19 March 2024

Pricing Extensions Services by James Henderson

The third Great Lengths Coffee Talk session has taken place, with an inspirational and informal webinar hosted by James Henderson of the multi-award-winning M Hair Extensions in Nottingham on Pricing Extensions Services.

With over 25 years of experience in hair extensions, M Hair Extensions is one of only a handful of Great Lengths salons that have been awarded Elite Status – the highest status achievable. Who better then than to talk about Pricing Extensions Services? James is also the brains behind the global collaboration between Great Lengths and the Little Princess Trust, which gives clients the opportunity to donate their used hair extensions to support children with cancer.

The hour-long chat, titled ‘Pricing for Profit’, is part of a business focused series of free Great Lengths online seminars, to inspire, educate and help grow salon business. Speaking with passion and enthusiasm on the topic, James’ clear-cut message during the session was that salons and stylists should be confident in their pricing structure in order to attract and retain clients. From the precise calculation of overheads and profit margins to maximising consultations, retail sales and aftercare, he urged salons not to sell themselves short.

‘We’re all good at what we do – we’re artists. The pricing and the hair itself are just ingredients of what you are producing. It’s a bit like being a chef – what you turn it all into is what makes you, you! Don’t try to do things on the cheap because if someone wants cheap, they’ll go somewhere that’s cheap. Charge what you’re worth and you’ll get the clients that you want.’

With stylists across the UK & Ireland tuning in for the webinar, highlights included the following:

Do Your Maths

To determine your pricing, work out your hourly rate based on your monthly overheads, break down how many hours you work in salon and that will then give you your hourly rate. Then add on the cost of the hair, styling and aftercare and how much profit you want to make on that service. I don’t work it out solely based on time because the better you get, the quicker you’ll get, so if you’re looking at it from a time basis your pricing would go down as you improved! When you’ve worked out your price for a particular service, stick to it and that way, your profit will increase as you get quicker. Don’t worry what other salons are charging – work out what you want to charge and stick to it.

If you’re just starting out and want to build your client base, you need to make sure you’re not overcharging on your profit margin. Be realistic on your pricing and look at your core clients – what are you aiming for and where do you want to be in the market? Not everyone wants to be Elite or Platinum – a lot of salons are happy to do extensions as an add-on service, so it just depends on where you want to be in the market.

Great Lengths Quality Comes at a Price

If you want to be the best and give the best service, you need to price accordingly, so I make sure my service is second to none. More expensive hair is better quality – if you want quality, you pay for it. Great Lengths is a premium brand – when you see the work that goes into it, you begin to understand that good quality costs money.

With regards to discounts, I find that offers can be problematic because you tend to get clients waiting for them and they’ll only book their next appointment when they know a discount is available. They don’t become the regulars that you want that come back and keep the business going.

Insist on a Consultation

We get so many enquiries on social media asking how much it costs for a full head of extensions. You can’t price a service like this without first seeing the client’s hair – you need to feel it and colour match it, so you’re going to have to see them at some point. If someone is serious about extensions, they will make the effort to come and see you for a consultation.

What I will do is offer a price range to people who enquire about the cost and say that extensions cost from £X to £Y. A lot of people might only have £300 to spend on a full set so I don’t want to waste their (or my) time if we are out of their price range. Tell them the minimum price and if they can’t afford that, you are both saving time in not booking a consultation.

Pricing Extensions Services and Offering Finance Options

Extensions are a premium product and can be expensive, so if you can offer to spread that cost, that can be a deciding factor for the client. Make sure you do it the correct way – you have to do your homework, so register with a reputable finance company and go through the FCA. We pay the finance company a commission and the client gets to pay the total bill back over six months with a 10% deposit and it works really well. We get clients coming in off the back of that and even if they end up not taking the finance option for whatever reason, they still have the extensions.

Educate Your Clients

Educate clients on the ground – talk to them about the ethicality of the hair and explain the processing of the hair. There are videos that you can watch on the processing and the amount of labour that goes in to get the end product. The client needs to understand the brand in order to understand the pricing. Ensure clients are aware that for a manufacturer to call a product ‘real hair’ it only has to contain 5% real hair. Great Lengths guarantees 100% – when the client knows this, it helps them understand why they are paying what they are. Give them as much information as you can and this will help justify the pricing structure.

Donate your Used Hair Extensions

The Little Princess Trust is an amazing charity and it’s something we can all be part of. It doesn’t cost you anything and it will help generate more business. It’s a fantastic feelgood thing to be involved in – it’s such a worthwhile cause and you really are changing lives. When I started the collaboration in 2015, it was always my ambition for this initiative to be launched globally. Great Lengths is in 60 salons all over the world and the Little Princess Trust can now operate in all of these countries, receiving donations and helping children in places that they couldn’t reach before.

Create Opportunities to Keep Hair Extensions Clients Returning

Aftercare is so important. A follow-up blow-dry two weeks after extensions are applied gives the client the opportunity to raise any problems, however small, which may ruin their experience if left unaddressed. A lot of clients are apprehensive about managing the extensions themselves, so this helps put their mind at ease and gives you that extra edge.

As well as a routine blow-dry, make sure you include removal in your pricing structure because it gets the client back into the salon; you can remove the extensions correctly and donate the hair but you can also get them rebooked. You want to keep getting them back as much as you can. It’s all about building that rapport with the client – don’t just do their hair once and wave them out the door, you want to create opportunities to keep them coming back into your salon.

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