Avoid This Big Mistake When Growing Your Clientele

Hello, my friend. Welcome back to the Modern Hair Stylist podcast. I'm gonna be calling out something that I see kind of often, and I'm seeing it more and more and more nowadays. When it comes to the strategy of having a specialty, and maybe it's not even in the pursuit of having a specialty, maybe it's in the pursuit of just trying to create a business that you love, doing services that you love, and the things that you are really passionate about.

And that is something that I like to call not shooting for the lowest hanging fruit, not reaching for the lowest hanging fruit, I guess you could say. Because what ends up happening when we're advertising ourselves and when we want to do something different or unique or stand out in our market, is we can sometimes get a little bit too far away from the main message or the main solutions that you as a, as a beauty professional are expected or desired to deliver upon, right? So for example, when you think about a consumer who is wanting to go to a hair salon, what are they trying to get done? Jodi, answer the question for me.

Their hair. Exactly, right? They're trying to get their hair done, because tradition- I mean, very traditionally, historically, just, just naturally, if we think, okay, there's a salon down the street, the services that they do are take care of people's hair. And so what might end up happening is we may want to add different service offerings into things, right?

Whether that be on top of the hair or whether that be the main thing that you're leading with in your marketing, and that could look like a ton of different things. That could look like facials, waxing. Um, that could look like reiki, massage, whatever the hell it may be. Mm-hmm.

Scalp care, right? Whethe- whatever the hell it may be. And what may end up happening is you isolate your new potential clients because they are people who are just looking to go get their hair done, or the people who would maybe be looking for those services would not traditionally think that a salon would be the place to get those services done. And so what I want to address here today is this concept and what I've seen work, what I've seen not work, and my general suggestions for this, because I don't want it to harm you.

I don't want something that you're in pursuit of that is exciting to you or passionate to be something that doesn't allow you to actually grow the way that you need to, to create the foundation to be able to do those things that you are passionate about. So, I'm excited to get into it today. As per usual, we have Jodi Brown on the podcast to contribute to this conversation and keep me in check. What's going on, Jodi Brown?

How are you? I am so good. How are you? I'm good, thank you.

Have you seen this at all in hairstylists, even the educators that you talk to, in the people that you coach? Have you seen this before in your own experience? I definitely have. I've seen it both from the inside and also from the outside as a consumer, and I think it comes back to this idea of, like, like essentially where your people are at in their, I guess, awareness journey when it pertains to what you offer, and it's always gonna be more of an uphill battle to sell something that your client doesn't actually even know that they need or want, right?

Yes. And so I definitely have seen this and I do think it's like, you know, i- it's, yes, we wanna build businesses that we love, but at the end of the day, like, as business owners, we are providing a service or product for a client, right, for the consumer. And so I do think it's really important that we're positioning in a way that meets demand that's already there. Yes, 100%.

Like, for example, right, like let's say that a new technique comes out, okay? Let's say that, like, a new exciting, uh, keratin treatment comes out, all right? And let's just call it keratin treatment, and let's say that this is back in the day where maybe the general consumer, like, didn't know what a keratin treatment was. Mm-hmm.

So we would say, like, now offering keratin treatments, or maybe we would say keratin treatments in our SEO or in, like, our bios or in our titles on our Instagram pages, whatever it may be, but nobody is searching keratin treatments because a client doesn't know what the F a keratin treatment is. Yes. So let's say that you learn, I don't fucking know, like, scalp, like, lasering, red light, something or other. I don't fucking know.

Let's say it's this brand new exciting thing, right? And in general, the majority of people in your community are not aware of what that is- Right. nor is it the language that they're using around the problem or desire that they have in their heads from their perspective, then it's going to be very hard for that person to find you, right? So, like, you have these people who are wanting your services- Mm-hmm.

but maybe they just don't realize that the service that you're offering is the service that they want because of the disconnect in language. And so that's where it comes back to, I talk about this I feel like every fucking episode, serving your clients, talking to real people, figuring out what their language is around what you're doing and what their problems are. Mm-hmm. And this goes back to also, like, the different levels of awareness when it comes to marketing, because you may have somebody who doesn't think about the problem that they have-...

the same way as somebody who has done research about the problem that they have. Because when- Totally. you do research about the problem that you have or the desire that you have, you are now more educated around that topic. So you know what the language is, you know what the lingo is, you know what the industry lingo is, and so you're able to find those solutions a lot easier because now you're educated about it.

