4 types of beauty salon clients and features of working with them

Maxim Romensky, business coach, head of the training center “MAX Training” (Ukraine, Kharkov)

If we look through the literature related to sales, in many books we will come across “types”, “classes” and other types of clients. As a rule, they originate from various psychological classifications: emotional, intellectual, archetypal and others. It is very interesting to consider these types and the behavioral characteristics associated with them. But there is one problem... How to put all this into practice? Yes, it’s nice to know that an Extraverted Sensing Feeling Perceiving person has come to you, and you know all this about him.

Question one: how did he find out about this and what does he (she) do with such knowledge in the beauty salon at the cosmetologist’s workplace? Question two: how to apply this knowledge now? After all, he came in for a skin procedure, and not to talk about his psychological problems. And you are in this business in order to receive money (I hope), and not to patch up personal karmic holes among visitors.

And, nevertheless, a typology of clients is needed at least because people are different, business in the beauty industry is personal, and a lot depends on the first contact and the first sale. For the last eleven years I have been conducting training on negotiations and complex sales. For the last five years I have been running specialized programs for beauty industry specialists. And at every program I am always asked the question: how to sell services and products to different types of clients?

When I ask an audience: “What types of clients can you name?”, it is usually difficult to stop those present even after the twentieth name. Moreover, in each group the types will be different, depending on the class of the salon, local specifics, range of services and even the area of the same city. All this gives absolutely nothing to a novice specialist who has just arrived at the salon. He will have to face each type in reality and develop his own working methods. This knowledge also does not provide anything useful to experienced employees: they have already found their own techniques, although they find it difficult to describe them.

For a customer typology to work, it must be:

• simple;
• based on criteria that the average newcomer to the salon can identify and evaluate without making additional efforts;
• focused on sales strategy.

The system, which I have been using for several years now and which has proven its viability in salons of various levels and in various countries, is based on two very simple indicators.

• Activity. A subjective indicator that reflects the characteristics of a person’s behavior - rate of speech, speed of movement, speed of decision-making, etc. After talking with any person for a few minutes, we are able to say “he is active” or “he is not active.” This opinion will be completely subjective, but it is quite sufficient.
• Interest. Again, a subjective indicator that reflects a person’s involvement in decision-making, his familiarity with the subject, and his desire to solve the problem.

These two indicators form a matrix of four types of clients, each of which you can meet in your salon (see diagram). They are fairly easy to identify, and each of them has its own sales system. Does this mean that without this system nothing can be sold to them? Of course you can! Just like in the training, in this article I am not teaching anyone how to sell. I increase your chances of a successful transaction, and that’s all.

Scheme. Matrix of four types of clients

Interested and active

Just by an incoming call, you can identify this client: a confident voice, clear phrases, “uncomfortable” questions (“Why don’t your salon use flexible cannulas?” or “What is your “quality”, explain in more detail”). This is a person who is willing to pay only for what he needs and what he believes in. He really wants to solve the problem and does a lot to achieve it. Dream?! Not so. In average salons, such clients cause consternation both among administrators (“She was yelling so much, asked a hundred questions, thank God she didn’t come!”) and among specialists (“Can you imagine, I tell her: this is a good cream, French, and she me: “How exactly does its effect differ from my cream?”). Many salons at the staff level would rather lose such a “highly intelligent” client than bother with her, studying their own service and building a presentation. And in vain. Yes, it’s difficult with them, yes, they are capricious and always looking around. They rarely turn out to be loyal customers in our favorite sense of the word (so that they always eat what they give, pay money and say thank you). However, by satisfying such a client, you receive not only a source of money (they pay well!), but also a kind of meter / “kicker” of your level of development.

What to do with them:

• Practice the presentation of your key services using the formula: Characteristics-Benefits-Evidence. And work it out BEFORE the clients arrive.
• Reduce arguments about “nothing” (“We have high-quality services and a highly professional team...”).
• It's good to listen. Hear the client's problem, record it in writing and offer a solution to this particular problem. If possible, with decision dates (in case of long-term programs).

Interested and inactive

This man has a problem. She's real. And you can solve it. The key question is how he finds out about it. There are two main difficulties when working with this type of client:

• Bring a person to an effective interview (get him to talk about his problem)
• Specify his problem and translate it into an actual state.

