Like any other beauty career, being an esthetician takes a lot of hard work and dedication. You often put in long, unpaid hours trying to build your clientele and keep loyal clients. Even if you work at a salon that provides space and tools to work, you still have to do your part to find those clients. You have to do something to make yourself stick out as an esthetician, so potential clients will choose you over someone else.
Today we’ll share three things that can help you be a successful esthetician, which can also help you build your brand and clientele.
Tip #1: Give a Professional Consultation
This may seem obvious, but when someone comes to you for your esthetic expertise, give them all the knowledge and information you can. You are the professional and you want them to know that and trust what you have to say. If they come in asking for any esthetic treatment, be sure to give them a professional consultation before starting.
Many esthetic treatments are not a one size fits all; treatments are individual and personal. For this reason, you’ll need to dig a little deeper to get to know each client and their skin. This will be easiest for you as you ask them questions to really get to know their skincare—questions about their lifestyle, water intake, their needs, wants, and any concerns they may have about their skin.
As you listen to your client and figure out what they need, you’ll be able to understand their challenges and be able to help them fix or manage them effectively. This will also make it easier for you to sell them retail, which leads to our next tip.
*You’ll want to take notes of your clients’ skincare needs, so you don’t have to ask them the same questions when they come in for future appointments. This will help you look more professional and give you more time at their next appointment.
Tip #2: Find Any Opportunity to Sell Retail
If you’re working at a salon or renting space, they will most likely make a push for you to sell retail to your clients. Some say that selling retail can be the best and easiest way to build a business and income. If you’re working independently, perhaps at an in-home salon, you can partner with skincare companies who will pay you a certain percentage of each sale you make of their product. For this reason, it’s important that you learn how to sell retail without coming off as pushy.
More often than not, clients will want to buy skincare products from you so they can maintain a high level of skincare. They’re looking to you as the professional for your advice and recommendations. Having an at-home skincare routine will help your clients get maximum results from working with you. If you can help them understand that, then the products will sell themselves.
Another way to bring attention to retail without sounding like a salesperson is to use products during their appointment and tell them what it’s called and the benefits that it provides. If they can see real value in a product that you’re using, chances are they will buy it. It’s also not a bad idea to have retail on an attractive display in the salon so they can see everything that is available to them. You should always be their go-to resource when it comes to questions about products, so you can answer their questions and help them with their skincare needs.
Tip #3: Stay Relevant Online
Because things are always changing, it’s important to remember that at times, your business strategies may need to change too. Ten or twenty years ago, estheticians may have mostly promoted their business by word of mouth marketing. Although that still may be an effective strategy today, you need to take into consideration all the new ways of promoting your business and staying relevant.
One of the first things you can do to be a successful esthetician is to have a professional website. This website can share the services you provide, where you work, your hours, pictures of your work, a section to schedule an appointment, and more. You can also have a section for online reviews where your clients can leave reviews about your business. Potential clients rely on online reviews to see which esthetician they would like to trust with their skincare.
Another key component to staying relevant online is having an active social media presence. There are several platforms that you can use to your advantage—Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are just a few. Use Facebook to create a business page so you can show your services, prices, hours, and location. If you don’t want to put in the time and effort in creating a website, having a Facebook page would be your best alternative option.
Consider using Instagram to post pictures of your work, do giveaways, and engage with clients. You’ll also want to make sure your Instagram account is a business account so you can see the analytics of your posts and the demographics of your followers. When using Instagram, make sure you post consistently. We recommend posting daily if you can. Whether you’re posting a Story, on your feed, or a Reel, there is always creative content you can post daily to remind your clients of your business and the treatments you offer. Take a look at this blog to read more esthetician Instagram tips.
Use TikTok to post videos of how treatments are done and what products you’re using. You can also post videos with skincare tips anyone can do. Explain the importance of taking care of your skin and how it can benefit your life. Since you’re a licensed esthetician, people will take your word for it. Post videos that have value so people will want to follow you and visit your page. You can also have links on your TikTok to your Instagram and other social platforms. Get more ideas for what to post on your TikTok.
Bonus Tip! Purchase Esthetician Insurance
As a bonus tip, we recommend purchasing esthetician insurance. As a trained professional, you never plan on accidents happening, but they do. Esthetician insurance can help you work with peace of mind, knowing you’re covered for when those accidents occur. Beauty and Bodywork Insurance provides insurance for tens of thousands of beauty professionals—estheticians included. At the affordable price of $9.99 a month or 96 per year, you receive the coverage and financial safety net you need. Contact our licensed insurance agents with any questions you may have.
Take a look at this blog to see the esthetic treatments covered by BBI.
Work Hard and See Results
As you implement the above tips into your esthetics career, you will see results. It takes a lot to build your esthetician career and be successful, but the results will be worth it. Set yourself apart from other estheticians by giving professional consultations to each client, take advantage of opportunities to sell retail, stay relevant and build an online presence, and purchase estheticians insurance. If you have any other advice, drop it below in the comments!
Related: 7 Success Tips from Experienced Beauty Professionals
