Ann, hi. My name is Ann Marie Christell. I'm a coach for hairstylist that wants to grow their business behind the chair without feeling overwhelmed or working longer hours behind the chair. I have over 20 years of experience working behind the chair, earning over six figures if you wish to make more money without working longer hours behind the chair and bring in spiritual and sustainable principles into your business and life when you are in the right place. In this podcast, I will mix business strategies, marketing tips, personal development, spiritual practices and sustainable ways of living and working. Welcome to the sustainable hairstylist podcast. Welcome back to the podcast. So today is all about how you as a hair stylist can make each and every hair client feel special. I will talk about this over and over again on this podcast, and who you are, how you hold the space for your clients, and how you make your clients feel like how they feel when you create that transformation for them, how you maybe can get them to see what is possible for them, when they feel great about their hair, that is your uniqueness. It's the thing that will make you stand out, and that is the thing that no one will ever be able to compete with you about. On that note, I will want to remind you that the relationship that you have with your clients might be great in for a few years, but I also want to remind you that people change, people grow. You change. You grow. So just because a client has been the perfect fit for a very long time doesn't mean that person will be the perfect fit for you forever. And I know that logically in your mind, that is something you are aware of. But what happens when you see that one of your favorite clients has started to go and get their hair done by someone? Maybe you feel that hey, but we are friends. Why didn't they let me know? Like, why didn't she reach out to me? Or, why didn't he let me know that I am going to someone else, or I'm doing something new, letting go about that is such a powerful thing for you as a hairstylist to learn, but I'm not going to go into detail on those things. Today's podcast episode is going to be all about really going deep into how you can make your hair clients feel very special. So the relationship that you have with your clients is what will make you stand out, because the relationship that you have with your clients is something that the clients will talk about with their friends and family members. They will talk about it on social media, etc, etc. So part of a marketing strategy should be that you show off a little bit of what type of relationship that you have with your clients, you should share that on social media. Don't forget, writing out the transformations that your clients are having, both hair wise and also internally, is important, because the followers will actually see that, hey, there is something special, and it is a peek into who you are. It's a peek into what it is that makes you unique. And I cannot say this enough, but your client experience already starts the first time they hear about you or the first time they see you work on social media, or they see maybe a flyer somewhere. So if we can communicate all of this already from the very first time, you have already set a strong foundation. So when you are creating an amazing hair can make people feel that so much more is possible for them because they feel more comfortable about themselves. You can give them confidence. I've had clients that say that, hey, I was reaching out for that promotion because I felt more comfortable in myself, just because I have thicker hair, or I have longer hair, or I feel more comfortable wearing my hair in this way and that way. And what I want to talk about is the importance of your client relationships. So your client relationships should be one of your priorities. It. Should be a foundation in your business, because without your client relationships, your business is nothing you if you don't have returning clients, then it's going to be a struggle for you. So how can we elevate your client experience so that your clients feel that they can trust you, that the clients feel that they can say, Hey, I didn't like this about my hair. Can we change this? And one thing that you can start off by doing is for each and every client that you have is to actually sit down and have a chat with them, even if it's just two three minutes, sitting and having a face to face conversation before, if you just meet them in at the door and like, are we doing the usual? Yes, then they might feel that you are not taking the time to actually check in. So starting off every single appointment with like, How is your day? How is your hair feeling? Do we need to change anything from last time so that they feel seen and heard? We have to remind ourselves that our lives are becoming more and more and more digital. The moments that people are actually hanging out with, people, real human beings in a setting is getting less and less and less. So the experience that you create for your clients is more and more important because it's more rare that they are actually in a room together with someone and yes, I know for you as a hairstylist, it's so easy to overlook that, because you do this all day long, and you take it for granted. But I remember, during the pandemic in Sweden, we were allowed to work, and there were some regulations, but we were allowed to work. So I said to my clients, if you want to come, I will work. If I'm healthy, and if you are healthy, you're allowed to come, and we will just do this after like of the regulations, and I had several clients coming one year into the pandemic, and they I could tell they were shit scared, and they were scared because they hadn't met anyone in real life for a year when they came to my salon. So for a year, they've been doing their work online. They've been food shopping, they've been doing everything online, and the only person they met, or maybe partner or someone like that, and they have not met anyone else in the year, and I was the first person that they met in a year. Then I understood the importance of meeting people in real life, because I could tell that I had three clients, that this was the fact, and I could tell that they were feeling awkward by being in the same room with another human being. They were feeling awkward in so how do I act? How do I respond? Etc. So and people have become more isolated and isolated as human beings, and I want to remind you that this is actually a fact. So taking the small amount of time to actually just sit down face to face, checking in, Hey, how are you doing? What is it that we are doing with your hair today? And I'm talking about this as looking face to face, not looking through the mirror, face to face, having a chat, without you being in a stressful situation and running away, having this time talking about this. And then you can go on and create the color, take out the hair extensions and start to create the hair. But having that moment to get them to feel seen and heard will be a
