Why You’re Doing Everything to Get Clients… But It’s Still Not Working

This episode is sponsored by GlossGenius.

The more successful your business becomes, the more time it can take to run it. GlossGenius helps beauty professionals simplify booking, payments, client communication, marketing, and more—all in one place—so you can spend less time managing your business and more time serving clients.

✨ Use code KARIJO to get 50% off your first two months of a Premium GlossGenius plan: http://glossgenius.com/

Why are you not getting esthetician clients even though you’re posting on Instagram, running specials, and doing everything you’re supposed to do?

In this episode of The Esthetician Podcast, Kari Jo Patterson explains why the problem probably isn’t your marketing—it’s your message. If your social media talks about facials, waxing, acne, lashes, brows, anti-aging, retail, memberships, and everything else, potential clients may not know what to remember about you.

You’ll learn why becoming known for one thing helps you attract more clients, how to choose what you want your esthetician business to be known for, and why clarity is often more important than posting more content.

If you’ve ever thought, “I’m doing everything and I’m still not getting clients,” this episode is for you.

GlossGenius
All-in-one scheduling, payments, forms & client management for estheticians.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

If you’re booked but not making money, you need to start with your numbers.
Download my FREE  “Diagnose Your Business” tracker in the show notes and I’ll show you exactly what to track.

Are You Ready to fix this in your business?

Apply for a free Business Breakthrough Audit:

https://forms.gle/Jkr27yUb6n6PYcba7

Transcript

Welcome And The Real Problem

Kari Jo 0:07

Welcome to the Esthetician Podcast, the podcast for estheticians who are tired of working nonstop, feeling stuck in their business. Hey, I'm Kari Jo and I'm an esthetician of 20 years. I built and I sold my aesthetics company after learning the business side that nobody ever teaches us. And each week we are gonna figure out what is actually happening in your business and what to fix first and how to build a business that actually is gonna give you more freedom, more profit, and most importantly, more peace. So let's get into today's episode. Okay,

Doing Too Much Creates Confusion

Kari Jo 0:48

so I have to tell you something. I think that one of the biggest mistakes that I see esthetician making has absolutely nothing to do with Instagram or Facebook, TikTok, website, your prices. Honestly, it doesn't even have anything to do with your marketing. I actually think that the problem starts before any of that. And here's the thing: if you ever caught yourself thinking, I don't understand why I'm actually not getting clients. I'm running specials, I've boosted my post, I've done all the giveaways, I bought the certification, I bought the new tool, but then you're sitting there and you're still wondering why your schedule isn't filling. I want you to know, I don't think it's because you're not doing anything. I think it's because you're doing way too much. And listen, this happens all the time when you turn on your Instagram, right? Or Facebook, whatever it is, you turn it on, and then you have somebody who's telling you you need to post before and afters. So then you automatically you go and do that, right? And then you go to the next one. And someone's like, no, no, no, no, no, no. You got to show your personality. And so now you're posting about your dog because you like love your dog, right? And then someone says, wait, whoa, wait, you need educational content. So now you start teaching about the ingredients that are in all of your products. And then someone says, Wait, you need to add trending audios. And then someone says, you need to sell more retail. And then someone says you need memberships, gift cards, Black Friday, Christmas, acne, anti-aging, lashes, waxing, chemical pills, microneedling, derminal plating. You get what I'm saying. So what happens is before long, your social media starts looking like someone dumped your entire treatment menu into Instagram. And then you're sitting there wondering, you're like, why is this not working? And I want to tell you guys today on this episode, I want to tell you why I think it's actually not working. I don't think it's because people don't want what you actually do. I think it's just that they don't know what to remember about you. That is two totally different problems.

Why A Team Needs One Thing

Kari Jo 3:25

So I actually learned this lesson the hard way. Now, when I own my medical spa, right? Before I sold it and everything like that, we did everything, right? I did facials, chemical pills, waxing, hydrofacials. I did hair extensions, I did Botox, I did fillers, we had lasers. We did a lot of different services. So hear me when I say this. I am not telling you that you have to stop doing a bunch of services because it's not true. You can do absolutely everything, but your marketing cannot say everything. And here is why. One thing that I did that worked really well was every single one of the employees that I hired, I had them be known for something. Like when you came on, I like I kind of I don't know, my receptionist, Courtney. I once did this interview with her, but it's on a really earlier episode. But like she once told me that the one thing that I'm really gifted about is like I can see like the talent in people before they even see it in themselves. And I do have that gift. And so, like, one of the things when I'd hire people on, I would ultimately look and try to find what is the thing that they're really good for. And then every single employee had that one thing. So, like, for example, I had this one girl who became known for microblading, and that was her thing. So, if you went to her social media page, it was only microblading, right? And then I had this other girl, well, actually, all my girls, like when I hired somebody on, I always started with lashes. And the reason why I always started with lashes, like they had to learn lashes first, no matter if you wanted to do it or not, is because lashes, you can build a schedule really, really quick with lashes because they have to come back every two weeks. And that buys you time financially. So you're making money, maybe not the money that you want, or maybe you are with lashes, I don't know, but it buys you time to build whatever service it is or whatever it is that you want to be known for, whether it's massage, whatever, it buys your time. So I had this one girl and she started with lashes and she would post only lashes. Her read was only lashes. Then later, when she built her schedule and she was full, we switched her to hair extensions. Did you catch that? We switched. Your niche is not a tattoo, it is not forever. You can change it as much as you want. My girls could change it whenever they wanted as well. But at any given moment, people need to know what to remember you for because people don't remember 10 things, they only remember one. But if I'm being totally honest with you, when I did this, I don't even think I fully understood how important it was. I I don't even know what made me do it. I don't even, I just that's just the way I built my company, right? And I didn't realize until I started coaching.