And unfortunately, a lot of people are, that you want in your chair are not going to be educated about these, I don't know, extraneous things a lot of the time. People don't know that they want a balayage root melt toner. Totally. They just know that they want fucking highlights.

Totally. People don't know that their scalp is clogged and needs crazy fucking medicine or whatever. I don't fucking know. I, I don't know what y'all are calling it nowadays.

Okay? People don't know that they need scalp health. They just know that their hair is fine- Right. and that they're losing hair.

Right. They know hair loss. They don't know scalp rejuvenation hair growth. Like, do you know what I'm s- do...

Am I making sense? Yes, 100%. And I I'm, like, nodding my head fervently here, because I feel like I talk about this all the time too. It's like speaking to...

We wanna speak to the symptom of the problem and the awareness, because like you said, people are at varying degrees. So, I think this begs the question then, right? Because you and I talk about this all the time, and I know this is something you speak to, is differentiating yourself, right? And the art of- Yeah.

differentiation in terms of branding and marketing and all of those things. And I think that this is where a lot of this comes from, right, is that desire to create the specialty, the niche. We all know that's something that is so necessary now, right? So, how do stylists in, you know, t- utilize that specialty and that niche and w- stand out in their marketing while still- Totally.

speaking in terms and language that their clients that are looking for them will understand? Totally. And I think that it depends on the specialty. Like, this an- the answer is so different depending on, like, the service that you're trying to offer.

Right. For example, energy healing or something like that, right? Like Reiki. Like I see- Right.

it all the time. Like, people are trying to add it to their shit, right? Right. This is something that's so non-related to the main service that you're offering.

So because of that, things become very much more complicated. One way you can maybe take something like that, where it's not related to the thing that would mainly people would think about when they would go to a salon, right- Mm-hmm. is branding your hair services as something that the ideal client of your Reiki would want, the environment that they would want to be a part of, right? So you, the low-hanging fruit is you're a specialist in just, let's say, gray coverage.

I don't fucking know. Whatever it may be, right? So it's a hair service, right? But you are a specialtist- a special specialists in this low-hanging fruit, in doing just general hair services, and they are attracted to your brand because it's the type of environment and the way that you approach your experience is targeting somebody who would want to also get those types of services.

Absolutely. And so then when they become a part of your brand, when they get to walk into your brand, when they learn more about your brand, about how you solve the problems, that's when you're able to sell them into these other services. I think that that is the smartest way of going about it. And I would also say it very much depends on the level of business that you're at as far as the foundation of your clientele goes, because this conversation becomes very different to the person who is just str- just trying to get clients in their book versus the person who is extremely booked and busy.

Somebody who's extremely booked and busy, you have so much more leverage to just go all in on this other thing and 100% focus on it, because you already have the foundation of clientele. So you have people that you can sell this maybe new or different thing to, and you can also just pivot your marketing to 100% focus on this newer, maybe weirder thing- Right. and you won't, you won't be sacrificing as much or losing out. Because normally, if you're in a space in which you're trying to grow your clientele as quickly as possible or you're really looking for more demand in your book, then that's gonna be a space in which we still want to be a specialist, but we want to be solving a problem that is actually out there needed and wanted, and we want to use language that is gonna connect to that consumer instead of language that we are creating or that we're familiar with.

Right. So, there's a lot of nuance to the conversation. It really depends on how you want to go about it. And a lot of the times, like, I'll just say, like, lead with the fact that you are doing hair, and then make this a part of your brand and your experience, and then you have the clientele, the ideal clientele, who you can then sell these other things to.

Recently, in recording another episode, we talked about how when you have one client who's getting a service with you, then that person has their own network of people that they can refer you to, right? So then that's opportunity for you to get other referrals from this person's network. But then, let's say that you have five people who start to upbeat music<|agent|><|en|> ... pay for your new service, right?

