YOU are the key element of your business
On an Improvability course, to help you decide whether the seasonal or tonal approach works best for you, you'll have the opportunity to take a good long look at YOU and your personal qualities using a colour personality profiling system, which you can then use with your own clients, if you want to. You'll soon work out:
- how you relate to colour
- how you assimilate information
- how you disseminate information
- how you're going to cope when someone who's the complete opposite of you walks in!
This stuff is really fascinating and makes our courses completely different from most others.
Are You A People Person?
This profession is for people who seriously want to see others improving themselves and the quality of their lives. If you want to work at something just for the money, my advice is to do something else. You will be working closely with clients who want to make serious changes in their lives; you just can't mess about with this.
Can you listen?
Listening is one of the greatest skills you can bring to this business. I have come across so many image consultants who rattle on - usually about themselves - without stopping for breath and then wonder why they get no repeat business or recommendations.
Let's put this into perspective - a colour or style consultation isn't about you. It's about your client and one of the most respectful things you can do is to listen to her. This may be the first time in years that anyone has actually sat and listened to what your poor client has to say!
Your USP
YOU are your unique selling proposition (USP). After all, no-one comes to you for colour or style; they're coming for confidence. They could just as easily go to Ermentrude down the road for colour analysis, and to Brunhilde for style, but if they choose to come to you, it will because they relate to YOU and your personality.
How Do You Learn?
- Are you a visual, auditory, or kinaesthetic learner?
- And what if your client is learns in a completely different way from you? How are you going to communicate with her?
If you are primarily visual, you will learn by seeing and reading. If you are primarily auditory, you will learn by listening and speaking. If you are kinaesthetic (or tactile), you will learn by touching and doing. You well probably be a combination of two or all of them. It will definitely help you with your clients to understand why sometimes you don't seem to be getting through to some people - it could be that they learn in a completely different way from you.
We'll look at all this on the course.
Psychology
This business is about psychology. Most consultants come to realise that image consulting is about coaching, nurturing, and developing our clients through a period of change.
You might be busy concentrating on the drapes, what colours are in the wallet, which lipstick to try, but all that could be relatively unimportant to the client. She's there for all sorts of reasons, and I have found that colour analysis is just a non-confrontational way for clients to approach whichever one it is - and it will always include change of some sort.
If your client really knew at a conscious level that she was going through this process, then she'd have booked to see a life coach, but she hasn't, so that's why they come to see us. NB. This is not necessarily true when a man books to see you; their agenda is usually completely different and we cover all the whys and wherefores on the Men's Image training course.
What Experience Do You Need?
Just to reassure you - no practical experience is required to start learning about colour. Life is just about the best experience you can offer in this business, but the most important element is YOU, your character, your desire to help, and your interest in people - and, I'm happy to say, you can't fake that because potential clients can see straight through those who aren't really interested.