My Coaching Business Got Messy Too

Kari Jo 6:52

And this is actually kind of embarrassing to admit, but I'm just gonna lay it like guys, we're honest. I'm honest with you because my goal is I want to teach you everything that I learned in business that everybody else gatekeeps. Like, I don't want to be a gatekeeper, I'm just gonna lay it flat. So this is actually kind of embarrassing. But I made the exact mistake today in my coaching business as I see estheticians making. See, when I first started coaching, my friend told me, Hey, you should like sell digital courses. And I thought, oh my gosh, that's a great idea. So I had this when I first started, I had this idea that I was gonna make a bunch of courses on all of the different systems that I had in my business, right? Every receptionist, growing your clientele, hiring, pricing, compensation. If you go look, I kind of taken some of them down, but if you've been with me for a long time, you'll see that I had like hundreds of courses, right? And my thought was I'm just gonna build this giant library of all these different systems, and then aestheticians can come and buy whatever they need next. They can just look and be like, oh, that's what I need, and then they can buy that. Sounds smart, right? But it wasn't. It was actually really stupid because what happened is I had a market it all. So one day I'd be talking about hiring, the next day I'm talking about pricing, the next day I'm talking about virtual receptionists, marketing, leaderships, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then my mastermind, and honestly, I was creating so much confusion. Not because any of those things were bad, but nobody knew what I wanted to be known for. And here's the part that actually hit me is I wasn't just confusing my audience. I was actually confusing my team. See, I have this personal assistant, Brandy, right? You guys have heard me talk about Brandy before. And honestly, I feel really bad looking back at it. But every time I would decide, oh, I think we're going in this direction, I would change everything a few weeks later. And then I'd be like, nope, we're going this direction. And then I'd change it again. And after a while, it was complete whiplash. She never knew what we were building. And honestly, I had no idea what I was building either. And I think that's actually where so many aestheticians are. They're changing directions every few weeks, changing what they're talking about, changing what they want to be known for, their specials, their offers, content. And every single time that you do that, you're making your audience start over again. So

Fix The Message Before Content

Kari Jo 9:45

I want to coach you for just a minute. I'm gonna coach you like you're sitting in my chair. Well, not my chair. We actually like we're video conferencing together on Google Meet, okay? If I landed on your Instagram today, what would you think that I think you want to be known for? Not that you do everything, just the one thing. Because here's the truth: your business can do everything, but your marketing cannot say everything. And if people have to work really hard to figure out why they should book with you, then they're probably not going to. And it's not because you're not talented or you don't know what you're doing, it's not because you're not educated, it's not because your facials aren't good and somebody else is doing them better. It's just they're confused. And confused people never book, they just keep on scrolling. So if you're sitting here and you're thinking, like, okay, Carrie, I completely get it. My message is confusing, but now what? Here is exactly what I want you to do. I don't want you to go and redesign your website. I don't want you to go rewrite your bio. And I don't want you to make 50 new reels. Not yet. Because if we do all of that before we figure out what you actually want to be known for, you're just creating so much more work for yourself. I've already done that, guys. Learn from my mistakes, please. So let's not do that. Let's back up for a minute, and we are going to fix your message. We have to decide what your message actually is. So imagine I walk into your treatment room right now, and I sit down and I ask you, so what do you do? And then you're like, Well, I do facials and I do waxing and I do chemical pills and I do lashes. Can I tell you what my brain just did? Nothing. I forgot almost every single thing that you just listed. Not because it wasn't good, because it was way too much. Guys, I see this all the time. When I'm on a coaching call with people, I'm like, so, you know, somehow we every coaching call that always goes back to the menu at some point, somehow. And like on that coaching call, aestheticians start telling me all the different things, and like it's like brain overload for me, and they think I'm following, and I'm like, that was way too much. I don't even know what the heck she does. Right. The truth is, is our brains are lazy. We are always looking for the shortcut. Have you ever read The Habit? If you haven't, you should read it. It talks about this. Our brain is always looking for the shortcut, and we want just one thing to grab on to. That's it, not 10. So I want you to think right now, if I say to you, tell me the go-to girl in your town for brows. You know exactly who I'm talking about. Or maybe there's this girl in your town and she's known for lashes. Or there's this girl who you go to if you want blonde hair. Guys, you don't have to think very hard. You know in your town who is who. You already know who they are. Why? Because they own one thing in your mind, and that's what I want for you.

