Treat every customer as if they sign your paycheck -- because they do. "With skyrocketing business costs, heightened consumer demands, rising competition and the escalating costs of marketing and advertising, you cannot afford to even lose one customer," says President and Founder of Hairdresser Career Development Systems, Jon Gonzales. World of mouth advertising is a double-edged sword. "A recent study showed that a dissatisfied customer will tell an average of nine people about the poor service they received," says Gonzales.

Tips to Keep Every Client:

Understand Your Client's Needs: Lack of effective communication is the number-one cause of customer loss. Work hard at developing interpersonal skills with an enthusiastic and caring attitude toward people. Listen carefully to what your client is saying, and then offer your professional opinion. Sometimes our clients' expectations are unrealistic, so it is your responsibility to find a winning look.

Stay on Schedule: This implies a lack of respect for a person's valuable time. Make a sincere effort to stay on schedule. If you are running behind schedule, acknowledge your client and let her know how long the wait will be.

Be Friendly: A dynamic personality and a great smile will do wonders for increasing client retention. Strive to enrich other people's lives by being a joy to be around.

Have a Consistent Schedule: This will make it difficult for clients to book and appointment that fits into their schedule. Many clients are afraid to book with another stylist when their regular stylist is unavailable because they don't want to feel embarrassed or intimidated.

Take Pride in Your Work: Always strive for higher levels of excellence in your artistic and technical skills. Good is not enough if you want to gain that all-important competitive edge. The more you learn, the more you earn.