Intro: Do you feel like you were meant to have a kick-ass career as a hair stylist? Like you got into this industry to make big things happen?
Maybe you’re struggling to build a solid base and want some stability. Maybe you know social media is important, but it feels like a waste of time because you aren’t seeing any results. Maybe you’ve already had some amazing success but are craving more. Maybe you’re ready to truly enjoy the freedom and flexibility this industry has to offer.
Cutting and coloring skills will only get you so far, but to build a lifelong career as a wealthy stylist, it takes business skills and a serious marketing strategy. When you’re ready to quit just working in your business and start working on it, join us here where we share real success stories from real stylists.
I’m Britt Seva, social media and marketing strategist just for hair stylists, and this is the Thriving Stylist Podcast.
Britt Seva: What is up and welcome back to the Thriving Stylist Podcast. I’m your host, Britt Seva and this is going to be kind of a fun one. So I’ve done this once before. This has to have been two years ago or more, you could go back and find it in the podcast archives, but every once in a while, there is a slew of friends and family who come to me and complain about their hair stylist or salon. It just—it happens. People know the industry I’m in. Most of the people in my personal life don’t have a good grip on what I do, but they know that I coach beauty professionals, and so often they’ll come to me, and the conversation starts with “Britt, tell me if this is normal or not.” And then I sit there wide-eyed because I know it’s going to be this juicy story about what a client has experienced from a stylist or salon.
The reason why I think it’s important for me to share these when they do come up in a cluster like this is because I think it’s very important for us to remember the client’s perspective. You and I, whoever you are sitting on the other end of this podcast, likely see the industry in a similar way. We have similar goals for the industry. I have similar goals for you financially as you have for yourself, I have similar lifestyle goals for you that you have for yourself. I believe you should be able to make great money while working 32 hours a week or less. I don’t believe you should be glued to your smartphone. I don’t think you should live life on social media. I don’t think you should be living in your text messages, trying to respond to clients. Like a lot of the things that are your frustrations are my frustrations for you. I hear you. I get it. I feel like it’s become a lot harder to build a clientele now than it was a few years ago and I empathize with all of that.
So if you and I were to sit down and have a conversation about how annoying clients are, yeah, we’d probably be aligned, right? A lot of the same views. The position you as a beauty professional don’t often get to be in is to hear very candid conversations through the eyes of your clients, because even if a client leaves and you send them a, I call it like a lost client survey, or you’ve been missed survey—we talk about this in Thrivers Society. Let’s say you reach out to a guest who used to be your ride-or-die regular and they stopped coming in to see you. So you reach out and you’re like, “Hey Kenzie, gosh, I haven’t seen you in a year, checking in. I hope you and the family are doing great,” or whatever you do. A touch base. And if, as part of that touch base, you say, “You know, I’d love to know what happened between us. Can you give me some insights as to why you left?”, Kenzie is going to give you a partial truth at best. It is very rare you get a client who spills their guts to you because they respect you and they care about you and they don’t want to hurt your feelings. And the other thing is they don’t want to offend you. They don’t really know what’s right or wrong and so they don’t give you the full story.
I get the full story because I’m in the industry, but I’m not doing the hair and so I become almost this confidant to clients. It’s really interesting. So when I get a good handful of these stories, I like to bring them to you, and the reason I’m sharing this long rambling intro is I want you to understand I’m not sharing these things because it’s what I believe and I think you need to change the way you’re doing your business. I don’t care so much about what you do on the flip side of receiving this information. The reason I share this is because I don’t think you’re hearing this information from anywhere else. I don’t think you’re getting the truth about what clients are seeing or feeling or hearing. When I get this kind of information, I infuse this into how I coach, because it’s such great insight as far as what the client wants, what consumers are looking for, what it takes to build a business quickly as a beauty professional right now, period.
That’s what it comes down to because whether these stories are right or wrong, it actually is irrelevant. It’s how these clients feel, and it’s mostly stories of why they’re choosing to leave their stylist or are feeling frustrated in finding a stylist.
So if you feel like you want to retain more clients, you want to build business faster, you want to be as marketable as possible, if you’re a salon owner and you want to have a highly marketable salon, ears open because these are the big complaints coming down the pipeline from clients who are looking for great stylists or salons.
