T Gordon Salon Talks

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Sales Expertise using NLP

One of things I love about Brian Gilbert is how he embraces the risk in every human interaction. He has this knowingness about him. The ability to convey that he knows the truth and is willing to share, but it is going to cost you! It will cost you effort, time and possibly money, but in the end you will be better off for it.
I first met Brian when he was trying to do hypnosis on hairdressers that weren't confident enough, weren't creative enough and generally did not have enough of what it takes to be good behind the chair. I didn't buy it! A couple sessions to cure your career ills? Not possible!

But I am always fascinated by the outrageous, the mystical, the short cut,  and so I jumped in with Brian. I bought a series of sessions for him to hypnotize me.  I wasn't interested in being a better hairdresser, I was already a great hairdresser,  but academics, that was a problem for me.
I was always a C student. Yes I have a Liberal Arts BA, but I always struggled in school, even flunked 2nd grade after my parent's divorce. When I decided to get a Masters in Business, I went to Brian and he started to hypnotize me for better grades. It worked.  I got  all As and one B. Everything I had been reading about the mind being moldable was real. 

Brian will tell you that there is a close relationship between hypnosis and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). He owned salons in Chicago, and was selling so much product he was investigated for diversion of Aveda products. Is it moral to hypnotize people into buying your product? Brian will tell you, he isn't selling anything they wouldn't normally buy or what they don't need, further he isn't using hypnosis, he is using NLP.
NLP is what some of the best self-help gurus know and love. Tony Robbins is an early user, practitioner and expert.
All the best salespeople use NLP whether they know it or not, Brian says. Great sales people are very intuitive about the process, the programming and more. Brian is now out of the salon business, but has an intimate knowledge of how salons function, how creative people behave and what it takes to crank up a sales engine in salons. I have heard this amazing statistic bantered about that most clients buy products within 48 hours after leaving the salon. Why didn't they buy it from the recommending stylist? Brian will say it is because the stylist didn't say and do the right things. The client needs shampoo, why didn't they save themselves the trip? Brian now teaches and entertains corporate sales people in many industries. He is one of those guys who will hypnotize the person who swears they cannot be hypnotized but then he gets them to quack like a duck in front of 500 people. This may be a cost I need to absorb, because I will be that guy quacking.  He is coming to my salon to teach all the staff his amazing NLP techniques. 

You can find Brian at [email protected]

Tony Gordon
gordonsalon.com
gordonstylistacademy.com
tgordonsalontalks

Bennie Pollard NAHA Winner-Salon Owner-Cool Beauty Consulting

Bennie Pollard from Louisville, Kentucky he is a 6 time nominated NAHA entrant and 2 time winner. He has had a wide ranging career: salons, photoshoots, fashion shows, consulting, distribution, and product manufacturing. Bennie gives advice on NAHA and how to get started in photoshoots. He talks about how to really find the right photographer and the make-up artists. What to look for during the shoot. How to behave and find your dynamic while doing the shoot. How do you budget for a shoot? He goes thru all of this in this talk. He says photography will transform a stylist quickly from beginner to master level very fast. He has also became a distributor of products and salon educator. He talks about this great marketing method that I just love. Basically a seminar focused on clients, a free education for customers. It sounds like it works very well. 
Bennie gives us these bits of wisdom in this video. For example: "If you chase two rabbits they both get away."
It is amazing what I have learned doing these podcasts, the people I get to meet and the profound wisdom I get to experience first hand.  

It is really all about being cool! Hanging out with cool people and being part of a  cool scene. James Griffith describes his foray in the hairdressing world with one word-cool. Horst Reckelbacher from Aveda was the top of the mountain. Aveda was just getting started and James was there, along with many other greats of the time. James had a classic upbringing in the industry about to be disrupted. He met some important people while hanging out with Horst, that changed his life. He came across Lauoret, a French master of the Jacque Desaage hair cutting technique. 
James went on a haircutting journey that led him to Paris and continues on till today. In pursuit of craft, he is now opening his own training classes in the French Haircutting method starting in 2019. 
James reminds me of so many guys I have spoken to from this era. Obsessed with the movie "Shampoo" they thought that being a hair designer behind the chair was happening, a place to meet girls, and something akin to being in a rock band. 
The industry was certainly in transition at that time. Isn't hair and beauty always in transition? Maybe so, moving differently than it is today. Jame's time was one of extreme transition, and certainly accelerated by the founder of Aveda, a genius hairdresser, salon owner and mad product maker. 
In this podcast James also talks about his locations. I ask him about what it is like to rent or own, as he does both. I ask him about the competitive landscape of being in a relatively small town with so many other top level salons. The seasonality of a place like Sarasota, how do snowbirds effect their business? Florida too, is in transition in so many ways. 
Many people lament the transistions, but not James. He is moving forward. He is opening a school in 2019, with a big draw, learn a new technique and hang out with some pretty cool people steps from the beach. Time to hang out with the cool kids!

