The Mythical Client Bus

Wooo HOOO!  I'm done with beauty school, I've passed my board exam and I'm starting my first shift in the salon!!  It's so exciting!  My first paycheck is going to be HUGE!  I'll just get my station all set up before the salon opens so I'll be ready!  Ok, bring them on.... well I guess I'll just tidy the retail area while I'm waiting for clients to show up.  Maybe I'll just straighten the reception area.  UUGH!  Come on people come in already!!  Phone, please start ringing NOW!!!

If this is how you felt on your first day, you are not alone.  Many new stylists experience the same thing.   Finding and building a client base is part of your job.  It's often a requirement in chain salons.  So, how exactly do I make it happen?  The best way is often the easiest way as well.  Start out with a blank sheet of paper, divide the sheet into at least six boxes.  Inside each box number from 1-5 (you can always add more later) Lable each box with a category- friends, co workers, groups or clubs, neighbors, teachers, classmates (they should all be living) are places you can start. This is where it gets a little harder, you will need to find an address, either regular mail or email for these people.  Now that you have you list, design a post card or email that you can send to them with some kind of an offer or incentive to get them interested in coming to you.  Typically if you send out 35 emails or cards about 17 of them will either come to you for that service or give the discount to some one else.  That means you now have 17 more clients than you had when you started!!!

This brings us to the next big "secret"... what each one of those 17 clients will tell at least 3 of their friends about you, leading to potentially 3 new clients.  If you do an amazing job for those 3 new clients, they will each tell 3 more people.  Those 17 people that you sent your emails or postcards to have the potential over a year of bringing you over 2,000 new clients.

Is that all you have to do to get the client bus to show up?  Well, no.... you still have to search out and "keep selling tickets" to the client bus.  Just because you send out cards doesn't automatically mean that you will suddenly be booked.  That's where your consultation and communication skills come in. You need to keep the clients you have worked to get happy and make sure they are letting others know about you.  If they don't know that you still need clients, they won't help you get new people on your client bus.  

The mythical client bus doesn't show up just because you got your license and started in a salon, but it CAN show up if you start getting your tickets out there.  Send out post cards and emails, leave your business card when you leave a tip, maybe start a referral program as an incentive to get your steady clients to help you fill your bus even more.  The clent bus can be a myth, but with work and a little creativity you can find your very own client bus!!