The Art of Consultation Part 3

Ok, part 3 of the consultation saga.

By Nathan Yip

In the last two articles I have highlighted the most common mistakes and my top tips regarding client consultations.

To recap, overall, I think the biggest issue is that we forget that a consultation isn’t and shouldn’t be a script or a rehearsed bunch of questions to obtain an outcome.

A consultation is an opportunity for an operator to truly get to know and understand the HUMAN they are about to service and to create an experience where the client can feel truly seen and heard.

Excellent execution requires skill and talent but also deeply understanding your client's wants and needs, to achieve this you need the most honest and in-depth information, to acquire this you need to ask brilliant questions.

Better Questions = Better Answers = Better Results.

Understanding the vital components of communication: 55% Non-Verbal, 38% vocal, and only 7% is words. Meaning how and why you deliver the conversation and message is way more important than the words in your script.

Understanding the context or the overall “why” your client is asking for what they are asking, not just what they are asking for. Getting really curious as to why they want something or why they have deviated from your long-term plan.

Then there are the technical elements outlined below that will set you up for success:

Preparation: Be prepared, prepare your day, and consider what clients you have that day, if it’s a new client consider if you need extra time, what are they booked for, and think about trying a new approach to your consultation. If it’s a client you’ve been seeing for years, consider offering a change and be prepared if they come back with a “yes” or “what do you think?” Make sure you have an idea in mind.

Use technology!!! There are some great pre consult technologies out there, I use a mix of two, I predominantly use The Hair App (I send a link to my clients in my reminder text prompting them to take a selfie which uses AI to analyse their hair type and recommend hair care and treatment suited to their needs.

It then has a bunch of visual tools including an AI try on which allows them to match their face to any hairstyle they upload. We also use Timely Consults in the salon which can be sent out pre-visit. Both save me loads of time in the salon and allows me to prepare and adjust timings if it shows the client wants a transformation.

Facial features vs Face Shapes - in my opinion teaching face shape is obsolete, I’m sure most of you remember learning about oval/heart/pear shapes but these were all done on a two-dimensional image and doesn’t take hair line or hairstyle etc into consideration.

I prefer to actually stop and assess the human in front of me and decide what I think are their best features and try to work out what they think theirs are (Hint: They will generally be the features with the most make up on them as they will be trying to accentuate them.)

Then once you have done that make decisions and recommendations that will either highlight/accentuate their best features and bring attention to them or work out ways to disguise their least favourite or least appealing features.

THIS IS OUR JOB! This requires non-judgementally critiquing their face, neck, eyes, hair skin etc.

Photos - Photos are great, as they say, a photo says a thousand words, but it can also be confusing when you look at it too closely or take it at face value. It can also be confusing when someone shows you a full mood board and none of them are the same. It’s your job to decipher what they like about each image or find a correlation between them all. I simply ask them what they see or like in each image.

What you need to do is decipher what it is your client is trying to show you, I go through each photo as and ask “What is it you like about that photo, get them to be specific, do you like the length, the tone, the softness, their smile. Ask and listen, pay attention to each bit they show you.

In summary, A Consultation is an opportunity for two human beings to connect and for the stylist to interpret, understand, summarise and clarify using verbal and non-verbal communication tools and then process the data given and confidently recommend length, style, tone advice, hair care regime and styling advice to fully serve the clients’ needs.

Being prepared is key even before your client even sits in your chair, consider the technology available such as THE HAIR APP. @thehair.app

Scrapping scripts and using less words but shorter powerful open questions such as “tell me about your hair” letting the client unload and address each concern in the order it was expressed.

Using simple language that you both understand (No technical terms or Jargon) adapt to your client’s language and mirror keywords they use.

Pay attention to body language and get really curious about the overall context of what your client wants and needs (Not just what they ask for) and be confident to recommend something they haven’t.’

Assess facial features and get really clear on what they are trying to show with their images!

Good luck and go forth!

If you want to chat more about this or enquire about consultation education catch me at @prettyvac_nt

Peace x