More America's Beauty Show

 

      Braden and I were lucky enough to be invited to the CND trend release Sunday where Jan Arnold and Kristina Estabrooks shared the spring trend and a sneak peek at the summer trend release. I shared a few pictures on my Facebook page and each release will be included on their CND pro page along with tutorial videos. Jan shared the story of the open road collection about a female executive that kicks off her heels and throws on her jeans and hits the open road heading to the desert sunset. The colors of this collection are a reflection of the story. Every collection will now come with its own story, its own set of additives and its own designs. They are also doing a nationwide Shellac certification for qualified salons. Kristina added now that there are so many gel polishes on the market Shellac has become like Kleenex. Many salons say they do Shellac meaning gel polish just like many ask for a Kleenex instead of a tissue. It is about branding. The certification requires each tech to bring all of their own CND equipment to be 100% certified. So no sharing lamps or tools allowed. Kristina said this is the only way to guarantee each tech is using the complete system, only fair right?

 

 

      We also spent some time at the Dashing Diva booth. They sure have been busy with so many new products. Their no blend glitter tips were a hot item. This fast full set is perfect for the upcoming spring dances, weddings and special occasions. We also got a chance to see up close and personal their new Get the look, Nail tattoos, Accents and 3 d jewels. 

 

     My head was spinning with all the possibilities. With their virtual nails you can easily create high fashion custom nails and sell for high profits. Easy on off tabs make these nail jewels a hot fashion accessory for Spring and Summer.

 

 

 

  

    What’s old is new again. I stopped at the Emma JeanCosmetics booth to check out her Vegan, cruelty-free 3 free scented nail polish. Creator Marsha Campbell a massage therapist started this line during some down time with an injury and the polish world opened up for her. She shared with me that she has formed some really amazing relationships with her chemists and manufacturer and it has really taken off. With all the boutique polishes on the market I’m glad to see there is room for hers. Most of her scents are around comfort smells like apple pie, cotton candy and mint chocolate to name a few. I asked her about her connection with aromatherapy oils and inducing certain emotions from the scents and she said that’s in the works. She wanted to originals to be light and fun with comfort scents. Our brave Braden took one for the ntr team and his finger did smell Blueberryish. 

 

  We spent some time with Gina Sylvestro at the Akzentz booth rocking out a full set for her Instagram winner Heidi Meier. Their new LED hard gel was a hot item and of course her Crystals were flying. 

 

 

     The Crystal Culture education team is growing, check out their page for a list of current educators, so many of our NTR friends are listed. All in all it was a whirlwind of new trends and new friends. Thanks one more time to Linda and Jim Nordstrom for hosting the 2^nd Nail Talk Radio ABS meet and greet. 

 

 Last but not least I caught up with Carla Collier who will be judging the NailPro competitions in the smokies at the Nail Tech event in Gatlinburg. Nail Tech Event of the Smokies

     So take one or more of these new trends and add them to your spring line up cuz that’s smart marketing.

ABS 2014

 

Young nails was rocking as usual. I got a quick hot tip from Melissa DeLaCruz.  Purchase Young Nails buffers. At the end of your gel service, with a soft gel topcoat go ahead and buff to a higher shine, retail to the client and encourage her to buff the shine back into her nails in between her nail appointment.  She becomes a walking advertisement for your work with her super shiny nails and you have a new retail client adding extra dollars to your bottom line. 

 

      Who says people aren’t talking about Nail Talk Radio. Our long time listener Traci Wilcox shared a funny story with me. One of her guests got a gift certificate at another salon from a friend and during her visit she was talking to the nail tech all about Nail Talk Radio and all the other products on the market besides the one brand she was using. Sad her client seems to know more about the industry than this tech did. Happy Traci is sharing the nail talk radio love. Hillary Fry a regional Educator for LaPalm Spa Products was named  2014 International Nail Technician of the year 2014 stars winner so a big shout out to her.