Yeah. Then, these five people are getting that new service. They're more educated about it. They've n- been able to experience in themselves.

They're able to talk to more and more people about it. You have more social proof. You have more of an understanding of what their language is. You have results, all the things.

So, the more that you actually do whatever the service is on these people, the more that your momentum and your ab- ability to connect your services to these people or more people or other people will grow and- It's multiplied. be more viable over time. Yeah. Yeah.

For sure. You know, this always reminds me. I l- I like to use the example of extensions, because I think it's very clear. You either get extensions or you don't, right?

Like, either you are someone who gets the service or you don't. So, if you're looking between two extensionists, say I'm on Instagram and I see two extensionists, and it's like one of them has, like, this amazing brand and this really cool personality and all of that kind of stuff, right? And then the other one, not so much. It's just kind of like whatever.

I'm still not getting extensions, because I- Mm-hmm. don't, like it doesn't matter how much I love this person's brand or how cool the experience looks or any of that. Yeah. I'm not in the market for that, right?

So, I think that's kind of what we need to think about when it comes to this conversation. What you underlined in, in your response was kind of-... it, they still have to have demand for the main thing you do, and then all of those other differentiation pieces are like the cherry on top. And that might- Yes.

get them to pick you over someone else, but it's not necessarily going to, like, they're not going to sign up for a service they don't want because they like you and the experience looks cool. Yes. I love that you said that. And I'm gonna even go further into this conversation, 'cause this is another place where I find this, this same type of thing coming up.

Right. Is, for the example of extensions, we will maybe lead with the brand of extensions or the method- Right. that we are using. Th- th- th- Great example, right?

And here's the thing. This can actually work really well for you, to actually lean on the method or brand that you're using, only if the ideal consumer and your local market is aware of that method, and that method is in demand. So for exam- like, I have students who literally get referrals because they are using a specific method, right? Yeah.

But if that is not the case, if you have, if the new clients that do come to see you for X service are not saying, "I came to you because you do this method," then we do not want to lead with the method. Yes. If they are coming to you because you do this method, then absolutely lean into it. Of course, I would say that there is things that we should take into consideration when we decide to do that, right?

Because you can end up kind of m- building a brand around another brand, and then you don't have- Right. as much control or pivot- Right. as, as much, or a- as ease in the future, right? Yeah.

However, it's still a great way to grow your clientele if there is this general awareness of specificity- Yeah. of brand or, um, method that somebody already trusts, right? Yeah. So, the, I, thank you for bringing up the extension example, 'cause I think that that really comes up in that world a lot of the time.

Right. Like, does somebody give a shit if you're using Aveda Color or not? Right. Does somebody give a shit if you're using, uh, you know, Hanzo shears or not?

Like, n- n- no. Like, the majority of the time, no. It's gonna be very rare. But there are some brands out there who speak to professionals that have done a very good job of building trust with a general consumer outside of our industry.

Totally. And so now the general consumer has that awareness, and that can work to your advantage. Yeah. But sometimes if we lead with, "I am a X stylist," and your market has no idea what the fuck that means and they don't care, then it's not going to connect with them, and it's gonna be a big uphill battle for you.

100%. 100%. Another example of this, because you said it earlier, and I talk about this all the time, um, is like, you can have something that differentiates your brand, right? Like, I mean, you should.

Like, you should have something about your brand that makes you different, right? Mm-hmm. That, and a lot of the time, it just comes back to who you are as a human being. Like, in the brand new brand module that I have in Modern Stylist Movement, we dive deep into who you are as a personal brand, so we can pull out what your core values are, what your why is behind what you're doing, what makes you different as a human being.

Because genuinely, at the end of the day, in a sea full of hairstylists who maybe have the same specialty as you, have the same skillset, experience as you, the only thing that makes you different is you. And that's powerful- Beautiful. if you have a strong understanding of who you actually are and how that relates to your brand and what's, what you are offering and how that's different. Right.

So for example, let's say that you're somebody who really cares about LGBTQ+ inclusivity. You're very educated about it, you know how to offer those types of spaces, but your specialty is something else, right? What can end up happening is, is we can conjumble all these different things in our basically, like, upfront messaging, I guess you could say. Right.

