The back-to-school season is the hairstylist’s dream come true because it is a two part rush. Round one — Everyone wants the perfect look to head back to school (or at least mom wants her kiddos to have the perfect look in the case of the wee ones), so you need to make sure your clients and potential clients know that you are ready and able to help make them look their very best on the first day. Use your social media networks to get the word out about back to school tips, subtly reminding parents that between supply and clothing shopping they should bring their students by your salon for a trim.

Round two – While mom is waiting for her student’s cut, chat her up about her plans once the kids go back to school. Now is the time to remind her of the services you can offer her. After all, once the school bell rings and the kiddos are back in school, mom will finally have time to get her own ‘do done. Book up her free time while little Sally is in the chair by getting her to set an appointment for herself. Mom will love the easy of killing two birds with one stone, and you will love being booked solid from the open of the back-to-school season through the first month or so after school starts.

But the key to success in both rounds is to start your back-to-school marketing now so that you are booked and ready to go to work come August – September. Happy back-to-school marketing!

In today’s high-tech world, there is no reason that an email inquiring about your salon should go more than 24 hours unanswered. No reason. If you offer email as a way to get in touch with you, then let it be a way to reach you. Otherwise, don’t offer it. (By not offering an email contact, you look stuck in the dark ages, but that’s still better than appearing to not care.)

The same goes for voicemails. It doesn’t matter how busy you get, if a client or potential client calls with an inquiry – call them back. There is nothing more frustrating than to want to book an appointment, ask a question about a service or generally spend money with a business and not be able to reach someone to talk about it.

This isn’t a new concept. In fact, it’s the oldest one in the book. Any yet… I am waiting on returned emails and phone calls from two businesses right now that are more than a week old. Guess who won’t be getting my business again? You don’t really want to leave your clients and potential clients hanging out there… ready to move on and spend money elsewhere, do you?

One way of gently coaxing people to move on from the post they are reading onto another is by using a simple plugin called LinkWithin.  This handy-dandy tool displays “You may also like these stories:” with links to three related posts from your blog and a thumbnail image (if you included an image in your post) at the bottom of each post on your site. Now when they land on your site, after they read your words of wisdom, they will find three subtle suggestions at the bottom of each post telling them what to read next.

(I also like this feature because sometimes it reminds me of posts I wrote eons ago that were really good that I should try to share again on Facebook or Twitter.)

Oh yeah, did I mention that the plugin is free. It is quick and easy to install and get up and running, so what are you waiting for, try it out and see what you think.

As a stylist, you could take a note from the dentist’s playbook and also send your clients birthday cards — it is a nice touch. Or you can adopt a similar yet simpler marketing plan. Instead of celebrating your client’s birthdays, what about celebrating their un-birthday?

Yes, an un-birthday card. If you are familiar with Alice in Wonderland then you know we all have 364 un-birthdays every year. That means instead of keeping track of each client’s birthday, you could market to all of your clients at once (or in batches as your budget allows) celebrating their un-birthday. To make your call to action more than just a subtle reminder, you could offer clients a percent off or a free add-on service if they come in on their un-birthday and bring their card.

It is always nice to reach out to your clients, and if you can do it when they aren’t expecting it and in a unique way, you can be sure to get noticed.

By the way — happy un-birthday to you!

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As a woman, I realize that puts even more pressure on you to look your best each time you step out of the house, but since you never know when you might have a chance to talk shop with a potential new client it is a necessary pressure. After all, you wouldn’t want to go to a dentist with bad teeth, and your clients don’t want to go to a hairstylist with bad hair.

You are the expert, so your look needs to reflect that. Make sure your style is one that you can keep up with daily, and find some go-to styles that still look fab even if you don’t have a lot of time or energy to spend on your look. (There’s a reason the ponytail is still a go-to classic.)

In marketing yourself as a successful stylist, your look counts. Don’t forget that.

This marketing strategy took a common problem for travelers and offered a solution, at a discount, at the point of frustration. What better way to capitalize on future customers than in the moment? And yet, it was the first time I had ever seen this particular tactic. It got me to thinking about places I could market my own business outside my normal reach of clients.

