The #1 Distraction In The Industry That's Preventing You From Getting New Clients Right Now

I'm gonna start this episode off with a question for you, because right now I'm going through a bunch of car shit, and it's all too often that it is very difficult for me to find an auto shop that I really, truly trust. Maybe you've experienced a similar situation, where maybe you don't know a lot about cars and you have no idea if the auto shop is just trying to recommend you a bunch of bullshit that you don't actually need, just to make more money, right? Maybe you also wanna make sure that you're going to an auto shop that is getting your car done as quickly and conveniently as possible, but also done right. You know what I mean?

So for me, those are the qualities that I'm looking for in an auto shop. Thing- th- an auto shop that solves my pain points that I normally have around going to get my car done, and the fears and objections that I have as well, too. And so my question to you is, if you were trying to find an auto shop to work on your car, and you were looking at their marketing and you heard option A and option B, or you s- read option A and option B, I want you to- s- to- to tell me which option you would choose. So we have option A.

You go on option A's website and they say they've been doing this for years and years and years, and they have an amazing lounge area that you can wait in that has a high-tech coffee machine and great snacks, and they know what they're doing and they're gonna make your car look, sound, and run amazing. Sounds pretty sexy, right? Option B, they understand that going to an auto shop is difficult because you never know if they're trying to overcharge you for things that you don't need, and that getting your car service is frustrating and you want it done as conveniently and quickly as possible, that you won't have to take it back to the shop as often or experience broken parts because it'll be done right the first time. Which option would you choose?

For me, it's gonna be option B, right? Now, either of these options are cool, right? Like I love the fact that the option A, they have tons of experience, they have a great lounge area for me to sit and work in with great coffee, and they seem like they know what they're doing and they're gonna do a good job on my car. But option B is really making me feel understood as a customer.

Option B is making me feel like I can really trust this place because they understand me. We as con- consumers, in order to want to invest money in a business, need to m- feel like we are understood because then we can assume that that business has created solutions or is going to approach me with their service in a way that is a great fit for me. So I'm always willing to choose this service and spend a little bit of extra money to know that I am not gonna get screwed over, right? Um, and that- th- and- and to know that they know who I am and what my daily experience is with these types of services.

And so, what I'm seeing right now is this epidemic of these business-oriented hair stylists, such as yourself maybe, who are posting way too much about surface-level shit that is trying to prove to your clients or your potential new clients that you are above and beyond br- uh, valuable, right? And that you're worth spending the money on. But we're approaching it in the wrong way. We are approaching it by trying to show people how awesome our salon environment is and how amazing our client experience is and how much education we've taken, versus just making the person feel like you understand them so they- they can trust you, right?

So for me, it's always option B. And that is going to be much more effective. And so I'm gonna be sharing with you more examples of this and breaking down this concept a little bit more. But I am just- I follow a lot of you guys on Instagram, and I'm seeing you guys post so much about your client experience, and it just feels as if you're trying to prove to somebody something, trying to prove to somebody how worth it you are, and trying to show somebody how valuable you are, when in reality you're really just showing somebody white noise because they don't even give a shit about how awesome your client experience is until they feel like you actually understand their main pain points and the main reason why they're coming to choose you in the first place.

So, if you're ready to get into it, let's go. So if you've listened to me before in my teachings, I oftentimes will quote Donald Miller when it comes to talking about marketing, when it comes to being the hero of the story versus the guide of the story. Okay? So Donald Miller talks about this concept a lot where we often as marketers and business owners will pres- prop- position ourselves as this amazing hero of this person's story.

Like, we're the hero that swoops them in and saves them, instead of positioning the client as the hero, right? So movie examples, Yoda is the guide and Luke Skywalker is the hero of the story. So Luke Skywalker has some sort of problem that he wants to overcome, and Yoda gives him the wisdom and advice that he needs to be able to be the hero and overcome that challenge. Then we have Harry Potter and Dumbledore.

So Dumbledore gives him the wisdom and the guidance, and then Harry Potter becomes the hero and overcomes the challenge, right? And so you want to be not Harry Potter. You want to be Dumbledore. You want to be the person that is going to help that per- that customer overcome their challenges and become the best version of themselves, particularly when it comes to the services that we're offering and providing, right?

And so when we go on our Instagrams and we're posting about how awesome th- our client experience is that we've designed for them, and how beautiful our suite- our salon suites are, and how w- how amazing we are because we have this expertise, right? And we go about consultations this way and our consultation is amazing, blah, blah, blah, blah. What you're doing is, is you're- you're- you're- you're showing somebody value too early in their customer journey with you. That stuff absolutely has its place.

You should be talking about that stuff and putting that in your marketing every now and then 100%, but what the majority of your marketing should be is understanding your clients' pain points around what it is that you specialize in. So let's say that you specialize in low maintenance hair color, right? You should be understanding what their pain points are and then addressing those so that way that person, it f- is like, "Oh my God. Finally this hairstylist is speaking directly to me.

