How to Deliver Tough News or Changes to Clients: A 3-Step Process

Hello, my friend. Welcome back to the Modern Hairstylist Podcast. I don't know if you can agree with me, but one of the hardest parts of being a business owner is communicating changes and boundaries to your clients, right? So, like, whether it's a price increase, or whether you're like, "I'm not gonna do Saturdays anymore," or, "I've been emotionally discounting you and I'm actually gonna have to start charging you this."

Or, "Moving forward, you're gonna have to book online only," or, "Moving forward, I'm only gonna be booking out two months at a time and I'm not gonna be pre-booking you throughout the freaking year anymore, because that sounds like hell to me moving forward." Whatever it may be, communicating these types of changes and boundaries can be really scary and difficult. But here's the thing, knowledge and preparation will destroy fear. The fear and uncomfortability aren't necessarily gonna go away and you're gonna have to do it scared, but if you are as prepared as possible and if you take the things that I teach you in this episode today, the strategy that I teach hundreds of students of mine within my programs, how to roll out tough news and changes to your clients in a three-step process, in a really nice, professional, and beautiful way in which you'll get your clients onboard, excited about your change.

If you implement this, then you will be setting yourself up for the most success with rolling out your tough news or changes to clients. So, if you're ready to get into it, let's go. What's the tea, friend? My name's Hunter Donia, industry business educator for hairstylists, but my friends just call me Hunty.

Whether it be growing your clientele, making more money, or automating and streamlining your systems, in the next 20 minutes or so, you'll be hearing realistic, actionable strategies to create a beautiful career for yourself behind the chair. So, if you're ready to get into it, welcome to the Modern Hairstylist Podcast. Okay, so the very first thing that I wanna talk about is, like, actually how you go about rolling out a change to the client. So, not necessarily my step three process yet, because I wanna talk about the actual vehicle, right?

So, like, the vehicle being email, video, or talking in person, social media announcement, et cetera, et cetera. Let's start with, um, social media, right? So, oh my God, all too often people will post shit on their social that I'm like, "There is no reason for you to do this, dude. No reason."

And it's actually detracting you from getting new clients into your chair, and it's not guaranteeing that your clients are seeing it. So, for example, people will post that, um, "In- in- in a couple weeks, on this date, we have a price increase moving forward. I really appreciate your loyalty and support. This has been a difficult decision," et cetera, et cetera.

It's like, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Your social media is not a place for you to be talking about operational, procedural changes and things in your business. And- and- and- and there's a lot of things that do n- absolutely do not need to be announced on social media.

The point of your social media is what? To get clients into your chair. That is it. And you need to remember that that means that this is a marketing process.

This is a space for marketing copy. And doing announcements, which is much more procedural, it has to do with the internal client experience, should not be done in places that are marketing vehicles for you to get people into your chair. If you have a new client who's following you who you're still nurturing into the process of g- getting into your chair, you don't want them to be bombarded with your price increase announcement or the fact that you're not working Saturdays anymore. Most importantly, when you go on your stories and you complain about no-shows and last minute cancellations and you talk about how annoying that is for you, or when you talk about cost of goods and whatever the fuck else, that shit is not the tea.

We do not do that. We- we- we should not be announcing things on social media. We should be announcing things internally to your clients in vehicles that are meant for people who already exist in your business. Those are the people that it actually matters for, right?

Like, it doesn't matter to the new clients, it matters to the existing clients. Not to mention, social media algorithms will hinder your announcement from actually getting to all of your existing clients, right? So, it's not a effective vehicle and it ac- it's not just that it's not effective, it actually can hurt you and your growth as a business in the end of the day. An announcement that is advantageous for you, think about it, I just wanted you to guess before I give you the answer.

Think about an advantageous announcement that you can put on your social media that will actually get you more clients. Moving to a new salon, right? Like, something where it's exciting that you're announcing it and it's really hype and, like, you can create a lot of excitement around it. Like, uh, something sexy and new and fresh, like, that is what you should be putting on your social media as far as announcements go.

Not anything that's, like, negative or super boring or procedural, such as, like, "I'm not working Saturdays anymore," or, "I'm expanding my hours for holiday," whatever it may be. That is not the tea, all right? So, let me get that straight first and foremost with social media. And then the other thing is, like, policies, right?