Salon Altering Technology a conversation with Millennium founder John Harms

Interviewing John Harms made me think about all the passionate people in the beauty industry. There are the people who create beautiful shapes with hair, people that love to be “day makers”, many who love to create products, run great salons, but software? Computers have left no business unturned, everything has been disrupted, salons have not been exempt.

John Harms was one of the first to our industry, he loves creating software for the salon business. He owns Millennium Systems International, one of the leading computer programs for salons and spas in North America. In my podcast with John, he  talks about wide ranging subjects, but in so many ways technology has transformed our lives, his software has changed the lives of over 100,000 salons and spas. Yet, John is a very down to earth guy. The guy you would have a beer with at a barbeque. In the podcast he talks about his family that are in the business with him: Jennifer and Micah. John says, once at work though,  he is all work.

It is interesting how John became focused on the hair business in the first place. He tells the story of this serendipitous meeting that led to creating software for salons. The wunderkind was making software when very few were. One thing led to another and he was making databases in DOS.

John’s newest evolution is MEEVO(Millennium/Evolution). It isn't just software he says,  it is the next evolution of the salon business. They have inserted voice recognition and much much more. John loves the salon business, he gets the salon business. He is always thinking about what can help his customer’s businesses. He is thinking about automated marketing, internal and external sales funnels, his convo bar and many other software features.  He has thought thru a lot of my questions on a technological level. Some were resolved in Millennium while some have no solution. I talked to him about self-checkout, and chair side check out. Meevo is a very competitive product.

I asked John the tough questions.  As great as Meevo 2 is, what happened with Meevo 1? He explains Meevo 2 will I have choice with credit card providers, how will 3rd party providers work, what is the The Millennium Experience going to be like, what is it like to run a single building with almost 200 people in it?

As we get more and more high tech, there is this expectation that it should all just work. It makes me forget, that all these devices are just humming in the background. Tech is sometimes fragile, but if someone has the passion, it is amazing what can happen.

Tony Gordon

gordonsalon.com

gordonstylistacademy.com

The Secrets of Van Council

I had the opportunity to interview one of the top salon owners and salon personalities in the world,  Van Council, owner of eight Van Michael Salons in Atlanta and 42 salons in Japan. He and his salons have won various awards including 4 times North American Hair Stylist of the Year awards, Best Salon in Atlanta from various publications and much more. He is the Artistic Director for Intercoiffure North America, considered one the 75 top educators by Modern Salon Magazine, Aveda Global Master and the list goes on. He is a tour de force, a hairdresser's hairdresser, a leader in business.

I have seen Van speak many times and for full disclosure, I have been enamoured of his great success. So it truly was an honor to speak with him, yet he is humble and real. It is always interesting for me to observe how unassuming Van is. As an example,  he tells me how smart his kids are, and then says, “not sure where they got that from.” His voice is full and sure and he qualifies everything. Because there are so many ways to run salons, he says, this is the way we do it.

Whether you are salon owner, stylist or fashion creative, there are big lessons in his message. His voice is full, compelling, positive, reasonable, his methods for running salons are logical. I remember being with some of my staff at one of his talks. He regularly speaks at Aveda events, that I go to. My young staff were with me. They were entranced by him, engaged, shaking their heads up and down, they were jumping on the Van bandwagon, lucky he hasn’t opened a salon in my town. 

During this podcast, we talked about Atlanta as a great place to do hair. He says, “Atlanta has a lot of good salons. Keeps us on our toes.” But it is more than that, with 400 employees you need to be a great leader. From my perspective it comes from various things Van does. 1st he thinks deeply about his business. He has a personal habit of reading a lot. He takes his cues from top business people. It gives him an enormous amount to draw on. In fact I have heard him speak on some of my favorite authors, like Seth Goodin and Edward Demming. 2nd While many business people will suggest that hanging with your staff is a bad idea, Van does the opposite. He goes out of his way to meet and get to know his people. Take them to dinner, ride bikes, etc. 3rd, he is very affable, easy to be around, creative but not weird. I think Van would be a leader in any endeavor.