One Clear Reason To Remember You

Kari Jo 13:34

Now, this doesn't mean that you have to stop offering everything. Because I want to make sure you hear me because I know someone is listening and they're like, so I have to quit doing waxing or facials. No, I'm not saying that. Your business can do everything, but your marketing needs to give people one reason to remember you by. So let's say you love working with acne. Does that mean that every facial you have to do has to do with acne? No. It means when someone thinks I need help with my acne, your name is the one that pops up into their head. Think about everyone that you follow on Instagram, like other estheticians, for example. If you're thinking of an esthetician who's like, for example, I think of waxing, I think of Stephanie Lane's. She teaches like the seven-minute presid. Now she's switched since then. But when I started, that's what she was known for. Now she does like a bunch of coaching and business stuff. But to me, when I think of if I want a waxing expert, that's who I go to. Do you know what I mean? So that is it. Or, like, for example, maybe you are incredible at helping women who are in their 40s and they started noticing changes in their skin. Well, talk to her. Don't talk to anybody else. I was on this coaching call and I was talking to this girl, and what she loves, and I didn't even, you guys, I've been an esthetician for 20 years. I knew this, but I didn't actually really realize this. But after you're like 50 and you have white pale skin, you start your skin starts growing like a bunch of random things. Like we get the little cherry angenomas, we get the skin tags and stuff like that. That's what she loves helping with the white, thin skin. And they always end up having these extra growths. What a niche. Like, and when she said that, I was like, and it's funny because that is me. I am her ideal clientele. And I was like, dude, I need to find someone like that here. But there is no one like that in my town because everyone esthetician in my town is all marketing the same thing. I think this is where aestheticians get it backwards. We think that you have to talk to everybody, that you're gonna get more clients, but that's the opposite always happens with that. When you talk to everybody, nobody feels like you're talking to them. So

Homework Pick What You’re Known For

Kari Jo 16:04

here's your homework. I want you to answer one question. I don't want you to overthink it. Are you ready? What do you want to be known for? Not what service makes the most money, not what machine you bought, not what someone's Instagram told you to post, but what do you want people to remember about you? Because once you answer that, everything is gonna get so much easier. Content, website, captions, people will refer to you when they can remember. And people remember whatever is clear. Now, really quick, I know someone's listening to this and they're thinking, Carrie, what if I picked the wrong thing? And I love that question because I used to think the same thing. Remember what I told you earlier? My employees, they changed. I started them with something, it allowed time for them to grow, and then they would switch. They grew, they became known for something else. You are allowed to change, and you are allowed to grow, and you are allowed to pivot. So all you need to do is decide right now what do people, what do you want people to remember about you right now? Just make that decision because making no decision because you're afraid to make the wrong one is even worse. Guys, once I stopped trying to be known for digital courses, and like I tried the digital courses, the mastermind coaching, all of these different things, and then I just got really, really honest with myself, and I realized that there was one thing I couldn't stop talking about. There's one thing that like I didn't actually like building the digital courses, but there's one thing that I love showing up for every single day, and it's my podcast. I love my podcast. I could do this podcast for the rest of my life. I love teaching, I love sharing what I learned because when I sold my business, I was like not so sad that I sold it. I sold it and I was sad because I was like, I learned all that for what? Like, this is my purpose. I love helping estheticians skip all the mistakes that I learned. And once I got really clear on that, my marketing got so much easier, guys. Not because I became smarter, but because I knew. And then I started getting sponsorships and everything else. So if you're sitting here and you're thinking, I need more clients, maybe, maybe you do. But before you go looking for more clients, make sure that the clients who are already finding you know exactly why they should be choosing you. Because sometimes your next breakthrough in business isn't actually more marketing, it's just being really clear. Thank

Reviews Plus Free Tracker Download

Kari Jo 19:16

you so much for hanging out with me. I hope that this episode gave you something to think about. And honestly, I hope it gave you something to do. Because that's always my goal. Not just to inspire you, but to help you leave with one action that actually is going to move your business forward. And if this made you think, can I ask you a favor? Would you please go like and review this podcast? Maybe even subscribe if you love it. Because that's how you help me grow my community. I'll see you next week. Bye. If today's episode hit home for you, the next thing I want you to do is go and download my free esthetician weekly number tracker. Most estheticians are trying to fix everything all at once. When really, it's usually one number that is quietly breaking the business. This tracker, it helps you figure out what number is actually hurting your business first. So when you know what to focus on, instead of feeling like you're all over the place, you can start changing your company. You can download it at Karijopatterson.com forward slash start. And remember, you don't need to fix everything at once.