If you really want to make a difference in peoples lives (clients, staff, your own), as well as make a difference in your salon/day spa's bottom line, here are some tips to take to help empower your people to deliver the magic.
Always smile genuinely. Feel your smiles. Make eye contact with every client and smile, and then watch others smile back.
Give at least three meaningful, sincere compliments a day to every staff member. Get out of yourself and focus on others. As you nurture your staff, youå?¤l notice how they in turn nurture the clients. Nurturing is taking care of and looking out for the best interests of the client and your staff. Its an expression of love and this expression can be transferred.
Learn your clients names and use them often. Remember, there is nothing as sweet to a human's ear as the sound of his or her own first name. Try using the clients first name 7 or 8 times during the conversation. Its just another way of putting your focus of attention on them. Believe me; they're looking for your undivided attention. Their time with you is all about them, so don't let them leave disappointed.
Eye contact is engaging. Make sure you look directly into clients eyes when they talk to you. When you concentrate on them, your facial expressions will communicate your genuine interest.
Generate a strong sense of humor. Read books that make you laugh, rent funny videos, or tell un-offensive jokes (be careful though, what is non-offensive to you could be offensive to others). Be playful and get silly sometimes. Laugher is infectious.
Never argue with a client. You can never win and arguments shut your client down. The slightest tension between you and a client can drive them away. Something you can ill afford. Even if a client is wrong, remind yourself this is not a game of proving who's right and we're not fighting a war, or participating in a high-school debate.
If a client is upset, ask them by name, what you can do to make their experience better for them. Susan, are you upset because you thought your hair color would be less expensive? Is that right? How can I make that better for you? Smile calmly. Don� get dragged into the drama or emotional tension. Then respond with the appropriate recovery action.
By Andrew Finkelstein, The Beauty Resource www.thebeautyresource.com