Talk Skin Academy Podcast

Transforming Standard Facials into Unforgettable Experiences

• Katie Howell

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What if you could transform every standard beauty interaction into an emotionally enriching experience that clients rave about? Join me, Kate from TalkSkin Academy, as I share how to infuse your unique personality into your beauty business to make clients feel truly special and emotionally invested. This episode is packed with insights on creating memorable experiences from the very first online consultation to the personalized touch during treatments. Plus, I'll share my own journey as a facialist and business owner, including the thrilling news of my pregnancy, and reveal how to keep your passion alive while avoiding burnout by going beyond basic facial treatments.

Explore the keys to building trust and fostering emotional connections with your clients during consultations and treatments. We'll discuss the importance of genuinely listening and understanding clients' unique needs to ensure their comfort and satisfaction. Learn how tailoring treatments to individual anatomy and stress levels can lead to exceptional reviews and a loyal client base. Get a sneak peek into upcoming opportunities with the Talk Skin Method and discover actionable tips to enhance your beauty business journey. Join me for an enriching discussion that blends practical advice with heartfelt stories from my personal and professional life.

Speaker 1:

Hey everyone, it is Kate from the TalkSkin Academy. It has been a while and I can only sincerely apologise, but finally I am back and have some time now for the next couple of months to really focus on the podcasts, because I know I've had such amazing responses from it and I know that you find it really useful and helpful and enjoyable, even when you walk on your dogs, which is weird to me, thinking that you are listening to me like I listen to people on podcasts, but it is what it is. So we're going to kick off with a really good question. So, as you guys know, I do Q&As every single Tuesday live on Instagram at 7pm and I go and have five questions that are from you guys all my beauty therapists, facials out there asking different questions and supporting you on your business journey, and so we've not been able to answer every question. So, going forward, we will be doing a few podcasts where I answer those questions, and then we also have a few podcasts where I might be talking about things that I've gone through as a business owner and I have overcome them, or as a facialist, and we'll be talking about all different types of different things. So let's get started with the first question that one of my fellow followers asked me, which was about reviews, and the question was how do you get clients to leave such in-depth feedback, which is such a great question, and you know, from a review perspective, it's all good and well getting reviews, but if you can get them to leave really emotional and passionate reviews that are not just one or two sentences, that they feel like they've got to spend a whole hour writing out an essay of why, like the facial was so phenomenal phenomenal oh my god, I can't even speak today phenomenal. Guess what? I'm six months pregnant, guys. So if this, if miles doesn't edit this bit out, it's six month pregnancy, brain starting to kick in. Um.

Speaker 1:

But you know, you want those reviews to be the best they can possibly be, and the answer to this is by making sure that everything you do has an emotional experience attached to it, and this is part of what we call the talk skin method is all about. It's not just about the facial. Everything that they go through with you is an emotional experience, and I'm going to give you some examples of this throughout this podcast today to really start to get you thinking outside of the box, because, let's be honest, nobody ever really teaches you how. They teach you how to become a facialist. They don't teach you all the other little things that really make up the experience that your customers are going through with you, to allow them to feel so emotionally connected to you that they need to spend an hour writing a review that lasts for pages rather than two two-line sentences. So the first thing you've got to think about is the business. Is you, you are your business, and the only way that you two connect to each other is by basically making sure that your business sounds like you.

Speaker 1:

If you think about it, how many times do you get if you go and book for a treatment with someone else? Maybe you need that little bit of pampering, that TLC, or maybe you're checking out somebody you know to see what that fellow competition is like and you get the box standard. You've just booked the treatment, you're excited to have it, and you get the bog standard. Thank you for booking with me. I look forward to seeing you on the date and time that you've booked for. There's nothing about that. That's personal. There's nothing about that that goes yes, I am so excited to have that. And this is what we really talk about with the TalkSkin method, it's more than just the facial treatment.

Speaker 1:

If it was just left to that, no wonder why so many of us feel burnt out at the end of the day and we don't stay in this industry for very long, because otherwise it becomes relatively quite a boring experience for both you and your customers, because it's kind of a bit like swimming, I kind of say, being in this industry. If you don't really connect with your clients, you don't bring your own personality into your business. Even if you're not in your own business and you're a therapist working within an establishment, you know there's a spa or a clinic or a salon. If you don't bring you to the actual table, then it just becomes really boring and you get fed up pretty quickly, and so do the kind of clients. So you want to be making sure that everything that you do with your business is an emotional and experience. So let's think about things, how we can do that.

Speaker 1:

Online consultations right, online consultations that's one of the biggest things that they're going to be introduced to you first off, and what I mean by that is when you do an online consultation, how many of us go? Oh, for god's sake, we're gonna go do. I'm gonna do online consultation, you know, and nothing. It's almost generic. It's always on a scale of one to ten. How stressed are you? You are you. It makes you think, but you're like I don't know. Hey, like you're thinking I don't know, right, so you're thinking I don't know. Then it asks you I don't know medical issues, and it lists about 20 000 medical issues that know.