thing that will really create a feeling of trust, that the client will truly trust you, because you took the time to actually listen. You took the time to see how are they doing. And in this way, this client will probably be able to communicate with you if there is something that is wrong with her hair, instead of just oh, she doesn't understand me, or he doesn't listen to me. Oh, she's all up in her blah, blah, blah, blah, and then they will go to someone else and maybe talk bad about you because they didn't feel seen on her. But it's just an off communication thing. From the first time that you have a client, let's say that you have a new client reaching out to you. What I like to do is I like to have video consultations, because it is easier, both for me or for the client, to jump on a video call just to see am I the right fit for this person? Is this person the right. It fit for me. What I do, always when I do consultations, is I write down notes. I write what the client has, like their dream hair. What is it? The struggles with their hair? Are they doing anything special, training, scuba diving, etc, and I have these notes in my client file. You can either write them on a paper and have a Rolodex with your client files, or you can put them in some kind of system, into the computer. Sometimes, you can put a note into your booking system about your client and write down personal details as well. If they are talking about getting married, if they're talking about they have a kid or etc, etc. For each and every appointment, I add information what my client has been talking about, because the next time they come, I quickly check before they arrive or when they are with me, what was it? Just to jog my memory that they were talking about so I can refer back towards things. So when I've had a client for like, let's say, a year, I came back to something that they said during the consultation. These things, builds trust. These things will get your client to really feel seen. They will really feel special. And I know we are bombarded with so much information, and when it comes to me, I write down notes, but strangely, stories and things people have shared with me are things that I do remember my husband. He always jokes with me that I do remember stuff about my clients and what they have done, and who are they, boyfriends and kids and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, but I never remember what kind of food we have in our future at home, or what we had for dinner last night. That's just how my brain works. And if you do not work like that, that's totally fine, but write things down, and it will be a game changer. And write down if someone has told me, like when my hairdresser did my hair in this way, I hated it all those things. Write it down so you have it, because then you know what to avoid. Then you know that, okay, this product did not work for them, or this color was a disaster. Or like remembering, like writing down people's birthday, having taking a moment to actually send a text or do it through the online booking system, etc, these are the things that will make you stand out. So going back to sending a text or email or in whatever way you're communicating with your clients for their birthday, you can send a message and then offer some kind of treatment for free as their little happy birthday blah blah blah. So for your next appointment, we can add a special treatment into blah blah blah that is on you, these special things like do a special styling or etc, for the clients that are coming to you on a regular basis will really make them feel special and you remembering them, will also have them react in a special way and taking the time to acknowledge them. So ask yourself, in what way can you put this into a system that could actually work for you and not add stress to you. So when it comes to me, I've been working behind the chair for 26 years. I am a person that the person that I am on the podcast is the same person that I am at home, it's the same person that I am on social media, and it's the same person that I am with my clients, if someone makes me awkward, I will let them know. If someone is saying something that is overstepping my boundary, I will let them know. And if I have a bad day in this long if I am sad, if I am in shock, then I will let people know, a true testament to who I am. Maybe seven years ago, I was hosting a hair extension class, and about 30 minutes before, I had 10 lovely women traveling from all over the world coming to my space for three days, and I was hosting this class, I got a call saying that a woman that was very dear to me, I saw her as my extra grandmother, because my grandmother lived across the world when I was growing up, but this woman might be she really helped out, and she was there for me and my brother, and she was like a grandmother to me. Had passed away. I knew she was sick. But you know, when you get that call, it can shake you to the ground. So what I did when I took the group of girls women that I was training, and I welcomed them, and I let them know like, hey, I want to be 100% real with you. I got this call this morning. So if I get sad today, if I feel a bit you feel that I am off. This is what happened. If you I start to cry, just let me cry, and I will be fine. But this is who I am, because I know that even if I am very, very sad or having a horrible, shitty day, if I don't let people around me know, and one thing I am very clear about is that I don't put myself in a victim mode. I honor my emotions and feelings, and I don't push all that energy on top of someone. And I let people know because it is part of who I am, and it's also because your clients, or students, in my case, might feel that there is something off with you. They might feel that, hey, this is something is wrong, and they might feel that they have done something wrong. And that is why I believe it is so important that I am real with my clients, and I am the person. I am the hairstylist, to build personal connections with my clients, it is important that you know what is off limits, what are the things that you would never want to share with your clients? But I truly believe building real, honest connections with your clients, holding the space for them, letting them know that it's okay to say what is going on in their mind, because there is still this special bond being created when you are touching another person. Because, again, that's not really normal in our everyday life. Now in 2025 so building that connection and being real with your clients is one thing that could really set you apart. And I also let them know that whatever is being said, I won't talk about it. I won't say