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#3 of the 10 Things You Should (or Should Not) Say to a Male Client
The top 10 Things You Should (or should not) Say To A Male ClientThis is number 3 in a 10-installment blog series of the top 10 things you should say, ask or tell (or should not) when consulting, selling to or interacting with a male client.How ...
June 3, 2016
Ivan "Clipper Guy" Zoot
2 min to read
The top 10 Things You Should (or should not) Say To A Male Client
This is number 3 in a 10-installment blog series of the top 10 things you should say, ask or tell (or should not) when consulting, selling to or interacting with a male client.
How do you want your hair cut? “Cut it short”. How short is short? Everything is relative. Short is a matter of perspective. I am sitting here typing this in a state of exasperation at how overdue I am for a haircut. You can still see my scalp through my sides at my current length. However, to me this is quite a bit too long.
The best way to define short is to ask the simple question… “How short are we going?” When the client says “short” you then follow up with, “Short to medium or short to short? This is a great way to define short.
Short to medium means, “cut my hair short, but not too short”. It means no scalp showing through. It means no fades, no boot camp cutting. It means, proceede with caution. Maybe take less and check with me before you cut the entire thing. Short to short means, “Go for it, you can’t cut my hair too short”. Scalp exposure is a great metric against which to offer a comparative question. Just be careful of the fact that the same blade or guard creates different levels of exposure on different heads. Differences in density and texture will reveal or conceal a lot more (or less) scalp. Avoid cut-by-numbers conversation. “Gimme a 3” might be a great place for a client to start a discussion but you should likely probe a bit deeper.
Care should be taken to define the transition point as well. “gimme a 3” might mean to carry that #3 guard all the way up past the crest line. It might mean just to use the #3 along the bottom edge and build length up from there. The best tactic to define transition point is to turn the client to the mirror and place your finger at the side of their head. Move your finger up and down until you agree on the height and point of transition.
Be comfortable going short. Be ready to go waaaaaay short. Be SURE how short is short before you start.
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