Relationship vs Sales

One of the best compliments I’ve ever received is “When Angela does my hair, I feel like she loves me.”

Love. Its the one thing in life everyone wants more of and is usually at a loss in how to find it. How does this relate to sales? I’ll get there. Most anyone can admit that the time in their lives where they felt most fulfilled, at peace and content, was a time when love was involved. What is love? The only, and, in my personal opinion, best reference is 1 Corinthians 13 is the love chapter. It is patient, kind, never rude, never self seeking and so much more. But despite your religious beliefs anyone can see that when real love is involved, there’s fulfillment. And the verse, “And now abides faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love” is pretty accepted as truth and generally agreed with.

As a professional, I’ve fallen in love with my clients. Of course, as a momma, it seems to me that there’s nothing I love more than my babies (even though they are not all babies anymore!) and that seems to be the strongest type of love I’ve ever experienced. But love is all around me. I’d say, “even in the chaos of life.” but I’m going to say especially in the chaos of life. Sometimes that’s where it’s emphasized the most. My clients have been with me through pregnancy and baby/toddler and even personal dark seasons and those seasons can be hard for any business owner. But they were patient with me, kind, never rude to me. Ultimately, I still have to deliver a good end product of my client’s hair, but the experience of that process has been compromised at best. I have always been insecure with my sometimes lack of ability to create a professional atmosphere in the midst of my home salon but I’ve learned that some people not only don’t mind it, but can actually prefer it. They like coming to their hair appt and having it be more than just about hair. And I have to say, I love it too. If I were to work in a salon and not have my cute kids swarming around, I don’t know if I’d love it as much. Which is surprising to say because working with my kids has been a challenge, but, as I look back, I feel like I’ve truly shared life with you guys. And I love it.

Lately I’ve been struggling with my new venture in sales realizing that sales is harder for me that I had imagined it would be. Obviously, the initial goal of sales is to sell. But if I think about why I’m doing this, and really allow myself to reflect, I realize that it’s so much more that that. Whether it be online or in person in the salon, I realize that sales and relationship go hand in hand. As an entrepreneur, I feel like my goal is to solve problems. As your hairstylist, I want to continue to help find solutions to your hair struggles. Not to sell you more product, but to continue our amazing relationship we’ve built over the years. Helping you gain your fullest potential from your hair and help you get through any struggles along the way. Approaching it this way, I relax. I let things ride and flow in the direction it’s meant to. Now I’ll just wake up and enjoy my hair appointments with you and hope that when I do your hair, you feel my love.

Is Multi Level Marketing a good thing or a bad thing? My story

Tupperware, Pampered Chef, Mary Kay. These are very successful MLM (aka “Pyramid scheme”) businesses. Anyone who is anyone can see that it sells. But that’s just it. It sells. It would be dramatic of me to say that I’ve been “burned” by this structure of business in the past, but sometimes the way I can instinctively respond to it may make you think that way. So as I process through that, let me try and briefly share my story.

When I was 17, while I was at the gym, I was cold approached by someone who seemed nice enough. As an introvert living with a lot of extroverts, going to the gym was my safe place to be alone. So I already felt a little “violated” (again, trying not to be dramatic, lol) just by the approach itself. I was young, naïve and was taught to always be kind to strangers so even though everything inside of me wanted to just abruptly end the conversation, I wasn’t courageous or creative enough to do this. Long story short, after a long, unwanted, conversation, I was pressured in to having a party for her business.

Ugh! A party was the LAST thing I wanted to do! But I just wanted to get her off my back and get this over with. So I rounded up 3 reluctant and kind friends to come to my party. I was selling Princess House. For those of you who know this company, they sell beautiful crystal. Truly beautiful. At 17? Yeah, didn’t care. I just wanted to appease this saleswoman to get her off my back. Long story short again, I sold pretty much nothing and felt like I/she was just wasting my time. But this saleswoman? She was good. She suckered me into doing more. After telling her that I REALLY didn’t want to do that again, she pushed for a couple of “catalogue parties” where I just collect orders and go door to door. That was WORSE!! I did get some decent orders from that process, but it was more from people who felt bad for me I think. I started to really like the beautiful crystal, but I still didn’t want to do this anymore. Man, was this saleswoman good. Somehow, she got me to sell the stuff as a market partner. I really had a hard time saying no, can you tell? Long story long, I bought a big start up package, sold just enough to get it paid off and then finally had the burnt out courage to tell her I was done. This time it stuck. Well, mostly. She came and had her hair done by me in attempts to try again, but I was having babies by then and, even then, she got a couple more parties out of me, but I wasn’t AS easy to sway.

