Building Trust and Motivation: Effective Salon Team Training Strategies

As many of you know, when you apply to join the Salon Team Training group on Facebook, one question we ask is “What is it that you want to get out of it?” and one response that we get quite a bit is — “How do I get my associates excited about training?” Now, let’s assume that you’ve already got associates on board, and you’re launching a new program. So the first thing I suggest is to put yourself in their shoes. You have to imagine their thinking: “What’s in it for me? How much time is this going to take?” And this is one area that I think you really have to respect. 

Burned out on education

• Re-energize
• Gain trust

I call it being ‘education burnt’. Think back to when we went to school, how often we got burnt by education. We had high expectations, we went into it open and willing to make mistakes, but then we had that teacher who said we were wrong, and that little slap on the wrist really put our guard up. We knew what it was to feel judged. If you’re not careful, this can happen with your associates especially if they’ve felt it before, either in their cosmetology school or even if they’ve been out there for a little bit. They’ve already had people burn them by saying they did things wrong. The trust level isn’t there, and the comfort level isn’t there. So the first thing I say is that they need to be re-energized. You have to get them comfortable and regain their trust.

Now I’m going to speak to this more from a coach’s perspective than I am going to be from the trainer’s side because there’s one thing that you learn being a coach. You’ve got to get people to visualize! If you imagine a track star, the coaches that help them most focus on their mindset and their attitude as much as their performance, because half of winning is attitude.

VHR

• Visualize
• Honest
• Reassure

So there’s three areas that you want to hit. The acronym I use for this is VHR. Visualize, Honest, and Reassure. So visualize is just like you would do with an athlete, and let’s say they’re a runner, and they’re trying to break that 10-second 100-meter dash, and they just can’t seem to get there. The first thing that they’ve got to do is visualize themselves being there. Once they can visualize that, they gain confidence, and then it becomes about technique.

Visualize

It works the same way with your associates. I would sit down with each one and say, “I want you to visualize where you’re at right now, and where you want to be.” Let’s say the training is done, they’re on the floor, the type of stylist that they want to be, the type of work that they want to do. Get them to picture themselves getting compliments on their work, being with their family, getting that paycheck. Invite them to visualize some of the first things that they’re going to buy or invest in. Ask them to think about what it would feel like to be in that position.

So what you’re doing is reaffirming what they want, so they can truly believe in themselves and go get it. And they’ll recognize it when they do. And their victory will be so much sweeter.

Honest

During this process there will obviously be times when they have frustration or they may get angry at themselves. There’s going to be all these emotions that come out. Let’s say they’re cutting a bob, they’re finishing that book, they’ve done a color and it doesn’t work, and they’ve had some stuff going on at home, or they’re just having a really bad moment, then that’s when you have to be honest with them and reassure them that this is simply part of learning something new. It’s tough, but you know they can do it.

Reassure

The third part of this is to go back and relive what that feeling is like, and what that feeling is like at the very beginning. Then reassure them by getting them to relive that visualization, what it feels like at the end. They’re still going to have that emotion, but all of a sudden, it gives them hope. They’re going to go through that phase before they take the next step. And then when they get it right, that’s where you celebrate the hell out of it! You give them high fives and say ‘I knew you could do it’. 

So even at the very beginning when you tell them to visualize it, tell them right then you’re going to have some stumbling blocks but keep visualizing the outcome. As a coach, that’s what you’re going to be, their leader and their coach. If you’re going to be getting your leadership team to take on the training, make sure that you make sure that they watch our video on this so they’ve got some tips on how to coach too. So just remember, visualize, be honest with them, and reassure at the end get them to relive that moment!