Are you in the wrong business?
To answer the question we need to decide what ‘business’ a salon owner should be in … and when you think about it I’m sure you’ll agree … we’re not in the hair, skin or alternative therapy business, we’re actually in the ‘people’ business.
Accept this idea and it means our staff need to deliver more than great haircuts, treatments and therapy’s, they need to deliver an ‘experience’ that clients will enjoy enough to want again … and again … and again!
We also need them to deliver a ‘consistent’ experience so clients feel safe to recommend you because they know your salon will still be delivering, next week, next month and next year.
There are two ways your staff can create an experience that makes a real connection with clients. The first is by being ‘remarkable’.
A remarkable performance from your staff is one that exceeds client expectations by so much that they want it again and just ‘HAVE’ to talk about it. The problem with remarkable is that it quickly becomes ‘normal’ and it means it’s almost impossible to be consistent and ‘remarkable’.
So if that isn’t the best answer … what is?
Quite simply you create the emotional spark of success with your clients by teaching your staff how to make consistent, meaningful ‘personal’ connections with them and to do this they must know how to create and maintain ‘rapport’.
Not sure what rapport is?
According to the dictionary it’s a relationship that’s built on mutual trust or emotional affinity.
Rapport occurs when two or more people feel that they are in sync or on the same wavelength because they feel similar or relate well to each other. This means it’s the quality of the relationships you staff build with your clients that’s at the heart of your success.
Train your staff in rapport building skills and reward them well for using them and your salon will thrive. Neglect this simple, often overlooked lesson and I don’t care how good your products or professional skills, are your salon will never fulfill it’s long term potential.
Put simply if you can’t get rapport building right into the heart of everything you do … you are in the wrong business!
The good news is that there is a great section on rapport building skills in my latest book ‘The Salon Owners Guide To Beating The Recession’
Simon Lotinga is one of the UK’s foremost business coaches for Salon Owners.
