As a lash artist, I would imagine one of your goals is to be fully booked. That means that you have a consistent schedule full of full-price paying touch up (or fill) clients. They come in consistently and reliably for their maintenance appointments and you can anticipate their appointments in advance to know you have money coming in every day, week, and month. The further client’s book their appointments in advance, the more security you have. The more demand there is for your services being booked out several weeks in advance, no accepting any new clients, or having a wait list means the more control you have over your business AND a higher price point you can charge.
So, one may ask, how do I reach Lash Artist Nirvana?
EDUCATION
Educating your clients on the maintenance aspect of eyelash extensions from their very first appointment with you is Step 1 to training your clients on the proper schedule to maintain their lashes. If you have not laid the foundation and the importance of ongoing upkeep of their lashes, you risk giving them an out. People get busy and forget to schedule or they see that lashes don’t last forever after about 3 weeks and thus they stop being able to justify the ongoing maintenance once they’ve left your shop.
The best time to capitalize on a client to pre-book their appointment is immediately after your first reveal of their new lashes. They’re riding the lash high and feeling like a million bucks! Now is the prime opportunity to get them to continue to feel that way by booking out their next appointment.
HABIT
YOU, as the lash artist, must make it a habit as part of your check out process to schedule their next appointment. Why any lash business owner would be “uncomfortable” offering to pre-book a client’s next appointment is beyond me. It is in the client’s best interest to pre-book and you assuming you are somehow being too aggressive or presumptuous that they would want to pre-book with you may mean you do not see yourself as the owner of a business, or you are self-sabotaging your business because you fear success. I don’t know. What’s the worst thing that can happen… they say “no thank you” *gasp* THE HORROR!
Pre-booking is the ONLY way to become a successful, fully-booked lash artist and the sooner pre-booking your clients becomes a habit in your check out routine, the sooner you can reach that fully-booked, not accepting new clients, raising your prices, in high demand status.
Example: Have you ever found a service provider you loved and were never given the opportunity to pre-book before you left their business? I have and it STILL happens to this day. My nail lady is a prime example. I finally found a nail lady I love and who does excellent work. I have been going to her for 3 months and given how busy my schedule is and that I prefer morning appointments, I WANT to book out…maybe even multiple appointments in advance. The last time I went in, she was rushed and was busy checking me out, answering the phone and directing her staff around. She never offered to schedule my next appointment and I stayed around for an extra 5 minutes at the front desk after I had checked out to try to schedule my next appointment. She never acknowledged me or asked if there was something I was waiting on. Here I sit in need of a fill now, knowing her mornings are probably already booked this week, and I am researching other nail salons to see if there’s someone else I can book with that may be a little more convenient or less chaotic. This amazing nail tech may have very well lost my consistent, well paying, high tipping business simply because she did not ask if I wanted to pre-book.
REWARDING BAD BEHAVIOR
I am not a huge fan of equating adult clients to children, but I am going to in this scenario. If you reward your clients for bad behavior, they have no reason to change that behavior, even when it’s met with frustration and disdain on your end. This means that if a client doesn’t pre-book their appointment and contacts you last minute for an “eye-mergency” appointment because THEY did not pre-book, and YOU reward that behavior by “squeezing them in” or staying late to accommodate them, you have given them permission and a reason NOT to pre-book with you and put your personal and professional schedule into a tailspin trying to get in this loyal and consistent client.
LASHPRENEUR LIGHTBULB
Your client’s last-minute eye-mergencies are a direct cause and effect relationship for not pre-booking their appointment. The “punishment” to not pre-booking their appointment is already built into the services we offer. Don’t reward that behavior by bending over backwards every time to accommodate their choice to not pre-book. Otherwise, why would they ever want to pre-book?
INCENTIVIZE
Ok, so how does one get a client to pre-book, even when your schedule is not busy and you have the “luxury” of being able to fit client’s in last minute? You have got to give them a reason to. If you are still in the building phase of your clientele, it may not be a top priority to your clients to book in advanced since they may only need a day or two to get in with you. BUT, the sooner you can create pre-booking as a habit for everyone, the sooner you can reach lash artist “sweet potato pie”. This is where incentivizing clients to pre-book their next appointment or two so you have consistent income you can start to rely on comes into play.
• Offer a pre-booking discount. By informing your clients that they can save $5 or 10% off their next appointment by booking in advance, it may be enough of a nudge to get them to schedule out. Side Note: You may need to state that the discount is only good if they actually keep their pre-booked appointment and not switch it. We’re trying to get them to stay consistent and reliable, not to just schedule and then change it 12 different times between now and then. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
• Enter them into a raffle. For every client that pre-books their appointment, they will be entered into a monthly raffle for a prize. It could be a Starbucks gift card or a dollar amount off a service. Something small, but enough of a “perk” to schedule in advance.
• Add on or upgraded service. You might offer a free lip mask with their next appointment or a free upgrade to the next level of services (instead of classic they can get a volume touch up at the classic price). Anything that has a lot of perceived value but your cost is relatively low to nothing.
As I hope you can see, everyone wins when clients and artists work together to ensure the ongoing maintenance part of eyelash extensions happens seamlessly. Do you struggle with pre-booking appointments? Is it because you are too busy or not busy enough? What would having the majority (if not all) of your clients pre-booking their appointments do for your lash business? Share with me by leaving a comment or emailing me at hi@thelashpreneur.com
Have a Good One,
Tara Walsh, The Lashpreneur
Turn That Frown Upside Down!
This Checklist Will Help to Ensure You Are Setting Your Lash Business Up For Success With EVERY. SINGLE. CLIENT.
Subscribe to The Lashpreneur newsletter to receive regular updates and tips about starting, building & growing your lash biz and get instant access to your Client Experience Checklist!
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Turn That Frown Upside Down!
This Checklist Will Help to Ensure You Are Setting Your Lash Business Up For Success With EVERY. SINGLE. CLIENT.
Subscribe to The Lashpreneur newsletter to receive regular updates and tips about starting, building & growing your lash biz and get instant access to your Client Experience Checklist!
We take your privacy seriously. No spam ever. See our privacy policy for how we use your info.