The key with this marketing plan is to be where the need arises. So for a hairstylist who specializes in fancy up-dos, how about partnering with a local high school to get a flyer included with ticket purchase to homecoming or the prom? (I am sure the school would be happy to include a simple flyer… for a price.) A simple partnership with a local real estate agent could provide you with an outlet to appeal to new residents by letting them know of your services the moment they move into your area.

The lesson – think about how you can solve your potential clients problem at the point it arises so they don’t have to seek a solution, you are right there for them.

But in the hair stylists’ world, this does not have to be the case. In fact, you should do everything in your power to harness this dead zone and make it work for you to make this week one of your busiest weeks of the year.

Think about it. People are off work. For those who are working, bosses seem to be a bit more laid back. And they just scored Christmas cash. It’s the perfect time for people to get their hair done, they can sit back relax in your chair, reminiscing on the big day and get a new look for 2011. It’s the perfect storm, and you need to take advantage.

It’s not too late, but hurry, you have to act now! Get on your social media channels and let everyone know that you ARE working between Christmas and New Year’s and you would love to help them achieve a new look for the new year. If bookings are slow, consider offering a small bonus for appointments booked before the New Year. Don’t be afraid to remind people to take advantage of their down time to get out of the house and take some time for themselves before the busy new year begins.

Besides being just good manners, sending a thank you note has the power of acknowledging the recipient for doing something great thus fueling the subconscious desire to please again. Whether you are thanking a client for a referral, a new client for their patronage or peer for their assistance, writing a thank you note is a simple, effective and welcome form of appreciation.

There are many forms of the ‘ole fashion thank you note, and for an extra touch there are tons of places online that you can purchase personalized cards complete with your logo. It doesn’t really matter what form your thank you note takes (postcards help you save on postage), just as long as you stick to that rule you mom gave – always handwrite your thank yous. (And don’t forget to include all relevant contact information in the card so people remember to call you for their next appointment.)

Since we are looking at thank yous as a marketing promotion for your business, kick the thank you note up a notch by offering a “gift” of thanks. No, we’re not talking about adding another person to your holiday list, just a simple gesture of gratitude. Most promotions run by stylists are aimed at getting new clients in the chair, so when someone directly refers business to you, why not offer them a promotion. For example, including a certificate for $10 off their next cut or color in the thank you card is a great way to show appreciation and retain lifelong clients.  People like to be recognized, so take a moment to recognize those who are returning customers and those who refer new business your way.

(Hint — with the holidays fast approaching holiday cards are another way to reach out to clients and thank them for their patronage. Including a holiday “gift” is also a nice touch.)

Happy Thanksgiving.

The thing is, even if you work for someone else you are still the CEO of you. And in saying that, you should never care more about making someone else wealthy than you care about making yourself wealthy or successful. Put another way, never work harder on someone else’s dream than you would for your own.

So this mindset also called a paradigm or way of thinking is often shaped by our environment, what we see and by what we believe to be true. The honest truth is that many of these stylists and salon owners look around to see most of their peers starving for business & for profits and accept it as how it’s supposed to be.

I have some words for you. That is NOT how it’s supposed to be. And if you don’t believe me it’s probably because you feel like you belong in the “Mediocre Club”. I don’t know about you but I never fit in there and I never wanted to belong. You don’t belong there either!

What you must understand is that because you may not be getting the results you desire it’s not necessarily because you don’t deserve too but probably because you aren’t aware of what’s needed to radically take your business to the next level.
Once you aware of a few very basic things they can have an earth shattering effect on what you get to put into your bank account at the end of the day.

The first thing that you should start with is this, if the business you are imitating & the people you are listening to aren’t producing the kind of results that you seek #1 Stop listening to them & #2 You may need to remove yourself from being around them.

Just a few thoughts to hopefully encourage to you pursue your greatness and make your mark in this industry.

As always I wish you the best & all the success your heart desires.