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The 4 Steps To Building Your Clientele With Referrals
Written by Living Well With Michele on Feb. 12th 2020
I'm excited to share with you exactly how I built my clientele base through using this four step referral program. 

I have tried many other referral programs that had me giving away services that in the end were not building my business. This specifically designed program will allow for you to build your business the best way…referrals from loyal clients who love you! 

You will even find the script I use so you know exactly what to say and can get started right way.

So without further ado, let's dive into it! 

Step 1: Let People Know You're Accepting New Guests

The first thing we want to do is let people know that we have availability that we're trying to fill.

You'd be amazed at how open your clients are to helping you grow as a stylist, especially when you treat them well and incentivize them.

Here's what you want to say:

Stylist: 

"I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know that I have recently opened up my schedule to accommodate ________( add number of additional guests) additional guests. 

I would love to fill those slots with cut and color guest just like you! "

This is a much more professional approach of starting to ask for referrals versus just asking clients to send new guests your way.

Step 2: The 2 Way Referral Incentive

Next, we want to provide our guests with an incentive to send us referrals without giving away a bunch of our time through our services.

But we're not just going to give an incentive to our current guest. We're also going to provide that same incentive to the NEW guest (referral) as well!

This makes it MUCH more likely that the referral guest will actually book an appointment.

Here's what to say:

Stylist:

"Here are ______ business cards ( be sure to have you IG, FB handle on them) for you to hand out. Each referral will receive a travel size shampoo, conditioner and styling product. 

Once all ______ have scheduled and completed a service you will receive a complimentary deep conditioning service, along with this retail basket (shampoo, conditioner, and styling product)."

Step 3: Practice Makes Perfect

The more use this system, the better you'll get at asking for referrals, the more referrals you'll get.

I would practice in front of the mirror over and over again until my script became second nature.

Confidence will do wonders for your career and practice will bring you that confidence.

As a side note, NEVER GIVE AWAY HAIRCUTS, COLORS, OR CHEMICAL SERVICES AS YOUR INCENTIVE!

Your time is far too valuable and it costs much less value-wise to offer a few travel products than to spend an hour or two doing free work.

It also makes sure that you attract clients that are willing to pay full price for your services.

Step 4: Make The Guest Feel Important!

Always make the salon guest feel important! The way you treat your guests will be the biggest determining factor in your success with not just this system, but with your career in general.

Every guest should walk out of your salon feeling like a million bucks.

When they arrive, they should feel like they're visiting family.

Make them feel spectacular, and they will be your biggest asset in building a very successful hairdressing career.
So that's my 4 step system for building your clientele using referrals. It's the same exact system I used to build a large clientele for myself and I'm confident it can do the same for you if you implement it.

With that said, this is just one of MANY strategies I offer my clients in the beauty industry for building a very successful career.

If you'd like to see if we might be a good fit to work together, please go ahead and click the button below to answer a few questions about where you're at in your career/with your salon, and book your free Clientele-Building Strategy Call.

On the call, we'll discuss your current situation and then I'll share what I believe you can do to take your career/salon to the next level.

Whether we work together or not, you'll have a step-by-step game plan for what to do next to grow your clientele and business.

I look forward to speaking with you!

About Author: Michele Trautner

Michele is a highly motivated, progressive and goal-oriented professional with over 20 years of experience in the beauty industry. Experienced professional educator, trainer, and hair color expert with recruiting and management expertise. As a former successful business owner, she is creative, resourceful, flexible and able to adapt to changing priorities and needs of professionals and customers. She works with several distributors across southwestern United States in designing and implementing training curriculum to drive sales of education and revenue.  
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