What to ask in a first consultation

A consultation has two jobs, and most only do the first: find out what the client needs, and make sure you both mean the same thing by the words you are using. "Natural" and "a bit shorter" have cost more repeat bookings than any technical mistake.

What they want, in their words and yours

1. 1What made you book today? The answer is usually the real brief, and it is rarely the service they selected.
2. 2What have you had done before, and what happened? Include what went wrong, gently asked.
3. 3Show me. Photographs of what they like — and, more usefully, photographs of what they do not.
4. 4How much time do you want to spend on this at home? This single question decides half of what you should recommend.
5. 5Is there a date this needs to be right for?

Then the practical constraints

• How often can they realistically come back, and what does that mean for the plan.
• Budget, asked plainly: "what were you hoping to spend today?" — it is kinder than a surprise at the till.
• Anything about their health, work or life that changes what you should do.
• Allergies, sensitivities, patch tests, and any previous reaction.

Whatever your trade requires on the health side is not optional and is not a template question — check with your insurer and professional body once, write those questions into your form, and keep the answers on file with the date.

Say what you are going to do, before you do it

Repeat the plan back in one sentence, with the price and the time: "So today: root colour and a trim, about two hours, £95 — and if you want the ends lighter we do that at the next appointment." Nothing prevents disappointment like the client hearing the plan before it starts, in words they can object to.

End with the next step, not with goodbye

Book the next appointment, or agree what happens next and when. A consultation that ends with "have a think" converts far worse than one that ends with a date, and the difference is one sentence you have to remember to say.

Then write it down — what was agreed, what you used, what they said. That record is what makes the second appointment feel like being known rather than starting again.