How To Make Male Clients Feel at Home With You

Embrace more male clients into your biz — they seek your expert advice!

Some male clients crave pro speak that doesn’t smack of official “Pink” talk or branding. (In fact, the burlier the man, the likelier they recoil from the pink, feminine accents of a mobile technician biz, and run away from you.) Still, this segment can be a real treat to connect with and can turn out to be among your best clients and tippers. Here, we teach you how to communicate a man’s language successfully, so that your business flourishes.

Be eager to be highly BB (Boy-Blue) inclusive!

Mobile PROs looking to expand their biz to male clients may know they need to provide a comfort factor that connects them with most men. Did you know? The demand for your services by men is definitely there. For example, two fast-growing sectors indicating that men are thinking more about booking male-catering beauty technicians in their minds are barber services and made-for-men makeup.

The sheer expansion of demand for the barber, not unlike that for made-for-men makeup, means you’re sporting a wallet that could be fatter if you’re ignoring men among your clientele.

Read on for effective tips on how to make them feel at home with you:

Pointer #1: First impressions

First impressions of how you represent yourself as a professional matter a lot when you cater to a male client at his home — so does creating a space that makes him feel comfortable with you. Step back from your biz and be willing to try new, fresh approaches to what you say, do, and offer.

Have you been branding yourself too much as a pink business? Does your cosmetologist uniform and marketing materials resonate with girls and women too much? Well, then:

• DO invest in clean, neutral colors, such as green and/or brown
• DO accent your business materials with logos and mottos that reflect inclusivity of both genders
• DO use homespace scents that don’t offend men, such as unisex fragrances
• DO use homespace aromas that are decidedly masculine when the client opts for it

Moreover, carry along a range of men’s products in your work bag that signal you're not just a pink business cosmetologist. Surveys indicate you’d do well! Men tend to be more impulsive shoppers than women — they often spring for a product just as they pay for your services!

Pointer #2: Be sensitive and discreet

Men have their own private hangups about their appearances that society doesn’t do much justice in accommodating. Body and emotional issues keeping them up at night include:

• Balding scalp
• Graying hair
• Wrinkles
• Frustrations about aging
• And more

Society creates ample room for the female to discuss her aging issues with any beauty professional. She is often very conversationally fluid about such topics. A lot of men, however, through lack of social acceptance and practice, frequently struggle in addressing such topics with you — the person who has all the answers to their shyest cosmetological questions.

Solution: Even though some men appear to be very vocal about their questions, prepare to be surprised! Have a system in place where you can grant them anonymity. During your appointment, say more than once that you are open to receiving, for example, an unsigned handwritten note or letter from them that has them listing their most inquisitive cosmetological questions about any of the above sensitive issues.

Make sure to return the note as quickly as you are able so that they know you are highly discreet, and talk to them about their options, either via written form, or straight-up conversation. (Sometimes hearing another adult authority talk about such sensitive issues relaxes and coaxes them into openly conversing.)

There are some incredibly shy, yet highly curious-about-guy-cosmetology men out there!

Pointer #3: The small details

It might sound obvious, but what will differentiate you from your competitors are the small details of your service. Here are a few ideas that can make male clients feel at home with you when you’ve been booked for a home-visiting appointment:

• DO offer to bring along a one-time beverage serving — the more interesting the choice, the better.
• DO widen your arsenal with a few gentlemen’s mags like Top Gear, GQ, or Men’s Health, along with a few gender-neutral magazines on topics like sports or professional investment collecting.
• DO stay in-the-know about major games and matches being shown on TV so that you play the kind event-reminding PRO to men clueless, or not-so-clueless, about sports event times. Who knows? Some will pointedly invite you to watch the match during the appointment, while others will seek to cancel and move the appointment, thereby pre-empting a cancellation problem for you and him. Yes, regularly reading the TV Guide will allow you to collect major brownie favors from all kinds of sports fan men. (It can save your schedule, too!)
• DO encourage men to invite their male friends or relatives to join the appointment so that you can have a full morning or afternoon booked to engage in “male-speak.” This is a good idea for when you’re not well-versed in the tricky language, or are not particularly keen on engaging in it. By booking exclusive “male half-days,” you can fortify your mind better for traditional male topics of conversation. At the same time, you’d be able to expect the other men in the room to take on the yoke of the conversation, leaving you to focus on your job. (Perking your ears during such an appointment, however, will teach you a lot about “male-speak”!)

Pointer #4: Avoid the pink jargon

Men are typically not so interested in becoming fluid with the terminology of the pink beauty industry, so keep everything as straightforward and jargon-free as possible. If anything, take a page from the major brands and conceptually link everything to both male-desired functionality and traditional male interests.

For example, tell them the haircut you’re giving them will keep their bangs out of their eyes as they engage in watersports, rather than saying the haircut will just make them look great, and that’s it. This is also a world apart from saying to a conventional woman that her shine-boosting product for hair will make her the center of attention.

All the above pointers will help draw additional male clients to you, like insects to a honey pot!

Rest assured, you can definitely make your male clients feel professionally connected to you as they indulge in your services.

Advertise all your PRO offerings to male clients through MOBILESTYLES. You can find us on: http://www.mobilestyles.com, or on the App! Download it today: www.mobilestyles.com/download.