How to effectively quote and book Colour Corrections

Do you struggle with hair colour correction consultations and knowing what to quote for large jobs? It’s difficult to know how to quote for profit when taking on large jobs.

Learn my exact approach for colour correction consultations and quoting for profit in this episode of the Colour Kristina Talks Podcast.

The key themes discussed in this podcast episode are:

1. Consultation is key! Colour Correction Consultations are best done prior to committing to a booking allocation.
2. There are some clients and situations to avoid when you see red flags with colour correction requests (learn how to avoid unreasonable clients with unrealistic expectations)
3. There are 3 options for charging clients for colour corrections are – hourly, packages, and quote for each technique. We discuss the pros and cons of each scenario.

Show notes for podcast episode 59

Colour Correction Consultation and Quoting is a complex situation for many hairdressers and salon owners. It’s difficult to know how to quote for profit when taking on large jobs. We need to factor in the amount of time needed, plus products, plus drying times (and there could be multiple blast drys in a day), and whether you want to work 1:1 or be juggling other clients whilst doing a correction PLUS how to manage the expectations of an unhappy client or something washing out unexpectedly in a patchy way. Will you offer a complimentary consultation? Or would you prefer to charge for this?

 Would you like to offer a complimentary check-in appointment 1 week later that includes a blowdry and treatment? Could you bundle prices into packages or charge an hourly rate or do you prefer to quote a  price per service?

In my opinion, all of these scenarios could work and some might be better than others for your business based on key factors like salon size and if you work alone or in a team. I do a lot of colour corrections & have a strong colour consultation strategy that I use in my salon business to successfully book clients with a “Shared Reality” and I am going to share my exact steps for quoting and bookings with you in this episode.

Consultation is key! Colour Correction Consultations are best done prior to committing to a booking allocation

Key considerations:

• I offer a small number of options for online bookings – 1 of these is a 20-minute colour correction consultation with a test strand – this cost $50 to cover my time and the products used in the test process
• I share an estimate only when chatting to a client in the consultation – I do NOT quote until test strand results are processed and I have had enough time to suggest a suitable technique. The client knows it could take me 2-3 business days to get back to them with a written quote in the form of an email. This includes their test strand results as a photo, with my suggested looks to aim for in writing PLUS some #inspo pics to suggest what we can achieve.
• On the day of the booking I set aside time for another in-depth conversation and we confirm we are working towards the same goal. 
• Questions to ask are – tell me about your hair & what you would like to achieve. I need to know their 2-year hair colour history (if possible) and this includes any chemical services or keratin treatments. If I am removing box dye or a professional colour that is too dark or built up over time I would offer a test strand to check if my hair colour remover of choice will work or not or if we need to go in and bleach it.

There are some clients and situations to avoid when you see red flags

• I offer a small number of options for online bookings – 1 of these is a 20-minute colour correction consultation with a test strand – this cost $50 to cover my time and the products used in the test process
• I am wary of anyone that is unreasonable and never been happy at any hair salon they have visited prior because the chances of me pleasing them are also slim. This is a red flag to me.
• If a client has a small budget and is trying to negotiate your pricing or asking for a discount it’s another red flag that this could become a problem. I have been in this situation & been stuck with barely covering expenses and feeling trapped to commit to something that might not be exactly the steps needed on the day. It’s great to offer a variable of pricing that a client is comfortable with. For example, it could take 3 colour applications on the day to deposit colour in plus a colour remover to lift the old box dye. For that service, it could be $500. But if we need to do some balayage for extra lift or further customisation techniques it could go up to $700 including your Olaplex and blowdry. Then ask them “Would that be ok for you?”

Have you considered charging an hourly rate?

• Three options for charging clients for colour corrections are – hourly, packages, and quote for each technique
• Pros and cons for each – hourly,  packages,  quote for each technique  (I have tried all 3 and tend to do price per technique because clients seem to understand this better in my experience but I do also find hourly works well for major bleaching jobs or unicorn hair)
• These options vary depending on salon size and setup and whether you work with an apprentice or not and whether you are a fast worker or would feel comfortable with an hourly rate or not. It’s worth considering but certainly not for everyone.