Some would say she was an excellent salesman. And, obviously, they would be right. She was actually a really sweet and good person, but one of the things she lacked was the ability to listen. See me. Validate where I was at for a 17 year old just trying to figure out life. She didn’t want to help me, she wanted to use me. For her sales. Or at least that’s how I felt. And, for several years after that, I talked to plenty of people who can say that their friends turned into salesman the second they started up their business. Happy hour turned into a sales pitch. Ugh. Such a bad taste in my mouth from it all. But as a business woman, and as I grow and mature and see some of these businesses from the inside out, I’m learning that not all people take that sales approach in the MLM structured business. Meeting other women who sell Tupperware Pampered Chef Rodan and Fields, I’ve noticed what a soft approach they take. They listen. And I have to say, some of them do better with sales than the saleswoman that approached me. And I have to see that this business goes beyond my own experience.

My point in saying all of this, is that I love relationship. I love people. I love listening to peoples stories and being a hairstylist has allowed for the time to listen to so many different perspectives, opinions, hurts, pains, joys and so much more. From so many walks of life. I want to HELP PEOPLE!!! Truly. That’s all I want to do, I want to give people the best experiences, feeling amazing about their hair and educating the best way to do that at home. I feel like when you take that approach, things start to happen. For the good of all. And there definitely no harm in doing business that way.

As a new Monat market partner, I promise to not violate your trust. I will listen. Do my best to see you. Validate that as a person you are just trying to make your way and figure out life yourself just as I am. No one gets that more than me. I will educate, review and offer only what will work for you and help you achieve your beauty goals. Nothing more!

Thank you for reading and see you again soon my friends.

How do I value myself?

As a hairstylist, we are meant to price ourselves. This is a hard task to do if you don't know that value of your own worth as a person and as a professional. It’s on a perfect line between confidence and humility to do something such as price yourself. This is a hard, thin line to walk. Especially as a woman and a mom. It's ingrained in me to serve. Instinctively, I DE-value myself, my needs, my time to take care of those around me that I love. I know you get that. I meet too many women everyday who struggle with the same instincts. On top of that, I want to help people, love people to the best of my ability and give my talents and gifts to everyone I can! In a perfect world, I would do hair for free! I really would. But it's so hard! I have to know and understand that my services do have value and I cant DE-value these gifts that God has given me. If I really think about it, it could even be argued that it is a disservice to those receiving the gift. Don’t you think?

I'm coming up on 20 years of experience in my field and I'm finding that I love what I do more and more each day. It takes an open mind, a love for amazing conversation, a desire to learn on a constant basis and PUTTING IN THE WORK!! It's such a rewarding and yet, tough job. Even with two decades of experience, in this ever changing beauty world, I am committed to learn each and every day. I certainly don’t think I am the best hairstylist out there, but I know that for some reason, my clients love coming to me, sitting in my chair and feeling better about themselves when they walk out my door. I am very proud of that. I love my clients. Truly, all of them! I feel as though I am privileged of having the most valuable clientele I could ever ask for! They have been through a lot with me and for this, I will be eternally grateful.

With all this pondering I have realized that I am wishing we lived in a galactic world that has no currency (for you Star Trek lovers out there!), but living in Denver with inflation and expenses rising, I must take a moment and RE-value myself and what I have to offer. Please know that in my raise in prices, I have you in mind. I so appreciate your continuing business and understanding with all of my changes. You truly are most valuable. I will commit also to showing you that value when you sit with me in my chair.

I will see you soon my friends!