Issue link: https://www.ascpskindeepdigital.com/i/992432
64 july/august 2018 As a rule, all estheticians are mentors by nature. We advise, educate, and counsel our clients on a litany of age-prevention tactics for the skin by offering professional services and prescribing home care. But while many professionals focus on the treatments themselves, they miss out on valuable opportunities by not focusing more on developing the delivery system that will communicate a compelling message about premature age prevention. By adopting the mindset of a true mentor, you can guarantee your business a safer, steadier, and more satisfying stream of revenue from an ever-aging clientele. Skin regeneration is an ongoing process. Our bodies shed between 30,000 and 40,000 skin cells every minute of every day, replacing them with fresh ones. Your relationship with clients should be fresh and ongoing as well, because while a standing monthly appointment is great, what happens during the time in between? Your clients are dealing with skin issues on a frequent basis, so why can't your service to them be just as frequent? By working as a mentor, in addition to a service provider, you elevate your relationship with clients, and your philosophy is transported from a background conversation to the forefront of your treatment plan. This also allows both parties to gain and keep valuable momentum; your clients stay on the proper path to healthy, youthful skin while you spend less time, money, and effort on advertising and drumming up new business as you sail smoothly forward with your steady client base. If you've never navigated these waters before, these five tips can help you chart a course. 1. MAKE A COMPLEXION BLUEPRINT Just as an architect consults blueprints before making changes to a building, you should use photographs to capture the framework of your client's face before you begin any treatment plan. More specific and detailed than a basic consultation and skin analysis, pictures taken from many angles can show your client the current reality of their skin and help them envision a long- term journey of repair and prevention with you as their professional guide. By analyzing these photos together, you and the client can make a wish list of desired results, then outline the steps needed to achieve them. This smart tool gives clients a tangible way to document their pre-treatment appearance, and monitor progress along the way when you take new photos at established intervals. Treating the complexion blueprint as an ongoing project shows the client that you're focused on continuing success rather than a quick fix. 2. ENCOURAGE A WEEKLY SKIN VISIT AND CHECKUP In decades past, women would book standing weekly appointments at their local hair salon for a wash and set. This ensured that clients had perfect hair for a week while salon owners had a guaranteed stream of income. Skin care specialists can adopt the same business model by offering a special preferred rate on short weekly visits to clients who commit to a package of treatments spanning three months, six months, a year, or any other set interval. These visits can serve the client in two ways. First, a weekly evaluation allows you to offer timely and ongoing guidance about the client's current condition and needs. Second, this is a chance to reboot the client's skin by relieving stress, treating environmental damage, and removing product buildup and dead cells. Even a brief 20–30-minute session should be time enough for an exfoliation and a face massage. Afterward, you can explore new treatment options and chart any ongoing progress. The client benefits from steady assistance with their age- prevention plan as well as any other skin care issues, and you benefit from a steady stream of appointments in your book. And, because the focus of the weekly visit will differ from the full facial every 4–6 weeks, weekly visits are the perfect opportunity to book this and other treatments. By working as a mentor, in addition to a service provider, you elevate your relationship with clients, and your philosophy is transported from a background conversation to the forefront of your treatment plan.