So, I was just talking about, like, how you will go on your stories and you'll talk about, like, "When you no-show and last minute cancel, I don't make any money and I'm a business owner that's independent and what, and if you missed your salary then you'd be pissed too." It's like, girl, they do not give a fuck. They do not care. Or will do price increases and will say, "Due to rising cost of goods, due to inflation, shit has gotten expensive, I haven't had a price increase in a long time."

It's like, your clients do not care, and you're not making a good case for yourself in your first line of announcement.There is a time and place for you to explain your side of the story y- there is, and I'll get to that. But it's not in the first r- line of announcement, it's not when you first roll this stuff out to your clients at all. So, whether it be on social media, or wherever you're gonna be announcing it at all, stop trying to explain your side of the story because your client does not give a shit.

They just want their fricking hair done, right? Or maybe you'll say, like, "I'm going on vacation, so I will be out for these dates." It's like, you should have a client experience set up to where you don't even have to say that you're on vacation, because your clients can do business by themselves, and y- for you to be able to get back to somebody, it's not even, like, a second thought in your brain. You can click a button while you're on vacation and it takes you five minutes in the morning to take care of your business, or you don't have to be in your business at all, you don't have to text people back at all, and you have automations and systems on the backend that take care of people.

The real flex, the real flex of a business owner is being able to go on vacation and your clients don't even know. They don't even notice because you've set up your business to make it so you do not have to be working or communicating with them for them to be successful and be able to continuously do business with you. That's the real flex, and that's how I teach you how to set up your business on previous pathway. You don't have to put an announcement out there that you're going on vacation, or that you're doing the holiday break, or whatever.

There's a lot of things that I see people announcing and it's just, like, this is so irrelevant and it's just, it's just distracting from the main points, the things that'll actually grow the business and keep our clients happy. So, just take your clients' experience into consideration when you're sharing these things. Think about what is the actual goal of sharing this in the first place, and whose eyeballs are actually gonna see this, and how is that gonna affect my growth in the long term? And what vehicles, um, that we're, that we're delivering these news through, right?

What's the purpose of these vehicles in the first place, and is this really the most appropriate place for me to be rolling this out? A great, appropriate internal place for you to be rolling out procedural changes, or tough news, or price increases, whatever it may be, is with email blasts and, um, one-to-one, face-to-face communication. I am not necessarily the biggest fan of only solely relying on face-to-face communication. I think it can be extremely unreliable, um, extremely unpredictable.

I think that you can end up really screwing yourself over very easily if you aren't staying focused, or if you're just a normal freaking human being with emotions who has difficult time or trauma with confrontation, right, and people pleasing. Um, I would so much rather you be able to very cleanly roll out your message all in one, say everything that you wanna say to everybody across the board, know for a fact that it hit their inbox and they had the chance to read it, and you can even see who read it with an email blast, versus talk to every single one of your clients about every single thing where you might get chocked up, or you might get really emotional in the moment. I know this has happened to me. And then you might be like, "Well, I'm rolling out this price increase and I'm, and I really appreciate it, but y- you don't have to worry about that, you've been a loyal client and, and I'm not gonna charge you this new price moving forward."

We've all been there, we've all done that. We actually d- end up not following through on what we're gonna do and say because we're looking at this person face to face and it's an intense emotional process. I'm a firm believer that, as a business owner, you, a- and as a human being, you have enough stress and enough emotions that you have to deal with in your life. There's no need for you to have unnecessary turmoil and anxiety, and these crazy processes when you're behind the chair.

I believe in mitigating that as much as possible with non-confrontational systems and communication, and systems that have your back and hold you accountable. So, email blasts are absolutely a beautiful way of you doing this, and if you don't have a proper email marketing software, and no, I'm not talking about your booking system's email. That shit sucks, it's not worth it, and it doesn't work the way that an proper email marketing software works. And I teach you how to set that up and use it to its fullest in my programs.