Tracy Wilcox

     I also chatted with Gel II owner Michael Le about their brand new easy soak off formulation. Gel II is great for any sensitive clients that may have allergies. All gel polishes are not created equal. There are no solvents in Gel II it is pure gel, that stays put with no running.  The new easy soak off formula soaks off in under 6 minutes and wrapping the hands in a warm towel speeds it up even further. He also gave me a sample of a prototype no cleanse Top coat, same quick soak off. Their Polish II professional polish is also great for stamping.  He sampled me a few so I’ll be sure to post photos.

 

     We spent some time at the Famous Names booth with our friends Jim and Linda Nordstrom where Linda was demoing their amazing new IBX treatment. She shared this exciting new technology and how IBX is truly revolutionary because it does not bond to the keratin in the nail, it bonds to itself forming a protective shield within the natural nail. Understanding the clients nail health should be our number one concern, this product truly is a game changer.

 

Then it was off to Cuccio and our friend Elaine Watson. Their new pastels were already sold out, she definitely underestimated the popularity. Tony’s motto for 2014 is nail techs should not have to buy polish so whenever you buy a Cuccio Veneer you get the polish for free. I like the way they think. She also shared their new liquid art Nail Sugar with the super cool lighted wand. No more sprinkles everywhere this all in one glitter party just takes one stroke for super blingy nails. 

Jan Arnold

     At the end of the day Braden and I sat in on the ABS trend panel to listen to CND’s Jan Arnold. Excited to be a part of the panel Jan shared nails are now the hottest fashion accessory. Nail techs are not just grooming nails anymore they are now adorning nails. Fashion forward nail design brings out a woman's alter ego and put a punctuation mark on the total look. She showed a highlight reel of their runway work over the years and their summer collection.

Jane's statement nails

Get Booked Solid

 

    You can have the world’s best marketing program in place but if you are not marketing your best self, with superior standards, you may not build a solid clientele, at least as fast as you would like. One of the perks of having the opportunity to attend as many shows as I do is to meet other top speakers. Last week in New York I had the chance to sit in on a class Paul DiGrigoli was giving for students on Tuesday. It was called Booked Solid and he had the attendees fired up. One of the things he was preaching was personal development a point he and I definitely agree on. He had a graphic of a wheel of 9 business principles and strategies and wanted you to rate where you think you are on a scale of 1-10. An actual honest self-assessment is the only way to truly improve.  I’m going to share these tips with you and encourage you to honestly evaluate where you are in these categories and seek the education you need to improve areas that are lacking. 

 

1.New Clients. How many new clients have you gotten this past week, month, year? You should be looking for anywhere from 10-40% new client appointments any given month. If you’re not growing, you’re dying.

2. Retention. What is your retention rate? How many of those new clients are coming back? Industry standards are anywhere from 40-80% Do everything in your power to increase your retention rate.

3. Referrals. Are you asking your current clients for referrals? You won’t get them if you don’t ask for them.

4. Prebooking.  If you can get your clients to prebook their next appointment it saves time and money. No wasted time on the phone and no extra weeks in-between their service. I have a saying everyone gets at the end of my service.  “In order to maintain your professional service I will need to see you in x number of weeks. Let’s go ahead and look at the book to find a time that works best for us both.”

5. Technical ability. Be brutally honest with where you are technically. Take photos of your work from many angles and ask an expert to help you rate them. There may be a small fee but who better to invest in than yourself? Get yourself to classes to maintain your current techniques as well as learn new ones but remember you must practice to improve. Don’t practice till you get it right, Practice till you can’t get it wrong.

6. Customer Service. Do you have great customer service skills? This is an area that you can set yourself apart so easily with just a smile and a strong handshake. Don’t forget to follow up.

7. Time Management.  Are you making the best use of your time? We all get the same 24 hours, how is it some get so much more done? Manage your time wisely.

8. Communication. Are you an expert communicator? Can you read your clients body language? Communication skills truly separate the good from the great. If this is an area you struggle get yourself a good book on communicating effectively.

9. Personal Development. This is my favorite. You can have all these other skills and earn a living but with personal development you’ll make your fortune. Take time later tonight or first thing tomorrow and rate yourself in each area. Asses what you will work on and take action. Marketing your best self is smart marketing.