Mastering Client-Communication Skills

In addition to educating for Wella Professionals, Peg Cribari founded her own Cribari Advanced Salon Seminars.

Peg Cribari, a 35-year industry veteran and co-owner of Salon Three Thirty in Dallas, TX, coaches stylists to rise to their potential of by mastering client-communication skills. A top stylist for Wella Professionals, she teaches “The Art of the Consultation, the System for Success” for the company.

Says Cribari, “Solo artists should deliver concise, thorough consultations to ensure clear lines of understanding with their clients. It builds confidence, which allows clients to send you referrals. This is vital for financial and artistic success.”

Here, she shares top tips from her consultation class.

1. Since you have only yourself to promote, you must maintain professionalism both in your work skills and your working environment. Don't just be on time, be early, be prepared and get your game face on. Clients know when you are rushed or preoccupied. If you want to be respected, show your clients respect.
    
2. Having a consultation before every service, regardless of how many times you have seen a client, will ensure their continuous happiness. Hair changes with seasons, and clients change with moods. Consultations allow you to make recommendations, not only in adjustments to the cut, style or color, but in product changes that will help maintain the look you created.
    
3. Always conduct the consultation at your station, never in the reception area or at the shampoo bowl. This positions you as a trusted advisor who is serious about listening to the client respectfully. Raise the chair up, closer to your eye level, and talk to the client face to face, not through the mirror.  Pay attention to client’s body language. This helps to recognize when to put on the brakes and when to hit the gas in regards to suggestions for changes.
    
4. Don't “sell” your services or products, instead, educate the client as to the capabilities and needs of his or her hair, lifestyle and fashion sense.
    
5. Pre-book clients based on the appropriate time frame to properly maintain the cut or color. Even if a client has to move the appointment later, pre-booking will give them a baseline for consistency.