I do think Van Michael has a couple strong philosophies that he  articulates well. 1st the idea of specialization. This ideas goes all the way to the front desk. One person for check in another for check out, of course one for cut one for color. 2nd,  Quality is first and foremost. Van says the chair has to make money, and the stylist has a date by which they need to be making a certain amount, or they are out.

Van Council, the tour de force a leader among stylists,  salon owners and the business world.

Tony Gordon
T Gordon Salon Talks
Gordon Stylist Academy
Gordon Salons

My first experience with Neil Ducoff was at a dinner on the corner of Clark and Fullerton in Chicago. My father says, "you gotta meet this guy." The three of us go to this tapas place, half a block from my father's salon, slightly elevated above the street, so you can see all the surrounding businesses. We are eating, drinking, and Neil is talking. Neil is always talking. He was talking about the philosophy of Team Based Pay and how screwed up the salon businesses are. It was in 1989, I was a new stylist, young, opinionated, know-it-all and there was only one way to run a salon, and that was the way I knew it-commission. 

Across the street from the restaurant was a Super Cuts and a Hair Cuttery. The two businesses were practically side by side with one non related business in-between them. When I think of the stupidity of that landlord, it makes me want to scream. Who would put two of the same businesses in the same small building. I saw a movie trailer where two guys had guns pointed at each others heads in a moment of extreme intensity! It was kind of like that. 

Over lots of food and drink, and as Neil is explaining Team Based Pay, he leans over with his big waggy finger, points at the two chain salons, clearly visible from our table, and says, you know who is paying properly, they are. With added emphasis the pointing lingered. At the time those places were all hourly, not sure if they did bonuses. 

I said, "No way!" And I told Neil, this old guy with loads more experience than I, that he was crazy, he was wrong and one thousand other thoughts that were going thru my head. After the dinner, I was talking to my father, an award winning salon owner and visionary in the salon world, that stylists would never go for a pay scheme like Team Based Pay. 10 Years later I found myself in Connecticut at one of Neil's seminars and my wife Pam and I now have 4 salons all on Neil's pay system that are Top 200 for 15 years!  And I read the other day, the Hair Cuttery opened it's 900th location. Go figure!

In this podcast you can hear for yourself if Neil is worth listening to. 

Geno the great! Talking to Geno Stampora is like listening to a moving freight train of motivation and inspiration. Any and all hair designers should take a listen to one of the great hair industry speakers of our time. He will entertain and also energize, inform and influence you to be your best. Geno says, if your a "nice, happy, fun, a networker" your success is guaranteed. He says in the debate of technical vs non technical: the answer is 20/80. "Talent is way over rated." He says, "I was a terrible hairdresser"  but lat the same time he loves the salon environment. When he goes on vacation he finds a salon to hang out in. After selling his last salon in 1991, he became  a professional speaker for the salon industry, inspiring and motivating everywhere he goes. 

One of his founding philosophies, is that stylists can make "quantum leaps," in their careers with just the right mind set and focus. See, there is no real quality control for hair stylists, but if your well read and intelligent, the sky is the limit. If you are a master hairdresser, the economy will have little to no effect on you. He advises people to choose books and authors that resonate with the reader, maybe it is dangerous to recommend specific authors, but he does say he likes Seth Godin and Joel Osteen. 

I asked Geno, about his thoughts on different trends within the salon industry. He travels a lot, sees a lot, and has great insight. His thoughts on booth renting: to claustrophobic. His thoughts on fragmentation of the service business into lash only, blow dry only, etc: He likes a classic 25 chair salon, where stylists team up and collaborate. What about the competition from Amazon? Geno says, that eventually, everyone will buy from Amazon and online stores like them. But if stylists are motivated properly and with all the right tools could be doing 35% retail sales in salon. 

