HJ VOICENOTES
Sonny Playforth explains how training his team in NLP has helped improve communication, build client trust and turn selling into problem-solving
SONNY PLAYFORTH
COMMUNICATION ISN’T JUST ABOUT TALKING. IT’S ABOUT LISTENING PROPERLY, READING THE CUES AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT YOUR CLIENT REALLY NEEDS.
When we think about salon training, we usually think about colour, cutting or consultations. We invest heavily in technical skills, and rightly so. But over the last year, I’ve realised one of the biggest opportunities we have as salon owners is helping our teams become better communicators.
For me, that journey started with Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). I’ve always been interested in psychology, but it wasn’t until I started learning NLP that I realised I’d been using parts of it instinctively for years.
One of the biggest lessons is that communication isn’t just about talking. It’s about listening properly, reading body language, recognising cues and understanding how people are feeling before they even say anything. We spend our entire day working within arm’s length of our clients, so we have a unique opportunity to build trust if we’re paying attention.
Rather than selling, I now teach my team to solve problems. We talk about finding the client’s challenge, offering the right solution and making it relatable. I call it selling without selling. You’re not pushing products or services; you’re helping somebody make the right decision for themselves.
One moment really brought this home. I overheard my apprentice, Connie, recommending a product to a sceptical client. She didn’t just tell the client it was good; she explained why it suited her hair and linked it to another client with similar hair who’d had fantastic results. It was almost word for word the framework we’d been working on, but she’d made it completely her own. That was when I realised the training was becoming part of our culture.
The same applies when conversations become more difficult. Whether it’s handling an unhappy client, giving feedback or helping someone feel more relaxed, I encourage my team to slow down, mirror the other person’s communication style and find common ground. If people feel understood, they’re far more likely to trust you.
It’s changed the way I lead, too. I’m much more aware of timing, body language and the words I choose when giving feedback. People don’t come to work wanting to get things wrong. There’s always a reason behind someone’s behaviour, and often the best thing you can do is ask, “Talk to me. What’s happened today?” rather than jumping straight in to criticism.
As salon owners, we’re in sales every day – not just selling products or appointments, but ideas, confidence, reassurance and trust. Get the communication right, and everything else becomes that little bit easier.