If you haven't heard this a million times already, let us reiterate: consultations are a cornerstone of successful appointments and happy clients.
Whether your client is 20 or 60, new or a regular, it's imperative that you touch base with him or her and establish what he or she is looking for and how you're going to get there.
According to Sam Villa, founding partner of Sam Villa and Redken education artistic director, and Andrew Carruthers, director of education for Sam Villa, many guests have preconceived (and frequently false) notions about their hair having to be a reflection of their age.
"Having to wear hair a certain length at a certain age is an old wives tale!" Villa says. "Women often ask, 'When should I cut my hair short?' 'Should my hair be fuller?' Or say, 'I want to disguise my...' So whether a woman is in her 50s, 60s or 70s, the consultation should be no different than those with our younger guests."
Regardless of age, here are 10 questions you should be asking every client during a consultation:
- What type of job do you have?
- Do you do a lot of socializing?
- What are your morning hair rituals?
- How experienced are you at styling your own hair?
- Do you use tools and styling products?
- What do you like about your hair?
- What have you had done to your hair in the past that you liked?
- What have you had done to your hair in the past that you disliked?
- What do you want to achieve with your hair?
- Is maintaining your length a priority?
And ask yourself what restrictions you as a stylist have in cutting that guest's hair.
Listen carefully to what your client is saying and repeat back to them to make sure you've understood.
"It's about exploring who the guest really is along with their wants and needs," Carruthers says. "This is our chance to learn about complimenting their facial shape, features, hair texture and lifestyle. Let's take the number (age) out of the consultation and delve into finding out what the guest is all about."
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FAQs
Can you tell me about the profile of your target customer? You can also ask your client to explain their target customer, including their demographics and any problems they're facing. This information is important to help you develop a strategy that works for your client and make customer-centric decisions.
What would be 5 questions you would ask a client in a client consultation wanting a haircut? ›
Here are some of our top questions to ask your clients.
- What Does Your Daily Hair Ritual Look Like? ...
- What Products or Styling Tools Do You Use on Your Hair? ...
- What Are Some of Your Worst and Favorite Hairstyles? ...
- What Is Your Long-Term Goal for Your Hair? ...
- What Do You Like and Dislike About Your Hair?
Sales Questions to Ask Customers
- “Do we need to include any other decision-makers in our conversation?”
- “If timeline or budget were not constraints, what would your ideal solution look like?”
- “Why is this a priority for you now?”
- “What challenges do you think will come up as you try to purchase the product?”
During the client consultation, you should discuss what outcome your client wants to achieve from the treatment and how long it may take them to see these results. It may even arise that they are not a suitable candidate due to possible contraindications.
What types of questions should you ask during your consultation? ›
Consulting Questions to Ask Clients
- What business challenges do you face? ...
- What do you want to prioritize? ...
- Who are the stakeholders? ...
- Who to reach out to during an economic setback? ...
- How do you measure your performance? ...
- What would you like to change about your business? ...
- How do you plan to enhance your growth?
Open questions are general questions, giving the patient a lot of freedom to choose how to respond. It is important to use open questions when exploring a new problem. They give patients the opportunity to reflect and think, and to tell a story about the problem they are experiencing.
What is the 6th step of client consultation? ›
There are six main steps in the consultation process. These are establishing a relationship with the client, assessing the problem, setting goals, implementing solutions, evaluating the effectiveness of the treatment solutions, and terminating the relationship once the goal has been met.
How do you give a good client consultation? ›
Steps to the best client consultation experience
- Understand your goals. ...
- Start with a consultation form. ...
- Be aware of your body language. ...
- Approach the consultation as a conversation. ...
- Ask the right questions. ...
- Frame the conversation as if the potential customer has signed on. ...
- Be prepared with all of your information. ...
- Be confident.
The first step in a successful consultation is first to decide what the problem is. This is the first step, because you need to know exactly why you're coming in for the consultation.
What are the four 4 basic needs of a client? ›
Every customer has four essential needs--for visual, emotional, functional, and financial gratification--that translate into the four essential requirements for every business system.
These 5 basic questions—how, why, who, when, and what—don't get as much attention as the more popular questions you include in your survey. But they should.
What are the 3 main questions to ask in understanding customers? ›
Here are the top 5 questions you'd ask your customers
- What can my company do to better serve your needs?
- How satisfied are you with our products/services?
- What value do we provide?
- What are your biggest challenges?
- Why did you choose us over the competition?
Intervention. The intervention provided training in consultation based on the 5Cs model, an educational tool designed to standardize and formalize the process of communication: Contact, Communicate, Core Question, Collaborate, and Close the Loop (i.e., review and repeat key information).
What is the 10 step method to complete a consultation? ›
- Review the intake form.
- Perform a needs assessment.
- Determine and rate the clients preferences.
- Analyze the clients hair.
- Review the clients lifestyle.
- Show and tell.
- Make recommendations as part of the needs assessment.
- Make color recommendations.
There are four consultation options: full public, targeted, confidential and post-decision. Full public consultation is the appropriate level for all proposals unless there are compelling reasons for limiting consultation (such as market sensitivity).
What are the 4 steps to a client consultation? ›
How to Conduct a Compelling Client Consultation in 4 Steps
- First things first. Why do we need client consultations? ...
- Conduct a thorough lifestyle assessment. ...
- Understand your client's barriers. ...
- The PARQ form. ...
- Offer a solution.
General questions
- Tell me about yourself .
- Can you talk me through your resume?
- Why do you want to be a consultant?
- What do you consider your strengths?
- What do you consider your weaknesses?
- How well do you work under pressure?
- What is your most significant professional accomplishment?
- What is your leadership style?
Steps to the best client consultation experience
- Understand your goals. ...
- Start with a consultation form. ...
- Be aware of your body language. ...
- Approach the consultation as a conversation. ...
- Ask the right questions. ...
- Frame the conversation as if the potential customer has signed on. ...
- Be prepared with all of your information. ...
- Be confident.