Geno Stampora is incomparable.  I feel very fortunate to have interviewed, heard his story and his energized words. Please take a listen to the podcast. Share it with your co workers. Find your quantum leaps.

gordonsalon.com
gordonstylistacademy.com
https://genostampora.com/

“You need to listen for the whisper,” says Frank Warner from Frank Anthony Salon in Chester,  New Jersey. Frank has survived tough times in the beauty business and has sincere wisdom to share. My interview with Frank was profound for me in many ways. First he tells a story about how he was greatly impacted by my father. Second he discusses his love of marketing. Thirdly, and maybe the most important, is what he calls “the whisper.” Personally I call this “an inkling.” Frank’s Whispers and my Inklings, are born of the same sound, a quiet sound, a subtle voice that tells you what is next..

Listening closely to your inner voice can make all the difference in the world. Frank mentions how listening to the whispers has put him in the right place, in the right situation to hear the right information at the right time. He has a morning ritual that sets him up to hear “the whispers.” His ritual, is prayer. Frank has his ear attuned to the quiet voices and it has served him and his staff well.

The Frank Anthony Salon walks the talk. Frank says “the way” is to serve. He tells me about a series events that declare service, kindness and concern. These events include: free haircuts for veterans on Veterans Day, Divas for a Day for cancer patients, hiring disabled employees, declaring kindness to clients and staff. You don't hear about people using a spiritual pursuit to enhance their business. But as there are so many potential moral pitfalls in business, I think it makes a lot of sense. After 49 years in the beauty industry this method has served Frank well.

Other passions and motivations include marketing. He follows the concepts for Jay Conrad Levinson the writer of the book Guerrilla Marketing. Awarded multiple honors for his in salon programs, now he has launched smart and manageable online strategy as well. Kindness and serving from the art, he explains, is really his overarching motivation.

It occurs to me that kindness can be used as a marketing strategy. Isn't it the true intent of great customer service? But Frank isn’t just being kind  to make money, he is sincere in this pursuit. Caring and kindness pervades his entire salon operation.

He mentions my father, Jerry Gordon’s kindness, when he came before the Intercoiffure board for his initial interview for entry to the esteemed organization. Going before the Membership Committee of IC is a nerve racking experience. I have been there. What does Frank remember about the experience: my father’s interest and comments about his internal marketing programs.

I was aware Frank knew my father, but I had no idea of the connection between them or the profound impact Jerry had on Frank. Please listen to the podcast to hear more about Jerry, Vidal Sassoon and many more who influenced Frank.

Listening to the Whisper is sound advice. Whether your deciding which education event to attend, how to deal with clients, staff and which marketing should be used, the whisper can inform, direct and more.  Although Frank’s whisper comes from prayer, I know mine comes from my intuition, my gut feelings. If your listening, you too will hear the whisper, the inkling. Be like Frank, listen for the quiet voice and then take action.

Tony Gordon

gordonsalon.com

Therapy or Coaching?

Coaching, mentoring, consulting, therapy— which one do you need? Brigette Sobus from Salon Soca and Empowering You Consulting, can help you! Everyone needs help sometimes. In fact I believe that almost everyone needs coaching at some point to take careers to the next level. Mentoring brings you to a higher place. Brigette is an expert as she is a certified coach with a national accreditation. She coaches various businesses, hair stylists and more. Brigette has been through a lot. She’s dealt with health issues, divorce, and runs marathons; but her knowledge and experience will help you get from point A to point B.

She talks about how people can control how they react to salon drama. You can't control any other aspect of the situation than your own reaction. How can we stop being victimized?

What is the difference between therapy, coaching, mentoring and consulting? Brigette defines each, completion and closure. These two key terms are what people get confused on. “Don’t let these past items become a ball and chain” she says. Holding people accountable and helping them hold to goals and project deadlines is what Brigette’s practice does.

Brigette says, “many owners in this industry don't take a paycheck, are hostages  to their employees and are just plowing all their money back into their business.” I personally was shocked to hear this and though I heard it before, I just don’t want to believe it.

Brigette is a survivor. Luckily going through her marathon training at the same time as a divorce, it was literally like therapy for her. Running marathons to reduce stress. Then she was diagnosed with breast cancer in her 40s.

But Brigette is alive and well. Ready to give you her wisdom. Find her and have a conversation. It's probably just coaching you need, but if not she has a therapy referral for you.

Tony Gordon

Gordonsalon.com

Gordonstylistacademy.com

T Gordon Salon Talks on apple podcasts

You can reach Brigette at:

click here to find Brigette