The next person on your books is the most important client in your career. We often do not take the time to prepare for our guests. Instead, we assume all will go well and don't think about them until they are right in front of us. But thinking about them wont create massive changes in your experience. Preparing and planning for them creates a different feeling when you say "I've been thinking about you"

First and foremost, Get Positive before you go greet a guest. Are they late? Did you spill your coffee on your new dress this morning? What can you do to shake off whatever just happened so you can give them your best?

Now it's time to make a plan. Break out your PLANNER and write out your schedule for the next 2 days at least!

• Ask Yourself

  • What retail have they purchased before? What might they need and what can I follow up with?

  • What service can I offer them that would make them shine?! New services create new conversations in their lives, leading to REFERRALS

  • Who can I do a photo shoot with? Gotta have material for the Gram and Tiky Toky

  • Do they have Treatpoints? This is a retention program, but what makes it special is the only rewards are things they haven't tried. We have seen over 40% of treats be purchased again, booth services and retail. 

  • Are they new?

    • Did they fill out a Jotform? If not, send them the link! If they did, review it and come up with a plan on what you are going to offer them.

    • Set aside Welcome packages to give them! Incentivize them to come back. 

Ok, now you have a real plan for them. Something to WOW them and SURPRISE them. 

You want to stand out as something special right? Well this is the easiest way to do just that. When we take a few moments and follow up with our guests we are doing something that 95% of stylists DO NOT DO! And it creates opportunities to care for them in a way that feels special and catches issues before they turn into complaints. 

1. New Guest and Chemical Follow Ups

   • Call/Text/DM within 48 hours

   • Bring them in to fix any concerns, from haircut to styling tips. Remember REDO's ARE GOOD! They connect you to the client and build trust that you will always take care of them.

   • Borrow our scripts till you find your own: Like literally copy and past this shit, then make it your own.

NAME,

It was so great meeting you! Thank you for trusting me with your hair. It was so fun to chat with you about THING WE DISCUSSED

If you have the time, it’s incredibly helpful for me if you leave a Yelp, Google or Facebook review. Reviews help give confidence to others possibly seeking a new stylist.

And as you may know, referrals are the backbone of my business. When you encourage friends to see me, you allow me to keep doing what I love and my chair fills with more incredible people like you (and my clients are the best💕)! To celebrate and thank you for referring a friend, you'll both receive $25 off your next appointment.

Lastly, if anything isn’t perfect with your hair, let me know! I’m committed to the beautiful and healthy hair of your dreams.

Have a wonderful SEASONAL THING and I look forward to seeing you again soon!

Best Wishes,

2. Thank you card or social media message

• Make them personal Like mention something they told you, or about their specific services.

• Send them 3 weeks after the appointment. It helps them remember you!

• FB or IG messages are a great way to communicate and they are more likely to follow you!

3. Wake up calls – If they don’t prebook

   • Message them 1 week before you think they are due. “Hi, I wanted to check in and see how you were doing. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you.” 

   • or "Hi NAME - This is NAME at Annastasia Salon! It's been a while since we saw you and you might be feeling ready for a refresh! I recommend booking a SERVICE. You can make a reservation online at annastasias.com/book or call the salon at 503-293-5489. Please let me know if you have any questions! <3"

4. Referral Thank You's

   • Anytime you get a referral in your chair, message or send a card thanking the guest who sent them in and let them know they get $25 off their next service. Want more referrals? Do this. They will love you forever.

   • "Hi NAME, Your friend NAME came to see me this week and I just wanted to say thank you! Referrals are such a huge part of my business and a personal referral really is the highest compliment. To celebrate, you'll get $25 off your next appointment."

5. Review your cancellation list. Make calls that are of service.

   • “The Desk team left me a message that you had to move your appointment. When is it convenient for you to reschedule?"

   • "Hi NAME - This is NAME at Annastasia Salon! I noticed that you had to cancel your appointment on DATE. Please let me know if you need anything! I'm happy to help you reschedule your appointment."

6. Miss You messages

   • Once a month. Look back 4 months and message anyone who hasn't been back in. 

   • "NAME I miss seeing you in the salon. I'd love to get you back in, even for something small. I'll even throw in a free masque and extra head massage time! Let me know if I can help you find a time"

   • "NAME I haven't seen you on my books in awhile. I'm always here if you need anything. I know the world is been kinda crazy so don't be afraid if you want to change it up or need to fit it into a beauty budget. Let me know if I can help you find a time."

