Hello again!

We’re back with the third piece of our “Busy with Booking” series and this week we’re going to talk all things pre-booking, because what better way to secure clients than to book out a few appointments?

If you missed it, we spent the last two weeks covering booking opportunities, specifically including booking in your stylist’s bios, and follow-up emails for converting leads. These two measures are great for getting new clients to book with you, but what about keeping the clients you’ve already got coming to your salon?

Tip #3: Promote Pre-Booking

That’s where pre-booking comes in! Of course, we always want to be recruiting new clients, but this relationship continues to grow far beyond their first visit, so let’s dive into how you can retain those clients by promoting pre-booking.

Pre-booking is great for business, and what better time to get a client on the schedule than when you already have them in the salon?

Of course, many of you are probably familiar with the ever-so-nonchalant client who would prefer to call or book online. Maybe they don’t know their schedule that far out, maybe they’re simply in a hurry and don’t feel like flipping through their calendar to choose an available date.

While some clients might be adamant towards pre-booking, I would argue that it’s easy to sell any and every client on the idea with the right verbiage. If you want your clients to get on board with pre-booking, you have to make it all about them.

And honestly, it is about them. I mean, how many of those casual-bookers prefer those evening or weekend appointments? Prompt them to pre-book by saying something along these lines:

Hey Janelle, it doesn’t look like we have anything else on the books. I know you like these weekend appointments and with bridal season approaching our Saturdays are going fast, let’s set you up with another one right away so we can secure your spot!”

OR

“Thanks Tim! Listen, I know you prefer to come in after work. My evenings have been booking up quickly, so why don’t we get one or two appointments on the books in order to maintain our schedule.”

Pre-booking doesn’t have to feel like a pre-mature decision. If you can shift your verbiage to be client-focused, you’ll be filling your books in no time.

We’re big on booking and retaining clients here at Meet Your Stylist, which is why we created this amazing marketing tool, and more importantly, why we decided to share it with all of you!

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P.S. We’re going to be at the Data-Driven Salon Summit this weekend and we’d love to meet you! If you’d like to learn more about Meet Your Stylist or try out the client experience, we encourage you to stop by our table in the expo hall. We can’t wait!