I’m going to start off actually light and easy, because this is where the first conversation took place. This conversation was very casual and it took place on the sidelines of my son’s soccer game practice, you know, where all the best conversations take place. I walked up to a couple of moms and as I was walking up, a mom that I’m very much friends with, she was like, “Oh my gosh, Britt’s here. Great, actually, Britt, perfect timing. We’re actually talking about hair and stylists and salons.” And I was like, “Oh my gosh, perfect timing.” And I stumble into this conversation midway, the conversations already halfway in, and these moms are talking about why they’ve all collectively chosen to leave one specific stylist over a period of time.
I found it very interesting because you’d see where their stories would intersect. One of the moms was like, “I loved going in to see her, but she was booked out for weeks and weeks at a time, and my schedule is so unpredictable that I can’t book myself three months in advance and be certain it’s going to work out for me.” That to me was like, ding, ding. I know. That’s why I coach for stylists not to be pre-booked out for months and months and months. So already, it was like, “Well, yeah, that’s a common problem I’m very well aware of.”
She was like, “Honestly, I just felt like I wasn’t a good fit for her business anymore. She was really booked up.” This is somebody who had seen the stylist for years and she is a stay-at-home mom. Her husband is really well off. She’s got the money. That’s not the problem. She was just like, “The way she allows herself to be super booked out, it doesn’t work for me. By the time I know that I’m ready to get my hair done, I can’t wait another three months.” So that was one of the pushes that made her choose to leave this person.
That was this one person’s story. Then this recurring story started to pop up, and this other mom was like, “Well, it’s funny because when I left this stylist, I went to see somebody else and I didn’t even say who it was I had been working with, but this stylist started to go through my hair and was like, ‘Oh, you were working with Erica, weren’t you?’” The client was like, “Oh my gosh, how did you know that?” And she’s like, “Well, because I’ve taken on several of her clients and when I go into the inside of their hair, it all looks the same.” The client was like, “That’s so interesting because I felt like I had been asking her repeatedly to change my look, or whatever it was. I don’t know what it was. The stylist would be like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally.” But then the client said, “But I felt like essentially I was leaving with this variation of what she’s always done.” And what we can argue is that that stylist is highly specialized. I don’t know this stylist as a person at all. I don’t follow them. I don’t know enough about them, but maybe they are highly specialized and listen, they’ve just decided like, this is what I do. This is the end result you get. Badda bing badda boom, here you go. I’m good with that. Like, I’m all about it.
The flaw comes when the stylist doesn’t go to the client and say, “You know what? I know you’ve changed what you’re looking for and I love the direction you’re heading. I’m probably not a fit for that. Instead I would suggest you see so-and-so or whatever who does that kind of work.”
Can you see how these moms are now sitting around talking negatively about this stylist who in a lot of ways, so far on paper, hasn’t done much wrong, is highly specialized, does good work. Nobody’s arguing that this person does good work or not, but it’s interesting to see that the perception through the eyes of a client is if I ask you for something and then feel like you just kind of do what you always do, like you got a look and you just always go for it. The client was offended and what’s interesting about that is likely the fact that the stylist was a specialist is probably what drew those clients into this person in the first place. But as they changed their mind and as they changed what they were looking for, the stylist wasn’t forthright in saying, “We probably just aren’t a fit any longer,” which in turn tarnishes the stylist’s reputation because clients don’t realize that. We have to remember—we know it’s smart for stylists to specialize. We know it’s smart for stylists to really hone in on one really good skill or a couple really good skill sets. Clients don’t get it in the same way. This is where we have to educate them and elevate ourselves, right?
The other thing was too. And whether this is true or not, the new stylist told the client, “I think what the problem is is that I don’t believe Erica educates herself anymore.” And I thought, “Oh, brutal, brutal.” Because that may or may not even be true, like Erica might be educating themselves, but word around town is Erica does the same thing over and over. Everybody looks the same. Now she’s uneducated.
Have you ever met a stylist—I’ve actually worked with a stylist who was like top dog, iconic, big deal. Maybe you’ve even followed an influencer. Maybe you’ve never met a person, but you followed an influencer who was once a huge deal, no longer accepting new clients, pre-booked out for months and months flying around to educate, big deal. And then two years goes by and suddenly they’re not educating anymore. They’re definitely still taking new clients. Their books are a little spotty. Reputation can really get you and I think that that word of mouth and—we can call it even the rumor mill—can really bite somebody.
And so thinking about how you’re being perceived and what the chattiness around your business could potentially be is really important. I think that we underestimate the water cooler conversations that still take place about a stylist, a salon, a beauty professional.
