1.    Tell their stylist what to do

2.    Put a time restriction on the visit

3.    Put a price limit on the visit

Happens all the time, clients come in with a picture of the haircut they want. You know that their hair will never look like this picture but at this point you may go against you better judgment to make them happy. Now although you may lend your professional opinion and make adjustments accordingly, you ultimately know that their new do won’t get them stopped on the street asking them who their stylist is.

I was trained in precision cutting, which takes into consideration the hairs density, texture, movement and the shape of the skull, which dictates guidelines to produce the optimal cut for the client. So when I had clients who wanted the picture of the cut they brought in I had to be the bearer of the bad news telling them that even if I did this cut, they wouldn’t look the like picture, there were too many variables and they wouldn’t get the results they wanted, they said they didn’t care and I did it anyway.

So for a short time in the beginning of my career, I did what I called, “sold my soul to the devil”. I wasn’t working as I was trained which went against the very core of my being and I had little enthusiasm for my work.

Then 1 day it shifted. I decided to move salons and start fresh where I could use my skills to become a professional. I went to a high end salon where I could make more money, because I truly believed I deserved to be paid for my exclusive for training. I also knew that I had to find clients who were willing to pay for expertise.

Now although I was very skilled in my trade, I soon realized I lacked the characteristics of the top earners in this salon. I watched and adapted and implemented every action, behavior and even their language into my services. I saw that it wasn’t just what they said but how they said it. It was in the way they greeted clients making them feel at ease and in the way the educated the clients that instilled the trust I had been lacking.

The most amazing thing happened. I started pumping out my best work because clients were paying for it and they trusted me as a professional. And because I was making more money I started to take more training and because I had more training I became more in demand and on it goes.

That’s the amazing work of the law of attraction. I lived my passion, honed my skills, got excited and people were drawn to it. Did I ever do a haircut again that clients wanted when it went against my professional opinion? Yes, but that didn’t stop me from providing them with a head shaping consultation and a complete diagnosis of what I saw that could optimize their cut, flatter their best features and give them the ease when styling. I did my job as a professional so that I felt justified and validated in my work. It was the internal shift of honoring myself and the willingness to learn that changed my course as a stylist.

So if you are struggling building a client base that trusts you and not making the money you want to be making, take an inventory. Consider the following;

If you don’t feel confident charging more money, it means you are lacking confidence in yourself as a professional. To gain the confidence and pay of a peak performer, get help to become one. Whether it be additional technical training or business training don’t stop till you feel you are worth the money clients will be spending. You may even need to practice your new skill set till you have it mastered on school students or family.

In this business it is one thing to have an amazing skill set but without knowing how to brand it and market it you won’t get the pay and status of a peak performer.