And then you distract from the main message. So that's awesome that you're LGBTQ+ inclusive, but maybe that's not your entire specialty. Maybe that's just the cherry on top, like you said. Right.

And somebody will be able to understand that in the smaller parts of your advertising, in the rainbow flag in your bio, in one of your story highlights, in one page on your website or the footer of your website, right? Awesome. But what you lead with is the thing that you want to specialize in, and it should be your 100% focus in your messaging. So there are aspects to your brand, but that does not mean that your entire brand is defined by that one aspect.

And when we, and by the way, you can make your brand the specialty LGBTQ+ inclusive salon. That is awesome. Like, it is completely viable. But a lot of the time, it's not what somebody actually wants to do, and it, it can be an aspect of the brand, and we end up conjumbling it all together, and then the messaging becomes a little bit confusing and unfocused.

100%. That's a great example. Okay. Anything else?

Any other thoughts that you have, Jody? So, something that I think we should just circle back to is, if you do have a specialty which you've identified as a low-hanging fruit, but you're like, "I really want to advertise," like, "I've got a new reiki service," or, "I've got a new scalp treatment," or, "I've got this new thing and I really want to talk about it and advertise it," where do you introduce that for max efficiency, if that's something that you just really do want to concentrate on and grow? Sure, yeah. Well, I think that we can talk about it in our marketing sometimes.

Like, it's not something that you completely keep muted all the time, but it can't take away from the main message. Like, 80% of the main message, it should be your specialty, right? Or related to your specialty in one way or another. And maybe even within the advertising of the main specialty, maybe there's some way that you can very relevantly- Right.

'cause this could go wrong very easily, you could very relevantly talk about the other thing and how it relates to the main thing, if you can pull it together, right? So you can sprinkle it in, and you can, it can be the story highlight, it can be 1/3 of the caption, it can be a part of the carousel, but it can't be the ent- it can't be the entire carousel, or it can't be more than 20% overall, I guess you could say, is a good rule of thumb. And then, of course, the in-the-chair experience is the main way.It's the main way, because somebody's gonna be in the environment, right?

So this could look like shelf talking, this could look like posters, this could look like having the product right in front of them on a pretty display. And then of course just how you're talking about it and making your clients aware of it, particularly if this person brings up specific problems that you can then bridge the conversation into that solution. So for example, let's say that somebody says that they're really fucking stressed out. You say, "Oh my God, I was so stressed out last year, and that's when I found reiki, and that changed my fucking life, and now I'm actually offering it to my clients, and my clients have gotten these results.

Would you ever be down to try that? Would you wanna learn more about that?" Right? Yeah.

Somebody brings up frizz. You just started offering keratin treatments. You say, "Oh my gosh, I totally, uh, get where you're coming from. I had other clients who were dealing with this all the time, so I decided to get education.

I brought this product in, and I'm doing these smoothing treatments, and they're getting this amazing value out of it. Do you think it's something that you'd wanna try?" So your customers for this new thing are already sitting in your chair. The in-the-chair experience is a great place to automatically make that person aware of it.

But then what me and my students also, of course, always focus on is the pre-visit experience and the post-visit experience, which preps them for those in-person conversations, which also, you know, can create somebody, uh, the, the urge or the want for somebody to learn more, ask you more about it, be more interested about it, and then book it as an add-on, on top of the main thing they're getting done. So for, so for example, like, we have, like, a salon welcome guide that goes out, and you could include it in there. It should be on your website still, but it should not be, uh, on, let's say, your service menu, right? It shouldn't be your main service menu, the first thing that I can see, but maybe it can be the second service menu that's below the main one, right?

Uh, it could be its own page on there. A great example of this is weddings, right? So if you do weddings, well then having a wedding page separate from everything else is a great way to make people aware that you offer these services, but it doesn't distract from the main message that's going to make people want to book with you the majority of the time. Wow.