When you have one, you can do really beautiful, advanced things where you can roll this out across the board to all of your clients, get them on board, see exactly who, who read it, and you can resend it to people who didn't open it to assure that every single person saw it. Then you don't have to keep track of who you told and who you didn't tell. So, the vehicle matters, and I think that u- using email marketing and using a proper email marketing software to be able to communicate with all of your clients all in one, to be able to know for a fact that you hit all your clients with your new change right off the bat, is really effective. And I, w- how do I know?

Because I've done it multiple time- many, many, many times in my business and I've seen hundreds of my students do it very successfully, and it's just really slick and really beautiful, and sets you apart, and sets your client up for success with whatever change it is that you're rolling out because you can put all the details in there. You can give them links, you can give them PDF guides. Hell, you can even give them videos, which I think is absolutely powerful. So, now that we've gotten that stuff out of the way, some of my bullet points that I wanna go over as far as ranting goes, let's get into my proven three step process for how to actually deliver tough news and changes to clients.

Now, this three step process is gonna have your back for whatever happens, okay? So, no matter what happens in the circumstance, it's going to cover your ass, and it's gonna set you up for the most success, for the most posi- positive response from your clients from the very beginning. However, no matter how positive you are, no matter how smart you are in the way that you roll out a change to your clients, you are going to get, sometimes, some negative feedback. You are gonna get some people who are just emotional, or pissed, or whatever it may be, having a bad day, and that give you some shit, all right?

So, this three step process is gonna set you up for that when that happens as well, too. So, step one is rolling it out first with...Nothing but enthusiasm, explaining the benefits, and keeping it client-centric. Remember earlier when I was talking about your client does not give a shit about your increased costs in goods?

Your client doesn't care if you don't get paid when somebody no-shows you? Your client doesn't care about your side of the story. They care about their side of the story. So, stop talking about you.

Stop making it about you. Make it about the client. And I will argue with you that I... or I would...

I'm not arguing with you, girl. Trust and believe, I'm not here to argue with you. But what I would argue is that any change or any hard decision that you make in your business or anything that you're updating in your procedures, you can always flip it and find the, um, good side of it for your clients, how it actually benefits the client, right? So, for example, a price increase is great for your clients because it allows you to offer them an excellent client experience, it allows you to have more flexibility in your schedule to make sure that you're prioritizing the people who are willing to spend this money with you, so that way they can have a convenient space and time on your schedule.

If they have to reschedule, you have more flexibility, et cetera, et cetera, right? It keeps things fair across the board. So, rolling out a price increase is actually really good for your clients, and that is how I want you to frame it when you roll it out to them, and be excited about it, right? And do not, don't, do not apologize.

Do not say, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience this may cause you." Don't say, "I hope you can understand." And don't assume anything. Some people will, will raise their prices and be like, "I know that this may not work for you, so I'm willing to give you recommendations of other stylists who can take care of you at a lower price."

It's like, why are you assuming that anybody would wanna do that? And when you say that, you're literally giving them the opt-out. You're giving them the escape. It's like, your client wouldn't even have thought to do that anyway.

You just literally gave them the idea and you're supporting them in leaving you. It's like, yes, supporting them in leaving you when they come to you and tell you that they can't do it is fine and great and important, but why are you even opening up that door and that thought in the first place? So, no apologizing. No assuming the worst.

Just give it to your clients and be enthusiastic and optimistic about it. Explain the benefits if it makes sense and if it's appropriate, and roll it out across the board, and be strategic, okay? All right, so let's say that you roll it out to your clients and you talk about all the amazing benefits. "So, um, hey friend, so now you're gonna be able to book an appointment with me 24/7 whenever you want and you won't have to wait for me to get back to you with our brand new simplified online booking process where you only have to click one button to book the right thing with me online," right?

So, you roll that out and your client's like, "Ugh," still, right? No matter how much you explain your ben- the benefits of b- of it for the client, your client is like, "Ugh, I don't feel like doing that. That's annoying. Like, I'm pissed off," whatever.

That is when you explain your side of the story, right? So, for 90% of the clients, if you roll it out the f- the way that I just explained to you in step one, then you- y- 90% of your clients are gonna be cool with it, but some of them are gonna give you pushback. So, step two is dealing with pushback by explaining your side of the story. So, you never ever, ever, ever, ever make an exception.

