Confident Consultations & Managing Client Expectations

Here’s your guide to managing client expectations and prep them for realistic results. Kristina uses her MUVO knowledge to educate clients through the salon process and prescribe products that will get the most out of your sessions to leave you and your client happy!

Healthy hair holds colour longer than dry, porous, chemically sensitised or heat-damaged hair. It is crucial to help clients understand the importance of using professional haircare between salon visits and to educate them on how to care for their hair.

For example, demonstrating how to use heat protectant with hot styling tools, how much shampoo and conditioner to use, techniques for layering rinse-out and leave-in treatments and how to use toning products to extend the life of your client’s salon hair colour.

As salon professionals, it is important to ensure every client has a professional experience with your guidance as to what’s possible and realistic; taking all factors into consideration of their current hair condition, maintenance requirements and time available.

As a hair colour expert that specialises in complex colour corrections and creative hair-painting, which can tend to attract fussy or hard-to-please clients from time to time based on my expert opinion. Over the years, I have developed strategies to manage expectations during my client consultations to make sure we have a shared reality of what is possible for their hair and to ensure maximum happiness for both parties.

My 2 favourite questions to begin a consultation:

1. Tell me about your hair…
2. What would you like to achieve today?

These open-ended questions are designed to lead clients to share their hair and colour history and their desired outcomes. Their answers will allow you to meet their expectations and give you an opportunity to ask a few more questions until you decide on your game plan.

Sometimes clients can have wildly unrealistic expectations when they feel inspired to replicate the latest celebrity or social media trend and do not understand why you can’t deliver the results they expected. Confident consultations are the key to success in your salon and should include a clear at-home haircare plan that is achievable for the client’s financial and time investment.

Your role is to inform clients about your favourite options for home maintenance to help them safeguard their investment in professional colour and to understand how to care for their hair so that they love it! We want our clients to become loyal, raving fans with fabulous hair so they are telling all their friends about us! That is how we build a strong reputation and attract the types of hair services we love to do.

Here’s a story – I had a new client come to see me at the salon who had never been told about colour toning products for brunette hair. She hated the red brassy tones she could see in her hair in the sunlight and thought the only solution was to go darker, until I explained the power of toning shampoos – specifically, MUVO Coolest Brunette toning shampoo and conditioner. Through clever and confident consultation we were able to achieve her desired results simply with a toning shampoo regime, rather than adding more colour (read: damage and build up) to her hair. 

Knowing how to recommend treatments or techniques and care for your client’s hair is not just about having trend-driven discussions. Offering easy solutions to their problems and not over promising on results leaves room for honest communication about realistic outcomes. We then become the expert that clients know, like and trust, which leads to more frequent hair service appointments and higher revenue with increased retail sales.

We would all like to have happy clients and make more money, right? 

Here are a few examples of client concerns with solutions to easily meet their expectations:

The client booked in for a toning service says, “My blonde hair looks yellow and dull”.

You could suggest an in-salon semi-permanent toner, and perhaps a few lighter face-frame highlights to lift the overall colour. Then offer a homecare regime to maintain the colour between visits, such as the MUVO Ultra Blonde range.

This then becomes an upgrade to highlights with toner plus retail sales to support the service and help that client maintain their dream blonde.

The client booked in for a haircut says, “I would love to try red but I’m not daring enough”.

You could suggest trying a temporary toner at the basin whilst having their hair washed in preparation for the haircut. You can assure the client that the colour will wash out in a few washes and will only add 5-10 minutes time to their service. For example, use MUVO Flaming Copper and Just Peachy Shampoos at the basin as the temporary toning option. This is a great upsell and perhaps a gateway to a bigger service next time. The client might book for a colour and cut next time and purchase MUVO Flaming Copper Shampoo to maintain the colour that you created. Sparking creative ideas shows you care and you’re the expert they need to meet their expectations.

The client booked in for a glossy Brunette transformation says, “How can I stop the red coming through because I have been a redhead for years?”.

As I mentioned above, you have an excellent opportunity to sell the MUVO Coolest Brunette range, plus educate your client about heat protection and the importance of using the range to prevent fade.  Educating your client away from thinking that hair dye is the answer will lead to healthier hair and a happier client. 

In Summary

Suggesting in-salon services coupled with a prescriptive homecare regime helps to manage clients’ expectations and deliver exceptional results. Providing clients with the tools to care for their hair ensures they look and feel amazing every day which ultimately keeps them coming back for more!