Three keys to success in a high-stress season

The pandemic put weddings on pause, which means you may get hit with a backlog of clientele this wedding season. And after a year (or more) of eager anticipation, these clients may not be the easiest to handle. 

This guide will share everything you need to make it through with your sanity intact — from managing expectations to stress reduction.

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Tip 1: Navigate challenging situations by mastering your focus  

Let’s not beat around the bush here: The past few years have taken a massive toll on everyone, including you and your clients. Add that to the typical high stress of modern weddings, and you’ve got a recipe for a disastrous salon experience. 

So the question is: How do you keep your head on straight when your client might be losing theirs? 

One trick for navigating challenging situations is to do your best to focus on what the client is trying to say instead of how they are saying it. If you let it, a client with an aggressive tone or word choice can derail the appointment, encouraging you to escalate intensity instead of alleviating it. To keep the conversation in a good place, do your best to focus your attention on figuring out what they want. Otherwise, your mind will likely gravitate towards — erm — unhelpful thoughts. 

Today may be their happy day, but they're under a lot of pressure and likely not at their best. A little bit of focus can go a long way.

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Tip 2: Manage your expectations with the 20% rule

Properly estimating the resources and time required to tackle any large project — whether it's building a house or prepping the wedding party for the big day — can be tricky. Without a good rule of thumb, it’s easy to undershoot what a given project will require. 

These are situations where the 20% rule comes in handy: As you plan out what you’ll need to take on your clients’ requests, push your estimations up by 20% across the board. This means setting aside 20% more time, money, product, etc. It also means charging 20% more too. 

Taking this approach makes it much more likely that you won’t overcommit on bookings. It will also give you the ability to cope if something unexpected happens (and let's be honest, it's going to). 

And if it doesn't? You're living the dream.

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Tip 3: Center yourself when things get hectic with breathwork 

If you do find yourself getting overwhelmed (you’re human, after all), it’s a good idea to have a de-stressing technique you can deploy in a pinch. Don’t have one? Then consider trying out box breathing, an easy breathwork technique so effective at lowering anxiety that even Navy SEALs use it! 

Box breathing is when you break your breaths into four, four-second sections: a four-second inhale, a four-second hold, a four-second exhale, then another four-second hold. You can repeat this pattern as many times as you need until you feel more centered and calm. 

How we breathe influences how we feel and, therefore, how we act. So when your head starts spinning or your blood begins to boil, step aside for a moment, get into your breath, and slow things down. We guarantee it will help you make better decisions.

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Automated scheduling tools: Your secret weapon

With the number of weddings predicted to double in 2022 from the numbers seen in 2020, many stylists will be dealing with a level of demand they’ve never seen in their careers. To ensure you don’t get caught flat-footed, consider putting some of the tips we’ve covered here into practice. 

Want another tip? Consider adopting newer scheduling solutions that leverage automation to transform an avalanche of appointments into an organized, optimized schedule.

Boulevard has built a scheduling tool that enables salons to maximize client volume. Using our proprietary Precision Scheduling™ technology, this tool automatically minimizes downtime and clusters appointments — boosting stylist productivity. It also provides easy-to-understand appointment, daily, and calendar views so that your team always stays on top of their workload.