Now, here's the tea. Where you would make an exception is if you wanted to be more equitable, equitable and inclusive as a business, and that's gonna be circumstantial. But in the majority of the time, right, if that's not the ca- if that's not the case, then you do not back down. So, if somebody talks to you and they're like, "Ugh, I, I totally understand that you're raising your prices, but I don't think I'm gonna be able to afford this moving forward," you don't back down.

You sa- like, and m- maybe they're like, "Ugh, m- like, you just raised your prices, like, six months ago. Like, why are you doing it again?" Like, if somebody's questioning you, then just explain to them why and be honest with them, right? And just have an honest conversation.

Even rolling out the benefits to them and telling them the benefits in step one, that's you just being honest with them and telling them the truth. It's the damn truth, right? So, just share the truth with them and just have an honest conversation with them and share with them your side, and the majority of the time when you explain your side of the story, then they're gonna be able to connect with that as a human being, at least, right? They've gotten two sides.

They've gotten their side and your side. And at that point, they should be on board, all right? Now, in the rare circumstance where you still don't have somebody on board and they're giving you pushback or shit for it, then you empathize, you understand. This is a point where it's, like, kind of, like, the client is always right, okay?

So, you empathize and you're like, "I totally understand where you're coming from," but that doesn't... Just 'cause the client is right in their feelings, that does not mean that you change the way that you do business, because you're right too. So, you do what you need to do. You stay strong as a business owner, you stay strong in your decision, but you acknowledge and empathize with the person and what they're going through with step three, and then you refer them out.

I'm a firm believer that if you have to break your own boundaries or break your own decisions, the ones that mak- that ensure your growth and sustainability in this career, to make somebody happy, then you are no longer the right fit for them. So, do them a favor and let them go. "Suzie, I totally understand that this new price or this new way of booking appointments may not work for you and your lifestyle, and I hear everything that you're saying. Unfortunately, this is just how I'm going to be doing business moving forward.

It's the only way I can do things to s- keep sus- keep things sustainable and convenient for- and convenient for all clients across the board. So therefore, I would hate to do this. Like, I love getting to see you and I enjoy our time together, but if you would like, I can offer- I can f- do some research and find another stylist who'd be a better fit for you who doesn't have this same procedure moving forward." And you know what?

You bless and release at that point. There's nothing else you can do. You stay strong in your decision. You give the client the opportunity to leave, and you assist them in leaving if that's what they wanna do.

And then two, one of two things are gonna happen.You're gonna have an excellent client experience that literally no other stylist offers in your area because you've gone through pre-visit pathway and you've set up a next-level automated, hands-off client experience, pre-visit, post-visit, and in the chair. And they're gonna leave and they're gonna be like, "Holy shit, I am coming right back to that person, and I totally understand now and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to be in that person's chair, because there's nowhere else that I, I can get that experience." The second thing that may happen is your client may go to another stylist and have a great, great experience, right?

And they may have it to fit their lifestyle and it may fit that hairstylist's lifestyle and business as well too, and then everybody wins at the end of the day, right? Because now you've stayed strong in your decision and you've done what you've needed to do to make your business a sustainable one that makes sense for you. And so everybody wins. You've made an impact in your community, right?

No matter what. The third thing that could happen is your client will be like, "You know what? I totally get it. I understand.

I could never imagine leaving you, and, um, this might be a little bit of an adjustment for me but I'll appreciate your support in, in, in figuring it out, so I'm willing to stay and do whatever you want me to do." So, you do not need to apologize for making strategic and smart decisions. This isn't something that you're doing to your client, it's something that you're doing for your client and for your business. And I hope that this framework empowers you in your communication and allows you to get excited about the new direction that your business is taking, my friend.

So, if you've enjoyed this episode of The Modern Hair Stylist podcast, I would really appreciate if you left a five-star testimonial wherever you're listening to this. If you're interested in figuring out my specific, exact way to set up an email marketing software, to film a really cool video to roll out a cr- really cool price increase, to make it so your clients get on board, to make your pre-visit and post-visit experience absolutely amazing and automated, whatever it may be, I'm here to support you. You can visit me at hunterdoniell.com to figure out all that I have to offer you.

So much love. Peace out, girl scout. Bye-bye.

End of transcript. © 2023 Hunter Donia LLC.