May 2008
Editor’s Note: This is the fourth of a five-part series on business coaching. You can find the previous parts in our earlier issues; watch for the final part of this motivational beauty industry expert’s ideas in an upcoming issue of Stylist Newspapers.
Our previous articles stated that to live a high performance life we need awareness and responsibility. We must then do what is “right,” take the proper actions for success then live these actions. Success is not a sometimes thing. One does not do the right thing occasionally and expect to succeed. Success is an all the time thing.
Therefore, the last two parts of this series will be about process -- The actions we take or choose not to take on a daily basis to assure we are not blocking our success. In this issue, we will discuss the first three of what I call the five keys to success. These keys have proven successful for companies large and small, in everything from urban areas to small rural communities.
Get your chair full -- this is the first key to success. Nothing happens until we have someone to serve.
When I ask students or new service providers how they plan to become busy the most common answer is, “Word of mouth, people will talk about me.” This confuses me. If they don’t have any clients yet, who is going to talk about them? This is a mistake, people wait for clients to walk in the door. It can take years to build a clientele like this, and for some their businesses don’t survive the wait.
The key to getting your chair full is meeting as many people as you can and being sure they know what you do for a living, then giving them a reason to come and see you. Offer to present trends to women’s and men’s group meetings or look for opportunities to participate in community fundraisers and fashion shows. Ideas here are endless but the rule is simple: absolutely everyone you meet is your potential client. Set a weekly goal of how many new people you will meet and plan how you will present your services to them.
Communicate effectively -- this is the second key to success. We must first seek to understand, then to be understood (from The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey). Most people listen at the passive listening level. We allow our inner thoughts to wander or focus on what we will say next or worse, we might be judging the person who is talking rather than understanding what they are saying and how they feel.
The level of listening we must train ourselves to achieve is empathic listening. This doesn’t mean we always have to agree with everyone, just we must understand them. Once we truly understand a person, we can then communicate with them and serve them, to meet or even exceed their expectations.
Do great work consistently -- this is the third key to success. People want a great experience when visiting the salon and they want quality workmanship.
Unfortunately, many stylists feel challenged when they hear their client say, “That last hair cut was perfect, that is exactly how I want it again,” or “you cut my friend’s hair, I would love mine cut like hers.” It is sad but true; most client cards have the date the client came in, how much they were charged and nothing more. How would you feel if you went to your doctor and they said, “I forgot to write down what was wrong with you, what was the color and smell of the medicine I gave you last time?”
I, like many other hairdressers, convinced myself for many years that my clients didn’t want the same look twice. The fact was I settled for not being a master of my craft.
Then, I committed myself to a cutting system based on three principles:
Vision -- Know where you are going before you begin. Name your cuts and know what you sell.
Innovation -- Creativity in hair comes from two opposing forces, freedom of expression and technical discipline. Identify the techniques used to personalize each style and thus maximize creativity.
Excellence -- Make no compromises. Master your craft by identifying the needed skills and techniques. Then learn them, and communicate them with your staff.
In the final installment of this series, we will cover the final two of these five keys, and recap what we’ve learned over the past few months in this five part series.
Your unusual success is the goal, are you ready for it? Join me next time to put the final touches on your success.