Every Fanny Has A Face

By Lisa Conway

I am often chatting to salon owners who are very clear that they want to move away from what I call the ‘general store’ beauty salon to niche into skin.

The training required to niche to skin and the equipment to match is a big investment of both time and money and although it’s not going to happen overnight, it is rewarding in so many ways.

Taking a salon from general beauty to skin is one of the things we do very well at The ZING Project, especially the mapping out. It will ensure you succeed in the shortest amount of time.

For your beauty business to get a reputation for skin there needs to be a plan around the conversations that need to happen on repeat day in day out with the salon clients. Skin clinics are seen as the gold standard and rightly so, there is a huge focus on the education of both the clinic team and the clients.

Your success requires a strategic business mind and a business plan to match. Wishing you had more skin clients isn’t enough. The focus must be on your existing clients, transitioning them by asking what outcomes they want.

When you have honest conversations based on their genuine concerns and when they know you genuinely care about them, the transition is relatively easy. No selling is required it’s all solving and there is a big difference between selling and solving.

The clients you are looking for, the ones you label skin clients are literally under your nose. What you need is a conversion strategy. If you are willing to do the work and map out a journey for every client, you don’t have to look any further than in your existing treatment rooms

“Every fanny has a face” was something that I heard from a DMK educator years ago and it stuck with me because it’s funny and it’s true. Every fanny does have a face and as funny as that statement is, it tells you that the skin client is already in your salon.

The transition to a skin clinic starts with the education of the clients you already have. People will buy from you when they know you, like you and trust you.

Any client who is allowing you to do a Brazilian wax for them I’d say has already decided to trust.

When clients come into your salon they want two things. They want an experience and they want an expert. Clients look forward to the time they spend with you. They want their time in the treatment room to be a quality experience and that includes being heard. What they also want is an expert. A knowledgeable expert willing to share.

Clients want someone who has their finger on the pulse, someone willing to make suggestions on what’s on offer, someone who knows what the latest and greatest new treatment going is. Most people have no idea what’s new and so if you don’t inform them, they keep doing the same and getting the same outcome as they always did. A classic example of that is still waxing in 2022.

It’s our job to share what we know, to make suggestions and put together a treatment plan for the best possible outcome. That’s what I’d call an expert. They need you, the expert.

People don’t necessarily want hot wax wiped on them and the hairs pulls out, they want the feeling that comes with a smooth hair free body. There would be people out there that think in order to feel smooth and hair free their only option is waxing. We know it’s not.

The reason they choose wax or sugaring is because they have been sold that as the solution and for years that was the solution. What if there was a better solution? In the same way as shaving was once the solution, waxing or sugaring superseded that and perhaps laser has superseded that too.

You certainly don’t have to look anywhere but in your treatment room to find the quality clients you are looking for.

What you need is a consistent strategy on how to approach the subject with your clients so that they get a better outcome.

The same could be said for microdermabrasion. Although that is a great place to start especially when introducing a client to a better skin, it’s only one of many treatments on offer today. Microdermabrasion was the buzz word years ago, then it was needling but like the pouring of hot wax on a clients skin, nobody really wants or is excited about the pain that comes with the treatment however they do want the results that the treatment brings.

Here is a salon hack that works 100 % of the time

Get everyone on your team to go through each service you offer and write what the benefits are beside it. Be clear as to what people buy and what the treatment delivers, talk about results that will engage the client and enrol them into the outcome. I want you to be clear that everyone on the team is clear and on the same page.

Explaining the short-term investment and the long term gains to a client is most like where the disconnect has been. Clients don’t actually want treatments they want results so it’s important that the result is front of mind.

It might be hair removal it might be skin tightening or brightening. Let’s be honest there isn’t much we can’t do today, the selection is brilliant. I know there isn’t much I haven’t tried. I love a good salon treatment, it’s what I use for myself as a reward.

Clients who are interested in how you look will always get the “guess what we are getting soon” conversation. Unfortunately most salon team members decide for the client. With the ‘every fanny has a face’ strategy, everyone gets the “get what we are getting soon” conversation.

What I want you and everyone on your team to know is that it’s not up to you to decide who wants and who will pay for a treatment. You have no idea who will want to spend their time and their money on a facial or a skin peel. I want you to do your job and treat every one of your clients the same. Clients deserve two things. They deserve an expert and a wonderful experience.

I remember delivering this training to a salon in Brunswick, Melbourne and explaining that you don’t actually get to choose who gets your expert advice they all should and how I wanted them to consider doing my “everyone” strategy.

One particular therapist said that she thought it would be interesting to see if my “everyone” strategy actually worked, she felt I was a tad optimistic . See what comes of it, I said.

The first client she had was a girl who was 27 and had the most beautiful skin. She was a regular 4 week bikini wax n brow and lash tint. The therapist always thought this particular client didn’t need any skin care and presumed she was already going somewhere for her skin needs because her skin was spectacular. Wrong. Once the therapist had the conversation and began asking quality questions about what she was using on her skin she learnt that the client was using nothing at all.

She said I often wondered what to use but she confessed she had no idea where to even start.

She went on to say that she inherited her mums lovely skin but was concerned that it won’t last because her mother didn’t look after hers, and being a smoker has ruined it.

She left that day with a starter kit from Dermalogica and was delighted that the therapist cared enough to mention skin care to her. This shocked the therapist and was a reality check that you actually don’t know anything until you ask. Clients don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. It really is about putting your ego aside and simply doing the job you are trained to do on every client every time.

Every fanny absolutely does have a face and every person has a concern or three. The trick is to shut up, talk a lot less about yourself and listen to what your clients wants are. Make space for them to open up to you about what they do know and what they don’t. Be there for them, ask the right questions and you will find your skin clients are right there under your nose, lying on your treatment beds.

For more salon wisdom, email me at lisa@ zingcoach.com.au, visit my website, find my video tips on YouTube or read my books, all available in paperback, Ebook and Audio www.thezingproject.com.au