Speaker 1:

If you're a bit like me where you think you've got everything wrong with you anyway, it just brings up that negative emotion. Then you've got to think about then other things, such as you know skin care. You know what skin care do you use? All I think of is what is she going to try and sell me? What is missing in my routine that she's going to try and upsell when I get to her? So a part of the online consultation, nothing about it makes me feel happy. It doesn't make me go. Oh, that was quite enjoyable. That's the one thing that I really pride myself on with my online consultations. It makes people smile. People will say when they've done my consultation, that was probably the most enjoyable consultation I've ever filled out, because everything is how I would say it. I bespoke my consultations to make people feel as if they're actually talking to me, and this is the key.

Speaker 1:

Another aspect of the emotional experience with your clients is travelling. I Now, if you live, if you have a home, salon or home, you know shed, that's out the back. You've got to think about the customer's journey. Is it easy? Is it straightforward? Do you have a side gate? Do you have a front door? Is this being communicated to them and how are you using social media to allow them to come to you with ease so that they go? Do you know what it was so enjoyable getting to you?

Speaker 1:

Because you told me everything I needed to do to get to you without having to overthink or get stressed out or get you know, irate about the fact I can't park somewhere. I knew where to park. I knew I needed to download an app because that particular car parking you know space, you know needed you to download the pay as you go app. I don't know. You know needed you to download the pay as you go app. I don't know, maybe a car park around near you that's closest to your establishment only still accepts, you know, one pound coins, I don't know. But if this stuff is not thought of and your clients then turn up to that car park and have no pound coins, then guess what that adds to stress. And so everything that my clients would go through, everything my students go through, I have thought about in detail and I've also listened to the feedback when it hasn't actually been feedback to make sure that what they experience is the best possible experience they can and that all adds to the end result, that review.

Speaker 1:

So, like they say, they don't just say about how amazing the facial was, they said about how amazing the whole experience was, but also, if they arrive late, then guess what you're going to be irate about it. You might be annoyed about it because they arrived late. But whose fault was that? Was that your fault or that the fact that it was their fault? It will be your fault to a degree because if, say, for instance, know there's a road closure near your establishment and you're aware of that because you've had to go through that road closure to get to work in the first place, for instance, you could utilise social media to say, jump on a story. Or hey guys, fyi, anyone that's coming to see me today, road closure outside the salon. So you're going to have to. You know you'll be diverted, which will probably give you an extra 10 to 15 minutes of travel time. Please bear that in mind when you set out to come to me today, so you don't miss your appointment and I can give you the full time. That is why you will be the person they want to go to, because you're thinking about the little details and this all ends to the end review.

Speaker 1:

Then, when it comes to the experience on the bed, when I meet my clients, I meet them as if I've known them forever. You know, it's something that we really talk about during the academy. When you come to me as a student, we really go into detail about how to meet and greet your customers, because it's such a positive and such a powerful tool to have, especially if you've got new clients that are coming to you. So you want to think about how you meet and greet. Do you handshake, do you hug? Do you call them by their first name? Do you call them hun or darling? If you do, please stop Nobody. I tell you nobody likes to be called hun or darling.

Speaker 1:

I've asked so many clients over my 20 years experience and none of them say actually being called by that type of nickname is endearing, they actually say actually, it makes me just think that they don't know my name and I think it's quite rude. So, even if you do, you know so maybe if you've got a client that's been with you for many, many years and that's the case, then don't change. But, going forward, just think about how it can come across to your ideal client. You know, do they want to be called by Mrs Jones? Some people actually like to be called by their second name. Maybe it's a question for you to ask on your polls, on your social media. But you've got to think about your ideal client and don't compare yourself to everyone else, because no one else will have your ideal client. And this all adds to that end experience of whether they're going to give you a, you know, good review or a review that will take time and effort, because you have taken the time and effort to make that experience truly unique to individual clients. When it comes to the bed, when it comes to getting them on that, you know.

Speaker 1:

When it comes to actually the facial itself, you know that in-person consultation is crucial. That in-person consultation for me is all about building the relationship, it's getting to know my client. It's not about the sales process. The sales process has already kicked off. It kicked off the moment they bought the facial. When they've come into my establishment and they're sitting on my sofa, which is where I'm currently sitting, facing the door, facing me technically I'm facing miles at the moment because miles behind the camera I want them to feel so comfortable that they never want to leave.

Speaker 1:

I had a couple of students this morning saying that they feel really depressed because they they're having they're having academy blues. They want to to be here and not where they are. Like how lovely is that to hear you know you don't want to be just a facialist that they come for a facial treatment. You want to be an establishment, you want to be a business that people want to come because it's their place of refuge, because they enjoy just being in your presence, and they will pay whatever to do that. So my in-person consultation is about making sure that they are relaxed, that I find that as much about them as a person as possible. That might include me understanding why their stress levels are where they're at Now.

