Top Hairstylist Retailing Tips:
Learn from the Best in the Biz

Top hairstylist retailing tips will give you a strong starting point to develop your retailing skills. As you know by now, retailing in the salon is a major part of your job as a professional hair stylist.

Selling retail to our clients increases client retention, insures client loyalty, grows the salon business and increases your paycheck.

You WILL be required to meet your salon's retailing standards.  The average profit margin for salon products is 40-45%.  So you can see how valuable it is to the success of the salon. 

The Retailing Tips that DON'T Work! 

Retail doesn't sell itself.

So if you think that clients will automatically find what they need, you are wrong. Good Luck with that.

It takes a professional hair stylist to sell product!

• Signs don't sell it.
• Poor merchandising doesn't sell it.
• Dusty product doesn't sell.
• Hoping they will buy something doesn't sell product.

"Do you need any shampoo today?"    Yeah, that doesn't work!

(In fact, as a manager, that question ticks me off.  Are you a professional?  If so, you should have been educating your client already. If you haven't approached retail by the time you get to the cash register it is too late.)

Find a Top Hairstylist Retailing Approach
for Your Personality

The majority of stylist don't like the dreaded retailing.  We prefer to think of ourselves as artists rather than salespeople.

That feeling of doom can change with some good knowledge and a simple tweak of perspective.

Think of yourself as an 'Educator' instead of a salesperson. A top hairstylist teaches her clients what is best for their specific needs. 

The 'Hard Sell' Stylist
Top Hairstylist Retailing

Like I said, you want to find a method that you are comfortable with or you will continue to avoid retailing. And we don't want you missing out on money.

The successful hard sell stylist makes it look easy while instilling trust in her clients.

She does this by using the proven methods of touch marketing and follow through.

She finds the client's needs by asking open ended questions and analyzing the hair. She actively seeks problems to solve. She comes up with a retailing plan from the moment her client sits down. I had a retailing top hairstylist tell me she knows what she is going to sell them when they sit in her chair because she has already worked it out in her head. She starts laying the groundwork from the beginning.

She discusses the hair issue during the service and introduces the solution at the right moment. If it's a shampoo or conditioner, she does it at the shampoo bowl. If it's a styling product she does it during the finishing.

She shows the client what she is using and puts it in her hands while she uses it. She educates her how to use it herself. She tells her the selling points. 

When checking her out, she puts the products that she used on the desk. (Hopefully, the client is still holding one!)

Then it goes something like this:

"Mary, This is the Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Wild Ginger Shampoo I used on you today.  This will protect your color for the next few months. This is the Awapuhi Wild Ginger Conditioner to keep your hair in optimal condition. And this is the Sebastian Shaper Hair Spray we used to give your hairstyle a strong hold throughout your busy day. What can we get you started with today?"

Do you have an awesome salon retailing tip that works for you?

Share it here.

This hard sell top hairstylist educated Mary throughout the service with passion. How hard is it going to be for Mary not to take at least one of the products? It would be tough wouldn't it?

This stylist did a wonderful job of teaching Mary what is best for her needs. Then she provided the products on the desk.  Even if she left without a purchase, I doubt the client sees the stylist as anything but professional.

The stylist didn't say buy, buy, buy.  She was providing solutions.  I only call this a hard sell because the stylist did things that the majority of stylists won't do.

Most have a hard time handing a client a product.  And many find it difficult to set products on the desk and ask which ones she wants to buy.

As difficult as this method may be for you, I will tell you that it is by far the most successful technique I know of.

What the Retailing Top Hairstylist in Your Salon Knows

She knows the value of every client.

She knows that she has to discuss product to sell product.

She knows how to open her mouth and talk about what she believes in.

She knows how to find problems to solve for her clients.

She knows the product lines in the salon very well.

She knows how to play the odds. If 1 out of every 10 clients makes a purchase, then she knows to address retail with each one.

She knows the selling points of each product in the salon.

She knows the cost of all salon products.

She knows how to set goals for sales.

She knows that purchasing retail is an investment to the client, an investment in their best look.

She knows better than to sound like a broken record reading a script.

A top hairstylist is well versed in all salon techniques that increase the salon's revenue. And she understands that salon growth is partly her responsibility.

So let's learn another approach to make you a top hairstylist.

You are going to answer these 5 questions:

• Why?
• What?
• How?
• When?
• Where?
  

Mary, you said your hair color has been fading quickly. It is probably because you are using a shampoo that is stripping your color instead of protecting it.  (The WHY)

I recommend you using the Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Wild Ginger Shampoo for now. (The WHAT)  It is sulphite free and will allow your color to remain vibrant for much longer. (sulphite free is the HOW)  Just use it in the shower as you would any other shampoo.  (The WHEN)

We have it right here. (The WHERE) Would you like to get the conditioner today to go with it?

An easy, breezy retailing script:

Making recommendations is a soft approach that anyone can do.  If you know your product it won't be hard to talk about the benefits to the client.

My Personal Top Hairstylist Retailing Tip

The 411 Method

I don't want to repeat myself if you read it already.

But if not, check it out at 411.

These techniques will get you making commission right away. But only if you use them.

Don't allow yourself to get complacent. Don't allow yourself to be lazy when it comes to fully servicing your clientele.

Work the methods. Practice the methods. Find the one that works best for YOU and you will soon be the top hairstylist retailing queen of your salon.

Now do me the favor of sharing this knowledge with your co-workers and click a button below. Many thanks!

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