Amanda Paul, master stylist from Salon 124 in Grayson, Georgia.
Most of Amanda Paul’s guests want natural looking hair color, and Paul isn’t afraid of telling them what they need to do to achieve it.
“I’ll suggest a foil frame as an add-on service to soften the color and highlight the face, or a color-melting look that’s so popular or a shadow root to look more natural,” says Paul, who is a master stylist at Salon 124 in Grayson, Georgia. “Ironically, it takes more processes to look natural.”
One of Paul’s early mentors coached her to work smarter, not harder, so most of the advanced color techniques she recommends can be incorporated into the scheduled time of the service. Regardless, she constantly studies her book in advance to make sure she has enough time to offer guests an advanced color approach, while also tightening gaps between appointments.
“I also keep track of what I’ve offered a guest and make sure I don’t continue to offer the same thing over and over,” Paul says. “When suggesting something new, I’ll show a client an inspirational picture and say, ‘I saw this picture and thought of you. This would be a great look on you—what do you think?’”
Paul says guests are always pleased to hear she’s been thinking about them between appointments. “Too often as stylists we say, ‘What are we going to do today?’ We’re asking them, but we’re the experts. I like to offer my guests something new and make them feel special,” she says. “Some people do want the same thing all the time, but most want a little change, even if it’s subtle.”
For Paul, customization for each client is key, but she says that always goes hand in hand with telling them the new price upfront.
“Always tell them the difference in price, it’s never good to surprise a guest when she’s checking out,” she recommends. “For example, I’ll say ‘I think some additional highlights around your face would look fantastic and that’ll be an additional $50, what do you say?’”
On May 19-21, the Data-Driven Salon Summit in Atlanta, Georgia, will spotlight data stars like Paul in a hands-on workshop approach to mining the metrics to drive salon performance. Learn more at datadrivensalon.com.
Check Out the Other Stories in the DATA STARS Series:
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Stylist Jamie Cress Shares Her Strategies for Driving Retail Sales
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How Gary Harlan Brought in more than $600K in Individual Service and Retail Sales in 2018
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