Speaker 1:

Bear in mind, when your client has written that consultation, unless it was done the night before, they might have done it a week before. Just bear in mind that everything they've written on there might have changed. So my one of my questions always is your stress level relatively quite high when you fill this out. Is that still the same? Because I, for me, when I'm doing my facials, I really focus on the stress levels of my client because that massively impacts their bodies and how their bodies function and how their bodies heal. So they are dealing with inflammatory skin disorders such as acne, which a lot of your clients are dealing with, or maybe maturing skin that's aging at the age of nox. Then it'll be down to a lot of stress levels and a lot of like a sleep, and I really want to understand that, because lifestyle affects the skin more than anything, more than the skincare they're currently using.

Speaker 1:

So think about it from your client's perspective. You don't want to be trying to sell to them during that consultation. You want to be getting to know them. You want to build trust. You want them to feel so comfortable with you that they tell you their deepest, darkest secrets or how they're truly feeling. We're dealing with a massive way at the moment, with massive pandemic where people are lonely. Even people who live in a household full of people are lonely because of their bloody phones, because everyone is always in the cyber world, no one's ever in the physical world, and the majority of your clients are women, probably, maybe they are men, but even men are, again you know, lonely. So think about it as a chat, not an actual I have to do this to tick box scenario.

Speaker 1:

My consultations are really intimate and they allow the client to actually be listened to, and I'll ask questions every now and again, but generally I'm there to listen and to understand why they've come to me. When it comes then to getting them on the bed, getting them relaxed, I feel like I really understand them. If you're going through the phases of getting them on the bed but you still don't really know what their expectations are, it's because you haven't found them out in that consultation. And that will be both online and the physical consultation in person. The online is all about adapting, getting the treatment ready, making sure there's no health issues, making sure there's no kind of issues that you need to be aware of before they come, so that you're not wasting time.

Speaker 1:

When they're here, they say FYI, I'm allergic to X, y, z, and then you've got to go and find out if your products have that. You want that information before they come to you so you can have that information at hand to say, fyi, my product has this in it, so we can't use that particular product. I just want you to be aware of that. But at least you've done that before and you've done your due diligence, you've done the, you've done all of that prior to them coming, so you're not wasting their time and you're not wasting your time before getting them on the bed. So all these little details, they're all adding up to that customer's experience.

Speaker 1:

And, like I said, then, when you're there on the bed and you're really, truly, you know, bespoking that experience. And bespoking, guys, is not by changing your cleanser from a foaming to a milk or a milk to an oil. The true bespoke experience is by actually bespoking it to the client's anatomy, their stress levels, the reason why they've come to you, like you know, everything that you've talked through in that consultation. That's what makes the experience truly bespoke and makes them feel truly cared for. And this is the key it's feeling cared for. Because people don't feel cared for, like I said, people just feel like people don't care anymore Because of you know, the World Wide Web and because of social media, we're more social with people we don't know than the people that we apparently love and care for, because we want to grow our following, we want to grow our business, forgetting all about the people that are there supporting you day to day.

Speaker 1:

And then, when you get them off the bed and you bring them back ground and you sit them back where they came, you know, when. You know, I always get my clients to sit back on the sofa so they can truly feel the difference that I've impacted on them through physical and internal changes. They they turn around and go, holy cow, like everything just was, is just insane, like I don't know. I've never experienced a facial like it, because it wasn't just about the facial, it wasn't just about the physical, the physical part of it. It was about everything leading up to it. It's the way that I greeted them, it's the way that I called them by the nickname that people like to be called. It was the way that I introduced them to the space, the way that I got them to sit down, the way I listened to them.

Speaker 1:

This is what you've got to think about and it doesn't take time out of the experience and it doesn't take time out of the experience. It just gives you more time to showcase how truly amazing you are and how truly amazing you are as a business, and you're not just about the facial, you're about looking after their internal systems as well as the external. So for me, this is how you start to get those phenomenal reviews that you know your client will spend 15, 20 minutes doing, because they truly felt cared for at the end of it, and it wasn't just another facial, it was an experience like no other. So hopefully, as the first podcast back in a few months a bit more than a few that has helped you to start thinking differently already about how you emotionally target your clients and how you can make sure your business is working for you to allow those emotional connections to happen.

Speaker 1:

Stay tuned as I start to talk more about this and if you don't, if you want to, then stop working with me. You know what to do. Get in touch Book on a discovery call. The 2025 dates for the Talk Skin Method have already launched. We've got a few more spaces left and I would love to meet you, greet you, see you and walk you through the experience that my customers go through by having it done to you as a student. So, guys, hope you enjoyed. Give me a thumbs up, give me a bit of a like and a review. It's always good for these to happen. I'll see you on the next episode. Bye.