you are not BSing them, you are trustworthy and that you GENUINELY CARE! By continuing to recommend for the right reasons you have no reason to feel bad, on the contrary, you should feel grrreat. You are a problem solver which is the “ULTIMATE CUSTOMER SERVICE”. Congratulations and thank you soo much for asking such an important question. WELL DONE CRYSTALIN … Jim ”

“Hi Brittany,

Wow. . . what a great question. There are so many ways that you can be sure of getting the most out of your school education and the nuts and bolts training program. In business there are no guarantees, but let me be practical and name a few things that will ensure you capitalize on every opportunity.

1. Continue to work hard at school, take as many guests as you can, and practice practice practice. Be the first to get there and the last to leave. This will ensure that you have taken advantage of all the resources available to you.

2. Ask your coaches (instructors) for tips and guidance on different techniques. Attend trade shows and learn from the masters of the industry. Watch others who are better than you and ask for their help

3. Put your nuts and bolts training to work. Wow every guest, every day, every way you can. Remember…..Wow means to give the guest more than they expect.

4. Take your time and “interview” many salon owners before accepting a job. Be sure to work for a salon that will allow you to grow. Ask about ongoing training programs they have for you. “Shoot for the moon, and you might land on the stars”

5. Work smart not hard…….Remember, 5 clients @ $100 is better for you (and your guest) than 10 clients @ $50.

6. Follow the Customer Service Checklist (Traveler) and you will get the most out of your career.

Good Luck Brittany, and remember…..”You already are a winner because you asked the right question”

ANSWER
“Sometimes, the guest will need to be coached on how they can help you to learn great new habits. Your team leader will speak to your guest and share ways that they can help you, because in exchange for their time and patience, they are getting a quality service at value pricing.

The traveler is a “checklist” to ensure that you give a thorough consultation and must be used with every client every time. As time progresses and your skill level increases, the flow of conversation will take you through the checklist so naturally, you will not have to think about it. In fact, your questions will be replaced with conversations and recommendations by you that lead the guest to new service and retail opportunities. Don’t worry about trying to sell anything! Educate the client!

Remember when you first took driving lessons, you were conscious of every action you made and every step was carefully sequenced, Today, you probably drive without thinking of what you are doing? It just happens!

The same analogy can be made with the traveler: You will soon be effortlessly having great conversations with your guest, and exploring new things to talk about with them A good idea is to use the menu as a conversation starter, by asking the gust which service they would like to know more about. Remember that conversations lead to new service opportunities, and after all, a one service client is no good to anyone.
-Robert Hall, Co-Founder of Nuts and Bolts”

“Hi Julie,
Wow what an interesting question. I am not sure I know of any mobile spas in your state. The first suggestion I have is to look online and in the yellow pages and see if there are any mobile spa businesses operating in your area. If so, I would call them and ask for some information about services they offer, and how you could get a service from them. In general, I think that the costs associated with marketing and maintaining a mobile spa would be high relative to the income you would make. My recommendation would be to develop a reputation for offering quality services first, and then subject to demand from your clients, look into offering a mobile service.
-Robert”