Jack Howard strikes again with wise words and creative inspo! As a 3x Colour World Genius Award winner, Jack always comes with simple but effective methods for mastering your colour work. This time he’s here to target the language you use with your colour clients. Your wording is vital to building trust and loyalty. Using the right words can make or break their view of you, your skills and can even determine whether they like what you create.
Let’s find out more…
- Don’t get technical
Don’t fall into the trap of using technical language when talking to clients about colour. You need to use language that the person in front of you understands. They won’t know a level two from a level seven, or an ash/gold from an ash. They will relate to the language of make-up, fabrics and food. Try to incorporate these elements into your colour consultation.
- Avoid the word ‘dark’ when talking about blondes
Blonde clients are fiercely protective of their colour. One thing I find scares them is using the word dark or talking about adding dark pieces to their hair. In their heads, dark pieces mean stripey hair and that’s something they want to avoid at all costs. I always say I will add some darker blonde pieces, which technically means a level seven. Just keep using the word ‘blonde’ whenever you talk about the tones you are going to add. This will lead to a much calmer and more flexible client.
- Don’t discriminate based on age
Obviously, it’s important to treat every client as an individual. Don’t make the mistake of assuming older clients don’t want to hear the same key buzzwords as clients in their 20s and 30s. Whatever the age of the client, I think we should keep the language we use relevant, modern and fresh. It’s interesting to see how older clients react when you reference modern trends or influences. Older clients still want to be seen and they still want to be relevant. The language should always be open and inclusive. It shouldn’t be referenced around youth; it should be referenced around hair colour.
- Don’t use the B-word
I steer away from using the word bleach. Even though we know it’s bleach, don’t call it bleach to a client. Bleach sounds harsh and aggressive. Use words like lightening rather than bleaching. If a client says they don’t want bleach, do a deep dive and find out why.
- Don’t do all the talking
The most important part of a colour consultation is getting the client to talk about their hair and hair colour. Give them some key phrases such as
‘how do you feel about your hair colour?’
‘What do you like about your hair colour?’
‘When did your colour look its best?
’What don’t you like?’
Once you’ve listened, then you can offer your expert opinion and guidance. Plus, sit on a stool facing them and keep their chair higher than yours instead of standing behind them. It’s a subtle power shift that allows them to feel safer.
These are some really interesting ways of changing your wording to suit your clients, we hope this helps you in the salon! Thanks to Jack Howard – seriously worth taking advice from we say.
For more information visit www.lorealaccess.com
Listen to Jack Howard discuss all things colour, here.
Looking for some more colour inspiration? Here you go: INSPIRATION
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