Tracking is key to your success. But remember, tracking shouldn't take you more than 10 or 15 minutes a day. Don't spend time obsessing over your numbers or beating yourself up if you fell short. That shit isn't helpful. Instead, know where you are at and move on. Don't forget you have a monthly 1on1 to review your results and make plan. Use that time, with a caring coach, to unpack your results.

1. Track your numbers.  That's right, fill in all those little boxes in your planner! ALL OF THEM! :-)

   • Did you know you have blank boxes on every page of the planner? 

     • We suggest using them to track your hourly average. Multiply the hours you work that day by your hourly goal. Whala. You now know if you hit your sales goal for the day. If your under don't sweat it, add what you missed to the next day and see if you can make it up. 

     • Oh you can also use one of the blank boxes to add up how many hours you were scheduled to easily report your hours in your 1on1. I know we are so helpful.

2. Plan your downtime!  Make a to-do list in your Planner

   • Don't leave your downtime up to chance. Write out what you want to get done. If you don't complete it just move the unfinished tasks to the next day!

3. Double-check your Phorest sales vs your schedule

   • Catch mistakes and communicate! No but seriously, it's so helpful if you catch things quickly!

If you have gotten this far on the list, take a break from your business to help your team. It's called filling buckets. Make some deposits in your teams buckets and you never know what you will recieve in return.

1. Clean up for more than just yourself. Just don't spend more than 30 minutes of your downtime cleaning, trust me there is always more to clean and organize and you have to put your business first.

2. Find someone who is frazzled dazzled and offer to help. Co-Color, wash someone out so they can grab a snack and go potty, or give the front desk a 5 minute random break at the desk.

3. Do something nice for someone. Get em a coffee, a cup of water, a snack, rub someones shoulders or write a love note and sneak it in their bin.

I have to ask. Did you do the first 3 things above first? I know social media seems like the answer to all of our questions but trust me the first 3 steps will have a larger impact on your long term business than anything else.

Ok, so you did those actions. Now let's use some time to market yourself to the world and find some new guests!

REGULAR OLD MARKETING THAT WORKS

• The Referral Program. Ask everyone to send you referrals every visit. If you forget message them.

  • "I want more guests like you. Anyone you send to me get's $25 off their first visit and so will you! I like to reward people I love to have in my chair."

SOCIAL MEDIA BEST PRACTICES

• Engage Daily and Weekly This takes some time but they will feel connected with and that's the whole point of social media.

  • Find and Follow your customers. Find photos they’ve posted with your hair and ask them if you can repost it.

  • Like and comment on their posts

• Send them their edited photo’s you have taken of them

• Tag them in your posts

• If someone likes your photo, send them a referral invite. I know, stalk much? But you never know, they like your work, maybe they are ready for a new stylist.

• Find people you want as guests and like and comment on their photos

• Post as often as you can

• Update your Highlights

• Favorite Product Post

• Create a fun Videos of blowouts, new products, easy at home styles, reels, stories, Tik Toks. So many options

• Create a Muse, update your muse. You would be surprised but if you know who you want in your chair it actually changes what you post.

• Make your page look cooler. Update your bio, make new story highlights.

Well, if your this far down the list you must of had a big cancelation and I am wildly impressed that you didn't go sulk in a corner and instead took advantage of your time to build your business. Now it's time to better you best and become even more kick ass. Here are some ideas on how to use this downtime to get better.

1. Read Michael Coles OVER THE TOP book.

2. Watch Michael Cole interview $100K income earners

3. Listen to a Summit online course

   • Email: lhuffstutter@summitsalon.com

   • Password: Annastasia!

4. Mani head work

5. Organize a Peer to Peer class. Ask someone you admire to teach a technique or skill to a small group. Post when and where on slack and invite others to join!

6. Blowdry someone who isn’t busy using new products. The key here is NEW products. Best way to learn is to see it in the hair!

7. Do a model.  Call in a friend or family that will let you do something new and have a photo shoot For your social media

8. L’Oreal Professional Online Classes 

9. Read Fashion Magazines.  Stay up on what’s current.  Vogue, Bazaar, W, Online Blogs, Behindthechair.com