So it's a sprinkle in, and it's, now I have this person's attention. They already trust me for this one thing. They vibe with me as a service provider and a human being. So now I can offer them these other things if it's relevant to them, and you wanna look and pinpoint and find spaces to s- to insert those things that are, that, in a way that's relevant, but also especially in the conversations that people have, if they are giving you...

If they're handing you the pain point on a platter- Right. by talking about it, that's your time to talk about it, right? Yeah. I love that.

So there's tons of ways to be able to mix those things in. You just have to find the opportunities and create the opportunities. Like, like, a lot of the time, people don't even think about pre-visit and post-visit experience internally, right? We think about social media, right?

But other than social media, the, uh, y- a lot of the times, the things that you wanna talk about, uh, in social media, which is like upfront marketing, those people are gonna be a lot more fresh to your marketing. Right. Is not gonna be this extra thing. Yeah.

It's gonna be the main thing. Yeah. So when they're actually existing clients of yours, you have much more attention, and you have so many more ways of delivering the awareness around this other thing that you have. I love that.

That kind of makes me think of, like, back when bond builders first got introduced, before Olaplex did all the amazing marketing for us. Um, it was like, our clients didn't come in being like, "Ooh, bond builders," right, like, until they did, but it was like you utilized that time at the bowl to, or at the chair, to educate them on that. So anything that requires that extra education, making sure that's kind of the secondary thing, not the thing you lead with, so you're not inadvertently putting up more barriers to the understanding of what you do. 100%.

I, this is a, a good point. I'm just gonna connect this back to the other point that we made about, like, relying on, let's say, the method, or leading with the brand, right? Like, I was t- I alluded to the fact that there is risk to that, right? 100%.

Because w- you just said Olaplex did a really great job of educating the general public about what it is, because it's gone so public, right? Yep. Mm-hmm. And so now people know what the hell a bond builder is.

People know what Olaplex is. That's great, but if you built your entire brand on Olaplex, if you built your entire brand on DevaCurl- Yeah. these brands have eventually gotten pretty shitty reputations- Yeah. in one way or another to certain people.

Yeah. And so, uh, a perfect example of you're putting yourself at risk, and there are definitely things to take into consideration. Yeah. Do I think that you are digging yourself a permanent hole?

Absolutely not. I think there are very smart, strategic, PR ways to get out of that brand eventually, if you don't, no longer, if you no longer align with that brand, or if the brand get, gets canceled, or whatever it may be. Yeah. Totally.

I think you, it's not the death of you, per se, um, but it's just something that you should take into consideration. I think ride the wave if you need to- Yeah. if you, uh, if you want to take advantage of that momentum, but just know what you're signing up for, and potentially signing up for in the future, I guess. Absolutely.

And I know a lot of extensionists who have built their brand on a brand, essentially, like, to get them to where they are, and then very successfully untangled, um- Right. and, you know, built their brand in their own right, so I love that you said that. Like, it just kind of depends, like, ride the wave if you need to, when you need to, and then, you know, do your own thing. 100%.

This has been such an incredible episode. I think this is such an important conversation. Yeah. I hope that it got y'all's brains thinking.

I hope that it was helpful for you. If you're somebody who is maybe multi-passionate, and you wanna lean into the power of having a specialty, but you don't wanna isolate yourself from potential clients, and maybe you do have a specialty that you believe is viable, but, a- that, that you know that people in your area need, but maybe it's not traditional, or maybe it's new and people haven't heard about it- Right. figure out what those people's language is around it right now. Figure out what people are looking for, what they've already tried- Yeah.

how they would describe it right now, so you can meet people where they're at. So if you know that you will provide, uh, hair loss solutions with a crazy scalp machine, right, you don't talk about the scalp machine. You talk about hair loss solutions, right? Yeah.

Like, because people are like, "I am losing my hair. I want to grow my hair." That is what's in their brain. They're not thinking about their scalp.

A lot of the time, they don't even realize that it's about their scalp. 100%. You know? Yeah.

100%. So, anyway, hopefully y'all will get the message. Jodi, thank you so much for all of your beautiful insight in today's episode. I appreciate you, as per usual.

Thank you for tuning in to the Modern Hair Stylist podcast. Peace out, girl scout. Bye-bye.

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