So I’m sitting there. I don’t know Erica, I’ve never met this person before, but as I’m hearing them, I’m feeling a type of way about her. I’ll probably never meet her, but it is shifting my judgment of that person. And if I’m thinking that, what do you think the other seven moms sitting around here are thinking? It matters. Perception of your business matters. The way you communicate matters, the way that you’re available or not available to see your guests matters. It becomes a part of your storyline. And so it’s really important for you to think about how is my business being positioned? How is my business being perceived?
Now here’s another story. This one’s interesting. So I got a text message from an acquaintance and she was asking me, “Listen, the stylist I was seeing is no longer doing hair. Do you know of anybody that I could potentially see?” I get this question all the time. Then she says, “One somebody I know recommended I go to,”—let’s just call it Waterloo salon. I’m sitting here looking at Waterloo waters. We’ll go with it. Okay. “They recommended that I go to Waterloo salon,” and I was like, “Oh my gosh, okay, well, I’ve heard great things about Waterloo also. I’ve never been there before, but I’ve only heard really good things. I definitely think it’s worth checking out. Go for it.” I basically gave my stamp of approval, but truly I’ve never been there, but I have heard really good things through word of mouth. So great.
Fast forward, and this acquaintance of mine was like, “Okay, I found somebody whose Instagram appealed to me.” So let me tell you the journey of this prospective client. This prospective client Googled the name of the salon, then went to their website. Then the next thing they did is they went to their Instagram. They’re working their way up the marketing funnel. This is very typical behavior.
There’s, I don’t know, eight or nine stylists who work at this salon. This client passed judgment based on social media. That’s how she chose to do it. Sent an Instagram direct message to the stylist that she liked the pictures of. “I liked what I saw. I feel like we could be a match, hoping that she responds.” Two days go by, then this person texts me back and says, “So is sending Instagram messages to a stylist not a thing anymore? I’ve messaged two of them now and neither of them have responded. I mean, I’ll just call the salon if that’s what I’m supposed to do. I’m just wondering how to act as a client.”
Y’all I talk about this all the time. You have to assume that your clients are clueless. And I don’t mean that they’re dummies. They’re not. They’re super smart, but they want to behave in the way in which you want them to. They want to book appointments in the way that works for you. But if they are feeling at a loss, you’re going to lose them.
So I’m like, “Huh, interesting. Two days goes by and the stylist doesn’t get back to you. Well, maybe it was over a weekend and I coached stylists to take weekends off.” So I take that with a grain of salt, except for that, as she was saying this, I took it a step further. And I was like, “Well, let me just go take a look at her Instagram.” Well, the Instagram links to the salon’s website. The salon’s website is dated as all get out. I don’t know when the last time this salon’s website was updated, but there’s no online booking link. If you reach out to them basically Saturday afternoon through Monday, it’s a dead zone, like too bad. You’ll just have to wait until the weekend or whatever, or wait until the next day, next week, or whatever. When Tuesday rolls around. It’s clearly looking unnurtured and unmanaged is my perception.
Here’s the problem. If you’re not going to respond to DMs on the weekend, which I’m actually fully okay with, there needs to be another way for a client to take progressive action. This is why I talk about having a concierge-like new guest experience. This is why I talk about having some forms of automation through your social media, through your website. It’s not ‘cause I’m trying to make things complicated. It’s because I’m trying to get you clients because this stylist in real time is losing what could have been a really great client for her.
I respond to this person and I say, “My gosh, what a bummer.” And I said, “I want to give the benefit of the doubt. Why don’t you give a call to the salon on Tuesday?” And she said, well, that’s definitely my plan,” but this is also what she said to me. “No offense. It doesn’t take an expert to know that if you’re a stylist, you should utilize an Instagram account and keep in touch with clients, either current or perspective, whichever is easiest for them. I didn’t need a personalized response. I needed to know what I had to do to book an appointment today.” And I could start to read the frustration in her message to me. She went on to ask, “Do you believe that salon owners don’t like their stylists speaking directly to clients?”
It was interesting to me that a client would ask that question and I responded back and I said “Sometimes yes, but more often than not, that’s not what it’s about. I think that sometimes that stylists have a hard time managing their schedule, but truly I think you should give the salon a call on Tuesday because I have heard good things.” So I’m fighting for the salon, right? I’m like in the salon’s corner, don’t talk bad about my industry. This can work out, give a little grain of salt, but I’m having to convince her to stick with the stylist and stick with the salon. Had I not been there, she would’ve bounced a long time ago.