anything. And if I would talk about a transformation or maybe I say this person has a difficult time, and they shifted their energy in this way. I don't write like, Hey, she's going through a divorce, if that is the secret. I'm always very mindful of what I'm sharing about my clients in social media and in what way I'm speaking about that, so also write down the personal details that you know. Another thing that you can do in order for your clients to feel special is to customize your service so you can customize your services in different way. You can adapt your space, especially after what the client needs. Some clients might need some quiet time. Some maybe want to have a service where there is no speaking. Maybe that is something that you want to offer. I think soon we will start to see having services offered without little devices. So having a digital detox appointment, I think is something that soon will start to becoming a thing in the beauty industry. We will see how long before it actually starts to take place. I'm maybe that is something that you should start to offer. We want to really go into celebrating minds, my milestones together. So let's say that you, your client, have had a baby, or they got that big promotion that they wanted, or they're getting married, etc, etc. What is the one special thing? Maybe you can go and get some cover that is non alcoholic for their next appointment, and share that with them, that you can clean your glasses and have fun with that. There are so many different things that you can add into your customer experience that will make them feel like, wow. This is special, having honest conversations with your clients and asking for feedback the products that they bought. How are they working? How are they styling their hair? Do they want to change them? Are they comfortable with do you want to teach them, or do they want you to teach them something new? In what way can you make sure that your client is comfortable at all times during the appointment, taking a moment like, are you comfortable? Are you being okay? I'm not saying saying that every one minute, but maybe after 15 minutes, just checking in. How are you while the color is processing? Are they more comfortable chatting with you? Or do they want. To sit by themselves. Do they want something during this time, or do they don't want something? Ask. How are you most comfortable? How would you want to spend this time so that you can get the most amazing experience? Some people might want to be more pampered. Some people don't want that is the clients. Okay? Would you double booking or do they feel overseen, that you are not there for them? Every client is different, and that's why we want to ask for feedback and see what is working, what is not working, etc. And I also think going back to the digital detox and also going to services that are more relaxing for our clients. People are being more stressed than ever. People are having anxiety. People are feeling bad, etc. How can you craft an experience for your clients that are more relaxing, that they feel that I am comfortable with anything that they feel, that they can relax while they are in your chair, something that I have done is when I have created a new type of haircut, color that is totally different, that demands another way of styling their hair. While I am styling their hair. I am actually recording a video, and I am showing them and explaining to them in detail how they can style their hair in this way at home. And I am sending them this video, and I'm also using this video for my social media. But before you do record this video, I would ask the client if this is okay, so that you share that whole experience, and this can truly build connections
with both the client and your future clients, because they can See that, hey, that is immense value. That is why this person really gives something extra. So you are already sharing the experience that the clients are having in your chair with you, with the followers that you have on social media, and do not forget that it should be on your website as well. And I will record a podcast all about why you, as a hairstylist, will to have your website because it is a game changer and the only platform that you actually own on social media. So I'm not going to go into a rant about that today, but we really want to establish a good connections with our followers on social media as well. So doing these tutorials is great. Another thing you can do when you are creating something new for your clients a few days after the appointment or one week after the appointment, send a text, an email, checking in with your client. How is the hair doing? Have they tried out the new products that they got? Write a remembering note in your calendar with a reminder of you doing this, so that you don't have to have that in your head, put it in the schedule just and then you just do it. Something unique that you can actually do is to write a personal thank you note to a client on a card, gather clients addresses, maybe doing a Christmas card that you can send out saying thanks for the new the year that has been looking forward to. Blah, blah, blah. If you send someone a real thank you note or Christmas card nowadays, they will be shocked, because how much of this do you actually get in your real mail nowadays? And also some you can do is to check in with your clients between appointments to see how their hair is doing. If there is a client that you haven't seen in months, maybe a thing you can do is reaching out, just checking in. I haven't heard from you in a bit. How are you? Is there any way I can support you? And this can actually also be the thing that brings clients back into your space, and there is so much more that we can actually do, but building these relationships with our clients is the thing that will stand out for you in your business, because it will help strengthen the word about who you are. It will help building that relationship with the client. So it will also spread in the energy of the salon. It will build everything for you. So I know it can be overwhelming thinking that, do I really need to do all of this, but having a system that works for you, where you have a step by step system to follow, will help you out with this. And trust me, if you do this, start to do this, it will really set you apart. And remember how you are showing up in life, how you are showing up in in your business will determine what is coming back to you. So if you care more about your clients, if you care about the experience that they are having with you, that is what will come back to you. Remember that honor that and hold on to that, and start to shift the way that you are holding the space for your clients, how you are showing up with them, and you will see a ripple effect start to happening in your business, sending you lots and love. Bye for now.
