October - Stylist and Salon Newspapers

“ U s i n g m y
p r o d u c t s
r e q u i r e s a
P2h D .”
Reach the Recession-Proof Client
The Mane Objective
Marco Pelusi
Has your business been slower lately? Has
it been a quieter summer than usual? Does
it feel like everyone is complaining about the
economy, inside and outside of your salon?
Well, to some degree, I’m quite certain
we’ve all experienced some version of that
scenario not just in recent months, but also
throughout our careers and we all need to
find a way to adapt and succeed.
One way to start is to become a specialist.
Learn to accentuate your uniqueness, or
your specialty, as a hairdresser, every day. Ask
yourself, what do I offer? What services can I
perform that make me stand out distinctively
from every other hairdresser or hair salon in
my area? If you can’t answer these questions
definitively or easily right now, that’s OK,
but it’s time to take a good, hard look at your
work, and figure out the answers.
Begin with an honest list of your
strengths and weaknesses as a stylist. Don’t
worry about the weaknesses, though. Focus
on the strengths and focus on what makes
you exceptional. Once you discover your
individuality, tell everyone, starting with each
client in your chair. It doesn’t matter if it’s a
client with whom you’ve worked for twenty
years, or a new client—he or she may not
even realize you have a specialty.
A great example is that recently one of
my hairdressers had a male client that did not
realize she could color his hair—until she
told him that she specialized in color. Now,
she has a new color client.
The goal of identifying your specialty is
to leave your thumbprint, or your signature,
on your work. The idea is to give your clients
a service he or she cannot replicate anywhere
else, or at least, anywhere else within your
vicinity.
Once you’ve acknowledged your expertise,
it may take time to believe in yourself
as a specialist. For me, it’s always been about
color, after working with chemists and manufacturers
in their color labs for so many years.
For you, it may be that you outdo everyone
else in the area with wedding hair, which is a
very special skill.
So if it’s weddings or something else, tell
everyone about your unique service—advertise
it, market it, put it on your business cards,
and do as many of them as you possibly can,
over and over. This repetition of your newly
branded skill will only build your confidence
and a common belief in your community that
you are the best. That’s the goal.
And finally, the long-term objective is to
attract that particular client who will come to
you for the rest of your career, regardless of
what is happening in the economy, the country
or their personal life or finances, because
you are so good at what you do. Achieving
this goal will create the recession-proof client
who will always learn to make room for you
in their budget, even in tough times.
Make the transition from a Jack or Jane of
all trades, “master of none” as the saying goes,
to becoming a specialist and you will attract
lifelong clients.
Marco Pelusi is globally recognized as a haircolor trainer and platform artist.
Marco Pelusi Hair Studio, Inc. was named Best Hair Color in Los Angeles
2007 by KTTV Fox11’s “myfoxla Hot List” competition. Pelusi created
the Marco Collagen Color Guard HairCare System, the collagen system
developed for color and chemically treated hair. For more information, visit
www.marcopelusi.com.
Philip Pelusi products
available exclusively through
1-888.892.6382
10 | OCTOBER 2008 | OHIO STYLIST & SALON