Let's start with the first difficulty. When dealing with this type of client, you should remember: the fact that such a person is silent and listens does NOT mean at all that he hears you and perceives what you said. There is a high probability that while you are describing the new fillers, he remembers an article on the Internet about how a famous TV presenter had her face disfigured. The worst thing is that he is silent about it! (The previous type of clients will definitely tell). It is these clients who, after listening to a half-hour presentation by a specialist, get up and leave with the words: “Thank you, I’ll think about it!” And they don't come back. Therefore, the first recommendation would be: conduct a quality interview - ask the client in detail not only about the problem, but also about how he wants to solve it, waiting for answers. A common mistake many specialists make is that they ask a question but do not hear an answer. And they either begin to answer it themselves, or they skip it. The client is not included in the process. Make him participate in the transaction, work answering your questions. People value what they earn, not what they receive for nothing!

Now the second difficulty. This type of client very often responds to a specialist’s questions about the problem with “supergeneral” answers: “I would like to improve my complexion...”, “I don’t like myself...”. When a specialist, in response to this reaction, proposes a solution and voices its characteristics and cost, the client declares: “Oh, so expensive?! No, I guess I won’t do that.” Why, since she herself voiced the need? The fact is that the voiced need was hidden, superficial. “I would like...” is not a real goal, it’s a dream. Money and time turn a dream into reality, and facing reality is often very painful. What to do? Once you receive an “overgeneral answer,” do not rush to offer a solution. Keep asking: “What should your complexion be?”, “How do you like yourself?” The question works great: “How much time do you and I have to solve this problem?”, and such a tough question as “And if you do nothing, what do you think will happen, at least in a year?” All these questions bring the client back to reality, actualize his problem, make it “manifest.” From the outside it seems that the client was woken up.

Not interested and active

You've probably encountered such clients: a lot of movements, a lot of questions, a lot of desires and a minimum of results in the form of a purchase. They ask questions and don’t listen to the answers; they pick up a product only to glance at it and take the next box. Let's not delve into the reasons for this behavior, let's think about how to use their stay in the salon with maximum benefit.

The main difficulty in working with such people is their chaotic movements both in space and in speech. The solution here is to reduce the possibilities of such movements. Don't reinforce this behavior, e.g. just don’t respond to all these fragments of phrases and unrelated requests. Shut up and remain silent until the client comes to you with a specific, complete question. Once you start answering it, monitor the client’s reaction. If he instantly loses interest, shut up immediately. The client fell silent, turned around, ready to listen - continue. Don't try to attract his attention with phrases like: “Let's look at one thing!” You'll get a nod, a smile, and a continuation of the incessant chirping. With these clients, more than with anyone else, it is important to record the time: “So. You and I have fifteen minutes to clarify the situation. Where do we start? And record the results: “Just a minute, I’ll write it down...”. I have encountered cases when such clients became the most devoted: “You know, you are so good at organizing me!” However, you should not count on huge profits with this type of client. After all, for them, visiting a salon is not a way to solve a problem, but a way to structure their time, taking it away from others.

Not interested and inactive

Are there such clients? Who are they? Yes, and there are quite a lot of them. Sometimes these are people who have a lot of time, and their temperament does not allow them to be classified in the previous category. Then we get drawn-out calls, during which a bored voice demands that the administrator tell us: “What do you have for your face? No, just tell me..." With such people, you need to end the conversation as technologically as possible by inviting them to the salon. Otherwise, you won’t even notice how forty minutes of time will evaporate. But all this time the phone was busy. If such a person gets to the salon, then a structured interview is very helpful. At our trainings for administrators, participants receive a list of questions and behavior algorithms (down to tone of voice and gestures), the work of which either moves the client into an active phase or makes him leave.

This category also includes people who accidentally or “for company” entered the salon. Working with such visitors involves passive marketing (the salon space is “enriched” with information about services, promotional programs, and special offers). The area in which arriving or waiting visitors are located must be located in close proximity to the administrator’s workplace, within line of sight. And a very important point: if the administrator sees that a visitor is interested in some offer, you should not ask: “Are you interested in something?” Teach your specialists to start such a dialogue with the “entrance” phrase. For example: “I see you are reading about our stylists... The girls returned from London two months ago, from an internship. They brought a bunch of new ideas and materials. If you’re interested, I’ll be happy to tell you more.” That is, we first designate the person’s action, then we briefly talk about the specifics of the service that he is reading about (the fact that these specifics need to be known perfectly well, I hope, is already clear), then we offer the possibility of an “advanced” option. All this - if the administrator does not have clients in front of the reception desk. Everything else is postponed (a live person in the hall is the highest priority!).

Instead of a conclusion

Communication is always individual. It is impossible to teach communication, especially to a person who has categorically decided not to do so. And, nevertheless, understanding the specifics of a person’s behavior according to two simple criteria: interest and activity, you can consciously build a conversation pattern with him. Increase your chances, communicate with clients consciously and purposefully, and then success will definitely come.

First published: KOSMETIK international journal, No. 1/2011