It's like they are living in my brain."Right? Are you more willing or likely to spend money with somebody who is literally speaking the exact same words that are going on in your brain? Or are you more likely to be spending money with somebody who is trying to prove to you how sexy and luxurious and amazing they are?

For me, it's always gonna be, if you feel like, if I, if, if I feel like you're reading my mind, then I'm immediately gonna trust you. Right? That's just human nature. So, the majority of your marketing should be making your client feel like you understand them.

We are spending too much time trying to get our clients to understand us, instead of showing them that we understand them. Okay? So, start to position yourself as the guide of your client's story, instead of the hero of your client's story. And another way we end up doing this is feeling like we have to make our client experience so absolutely next level and amazing.

And yes, that is true, that is absolutely important and true, and it is great to market that stuff. But your client does not give a shit about how awesome your client experience is until they know that you can solve their problem and that you understand their problem. Right? I talk about the five levels of awareness a lot nowadays, and if, if your person in your marketing journey, which is often the person who is on your Instagram or would see your Instagram post, isn't even, isn't even to the point where they need to be proven that you're amazing, then you saying how awesome your client experience is or how you give people, you know, the fanciest, most expensive wine in your salon suite is just not going to resonate.

It's not gonna make any moves. It's not gonna push you f- closer to your goals, right? So, your website is a great place to exemplify some of those things. But truly, like, the in-the-chair experience is truly, like, the best place to do it.

However, what we also end up doing is going way above and beyond in relation to our price point. Okay? So, like, here's the thing. If you don't have a booked and busy clientele and you're trying to grow and you want to create some really great momentum for yourself, but your prices are, you know, not crazy, like, if your prices are similar to everybody else's in your area, or they're less than everybody else's in your area, and you are not booked and busy, yes, investing in your client experience is gonna help you grow.

However, like, you don't need to go crazy. I find a lot of the times people will increase their prices, and they feel like they have to add more and more and more and more and more to their client experience to justify that. When in reality, like, are you just delivering a great service? Like, are you solving the person's main problem?

The main reason why somebody's spending money, uh, with you is so that you can solve their problem, or give them the thing that they desire. Right? And so, I think that we, like, will, instead of doing what's required, like, the foundational work of really understanding our client and what goes on in their brain and what their problems are and coming up with innovative solutions to do it, and then posting about that as well, we get distracted with our client experience and try to spend a bunch of time making it as cool as fucking possible When in reality, like, you just need to make sure that your client experience is just a constant base-level awesome, uh, ex- experience in general, and that should be done from the very beginning. And it shouldn't be something that you always have to improve and make something new about, right?

Like, my pre-visit exper- my pre-visit pathway students have a pre-visit an- experience and in-the-chair experience that is completely personalized, and that is blowing the client away before they even come into the door. And it's completely automated and very easy to maintain. And personalization in the chair, i- in the, in-the-chair experience is proven, statistically, to make a client much more likely to return to you and spend more money with you. Right?

So like, you don't have to add all of this shit, like cool under-eye masks and hand and foot massages. Like, you can just have two really cool things in the ch- in-the-chair experience, like during the shampoo, and then give somebody a choose-your-own-adventure every time they come to see you. And that is already you being above and beyond. Right?

So, I just, I think that there's a lot of emphasis on making the, the client perceive you as super valuable and prove to that person how freaking awesome you are because you are above and beyond. But that does not mean that you should be spending all of your time adding to your client experience, because actually, I think a lot of the time, adding to the client experience sounds really sexy and cool, and it's a distraction from the real work that we actually have to do. So, my lesson for you today, my long story short, is w- yes, it is, there is a place for you to be posting and to put it on your website about how awesome your client experience is and all the cool shit that you do, and to have a client experience that is next level and sets you apart But I think a, a lot of us are taking it way too far, posting about it too much, and then feeling like we have to add another thing and another thing and another thing, when that's eating up your profits, it's eating up your time, and it, you're setting a really high bar for yourself. 'Cause what's gonna happen when you're charging double what you're charging now, and you are, you've already set the standard so high and now you have no room left to add any more value?

Like, that's gonna be a really hard position to be in. Right? So, don't get too far ahead of yourself. Have a foundational client experience that is already amazing, that is easy for you to maintain.

And that's exactly what I show my students how to set up. And then, make sure that you understand your client and understand the messaging that goes on in their brain. And so, that way you can then replicate that messaging in your marketing, to show them that you understand their pain and their objections they have around going and getting that pain solved, and show them how your solutions are different and how they will solve that pain. Right?

That is the main way that you can win in your marketing. All right? So much love to you. Hope this episode was helpful for you.

Peace out, girl scout.

End of transcript. © 2024 Hunter Donia LLC.