Before you make any plans around what I’m suggesting, you need to be prepared with a few essentials to start out with. First and most important: have your business cards printed and ready to hand out. They literally are your calling cards—a small item that gives your clients (or potential clients) access to you and your business. Don’t go into a situation where you are putting on your aesthetician’s hat without them.
In the second half of A few new aestheticians looking for help (see link below), I made the following suggestion (among others) for a new-to-business aesthetician:
Have a wine and cheese and skin care talk at your house or someone else’s house. (You could give the hostess a facial or two to thank her for the use of her home.) Rather than just a talk, have a Gommage Party. Be sure you have product on hand to use. Samples, too. (See detailed instructions below.)
Talk to the attendees about how and why you started your business. Including your love for skin care and your interest in helping people with their skin. Personalizing your business will certainly be a plus. Give away samples and brochures of the product line you are using along with your business card—always a must! In this casual and fun setting, you can really do a lot to stir up interest in you and your business.
Be prepared for questions. In every talk I’ve ever given, whether with a large audience or in a home setting, a Q & A session naturally took place. After you’ve given the 411 on you and your business, open it up to questions. You may not know the answers to every question asked, but be personable and come from your heart and your humanness will shine through.
Have preprinted cards for gathering personal information on each guest at the ready during your event. (Vistaprint.com is great for things like this—or you could go to Kinkos and have something printed there.) You could have blank paper and simply direct each attendee as to what you want them to fill out, but personally I don’t like leaving anything up to the client. I would have something printed or pre-prepared by hand if you prefer. Here are the questions I would ask:
Let your attendees know that you will be sending out discount cards in appreciation for their attendance at your gathering. This way, by filling out the card, they will get something in return—a discount for a facial with you mailed to their home. I prefer mailing out later vs. handing out the discount card then and there. When they see the card after a few days, they will once again be reminded of the party (and you) when they receive their discount card in the mail. (Be sure to be timely and mail out the discount cards the next day or within in few days. Don’t let too much time go by.)
Once the party is over and you are back in your office, I would take each information card and write out an actual client chart for each person. You now have their vitals: name, phone number, and email address. Hopefully you gave them some samples; they may have even purchased or prepurchased products from you that need to be noted on their chart. On the back of the chart you can write the date of the party, what the party was, and any other pertinent information.
Another option, and a better one if available, is to have this event in your new office space. Perhaps this is not possible, but having a party in your new office is a great idea. It helps christen it, gets people in the door, and let's your prospective clients know exactly where you are located. Assuming you did a good job with installation and decorating, this first view of your office can be a wonderful reflection on you and can nudge people further to commit to making an appointment with you.
For more information, see:
In the second half of A few new aestheticians looking for help (see link below), I made the following suggestion (among others) for a new-to-business aesthetician:
- Conduct some free seminars locally and ... hand out a coupon to the seminar attendees for a discount on their first facial with you
Have a wine and cheese and skin care talk at your house or someone else’s house. (You could give the hostess a facial or two to thank her for the use of her home.) Rather than just a talk, have a Gommage Party. Be sure you have product on hand to use. Samples, too. (See detailed instructions below.)Talk to the attendees about how and why you started your business. Including your love for skin care and your interest in helping people with their skin. Personalizing your business will certainly be a plus. Give away samples and brochures of the product line you are using along with your business card—always a must! In this casual and fun setting, you can really do a lot to stir up interest in you and your business.
Be prepared for questions. In every talk I’ve ever given, whether with a large audience or in a home setting, a Q & A session naturally took place. After you’ve given the 411 on you and your business, open it up to questions. You may not know the answers to every question asked, but be personable and come from your heart and your humanness will shine through.
Have preprinted cards for gathering personal information on each guest at the ready during your event. (Vistaprint.com is great for things like this—or you could go to Kinkos and have something printed there.) You could have blank paper and simply direct each attendee as to what you want them to fill out, but personally I don’t like leaving anything up to the client. I would have something printed or pre-prepared by hand if you prefer. Here are the questions I would ask:
- First and last name
- Mailing address (with zip code)
- Email address
- Phone number
- Date of birth **
Let your attendees know that you will be sending out discount cards in appreciation for their attendance at your gathering. This way, by filling out the card, they will get something in return—a discount for a facial with you mailed to their home. I prefer mailing out later vs. handing out the discount card then and there. When they see the card after a few days, they will once again be reminded of the party (and you) when they receive their discount card in the mail. (Be sure to be timely and mail out the discount cards the next day or within in few days. Don’t let too much time go by.)Once the party is over and you are back in your office, I would take each information card and write out an actual client chart for each person. You now have their vitals: name, phone number, and email address. Hopefully you gave them some samples; they may have even purchased or prepurchased products from you that need to be noted on their chart. On the back of the chart you can write the date of the party, what the party was, and any other pertinent information.
- 4/30/15—Gommage Party at Mary Johnson’s house. Sampled x, y, and z.
- 5/2/15—Sent thank you discount for attending the Gommage Party on 4/30/15. 20% off facial (or whatever you choose)
Another option, and a better one if available, is to have this event in your new office space. Perhaps this is not possible, but having a party in your new office is a great idea. It helps christen it, gets people in the door, and let's your prospective clients know exactly where you are located. Assuming you did a good job with installation and decorating, this first view of your office can be a wonderful reflection on you and can nudge people further to commit to making an appointment with you.
For more information, see:
- If you use Yonka-Paris skin care, throw a Gommage Party!
- A few new aestheticians looking for help
- “Happy Birthday” discounts
- Client Information Charts—Part I (for ideas on what to include on your own client information charts)