Flash forward to Tuesday afternoon, she texts me again and she says, “Britt, I really tried. I called Waterloo, which by the way, I had to go to their website to find the phone number because it wasn’t listed on their Instagram or on their Yelp page.” That was a pain point for this person that they had to hunt for. The phone number should be predominantly displayed. If you don’t have any other automation on your website or way to book, you got to have an accessible phone number. She says “They didn’t answer not all day long and I kept letting it ring. I am over it.” So between Saturday and Tuesday, they lost this prospective client.
I think that often we think, “Well, I need time off in my business.” That’s nice, but business doesn’t sleep. There has to be a system in place where the business can push forward.
So she goes on to say—I didn’t even get a chance to respond to that. She goes on to say, “I ended up reaching out to an old friend from high school and they recommended Salon Manhattan.” That’s not the name. I’m making it up, Salon Manhattan. “So I looked up that salon on social media and all I see is personal photos of the stylist and a bunch of really rough photos of hair with a link for”—and then she names a hair care brand and she goes, “I don’t even know what that is. I don’t see good pictures of work. I don’t even know this stylist. Why would I care about her personal life?”
That was really interesting to me. One of the things that I coached to in Thrivers Society is what I call personal with a professional twist and this is exactly why. There’s such a difference between authenticity and being yourself and not putting on that fake persona and not having everything be so polished, but still being professional and still being approachable and still looking like you have the upper hand in your community.
I didn’t actually take a look at this stylist she’s describing. I didn’t look at their social, so I can’t tell you exactly what went wrong, but it sounds like the turnoff to her was too many photos of the stylist. The photo composition on the photos of hair was bad and she didn’t like that. They were promoting a hair care brand. That was actually a turnoff for her, which is interesting because when we had Jasmine Star speak at Thrivers Live 2020, she pulled up—if you were there, you remember. If you know, you know—she pulled up actual Instagram accounts of actual stylists. And yet to remember, Jasmine is a client, she’s not a stylist herself. And she picked them apart. She was like, “This is what I hate to see as a client,” and promotion of hair care brands was one of the things I found that to be really interesting.
Now to hear it from somebody else a second time, it’s like, Ooh, we’re onto something here.
Then she posted one more thing. She said this, and it’s a finger pointing up and a photo of somebody’s Instagram grid, and it says, “This is the kind of Instagram page everybody should have. It just doesn’t look that hard. Okay, sorry, I’ll leave you alone now, LOL,” because she knows I’ve been tied up in this with her all weekend at this point.
When I look at the Instagram, the one that she’s being drawn to, first of all, wouldn’t you know, it’s a Thriver and this friend of mine has no idea who I coach or what Thrivers is. She has no clue, but it made my little heart happy when it was. And I had a feeling because I could tell right away, branded highlight covers, beautifully composed photos of hair, photos of the stylist, but very much personal with a professional twist, active Instagram story, active links, information for the salon there on the site, you can book directly through there and get the process started.
And I was like, yeah, this is exactly what it’s supposed to look like.
I think a lot of times, we think that, “Oh, having the website is so old school. Who cares about a website anymore?” I don’t know. Every client I’ve talked to in the last two weeks sure seems to. You can say it doesn’t matter, but when you actually talk to clients, it f-ing matters. They care. So if a client cares, you should care. If a pain point for these people is that you don’t respond to your DMs and because you didn’t respond, they can’t take action forward, you will lose them. And a lot of times when I share this advice, stylists and salon owners will say, “Well, we’re doing all right,” or like “We’re doing pretty good, so I’m not going to worry about it.” Do you want to do pretty good? Or do you want to do astronomical the amount of hours I spend in my business every single week saying, “What are we doing wrong? What are we doing wrong? What are we doing wrong? What are our blind spots? Where can we be better?” That is most of our conversations.
I think that it is one of those missed opportunities for those in our industry to stop and say, “Do I want to be good? Or do I want to set my family and myself up for a legacy of wealth? Do I want to be good or do I want to be really financially secure? Do I want to be good or do I not want to be the stylist that people are chatting about on the sidelines of the soccer field? Who is it that I want to be and how do I want to be perceived?”
What’s interesting is when you actually build a scalable business, it’s less work, not more. And if we take a step back and say, “I’m going to really run this business like a business, and I’m going to think about my business through the eyes of a client and I’m going to make sure that I am positioned as truly the best of the best in my community,” you can’t lose. Perceive value for the win, my friends.
To my friends who shared so beautifully and openly with me recently, thank you so so much. I so appreciate you all. And as I always like to say, so much love, happy business building, and I’ll see you on the next one.
