Create your own signature system

While Morticia was working her way through both my Colour Analysis Training in a Box and the Ladies’ Personal Style course a few years ago, she generally emailed me at least once a week with questions. One such email started,

Kim, Several years ago, I attended a retreat for women that were unhappy with their weight/bodies. I returned a new woman, relinquished of the hatred I had held about myself for some years.

Since then this company have been looking for someone to work with their clients on how they feel about the way they look. They like my positive approach and we got together the other day to discuss what the workshop might look like.

We talked through some ideas and here is what I’ve come up with. Can you give it the once-over before I send it to them please?

Morticia added, I would like to get the following messages across: 1. Phenomenal effect of colour 2. Size is irrelevant – it’s all about your shape 3. The importance of looking and feeling good right now.

I stared in awe at the huge amount of content that Morticia had outlined for inclusion and replied,

This all sounds utterly marvellous but I would strongly suggest offering two days and split the colour and the style into two separate sessions.

Women are looking for a journey in how to look and feel fabulous. When I’ve run all-day workshops with colour in the morning and style in the afternoon, you just don’t get enough time for everything.

Feedback forms tell me they ALL wished they’d had more time on this, on that, and the other. Everyone, including you, ends up exhausted at the huge amount of information. This is supposed to be uplifting, not overwhelming!

A full day really breaks down into such a short time in effect:

10 am – 11.30 session 1
11.30 – 11.45 coffee
11.45 – 13.00 session 2
13.00 – 14.00 lunch
14.00 – 15.00 session 3
15.00 – 15.15 coffee
15.15 – 16.30 session 4

This gives you a total of 90 + 75 + 60 + 75 = 300 minutes (5 hours) only in which to deliver actual content.

From long (and often frustrating) experience, I would always suggest providing content to fill only half of that time. You must allow a group of women time to talk, ask questions, and chat amongst themselves. After all, they are there for some me-time!

So you only need to provide a maximum of 2.5 – 3 hours’ worth of actual content.

Seriously think about splitting your huge amount of content over two sessions at the minimum.

If it was me, I would split the Colour content into two sessions and you could easily break the contents of Style down into at least 4 separate full-day sessions!

By providing more than one bite at the cherry, this will bring you more business, and for the company you’re working with, and it provides a far better experience and service to your clients.

Morticia is one of the best image consultants I have ever had the pleasure to coach.

She carefully thought through my suggestions, asked me loads more questions, and quickly grasped both the massive earning potential for herself and the amazing benefits that such a program could bring to each of her clients. This also enabled her to thank the company who had helped her so much previously with her own self-esteem issues by providing a fabulous program of colour and style sessions for their clients.

Later, Morticia added wardrobe planning and personal shopping to her program and eventually turned colour, style, wardrobe and shopping content into her signature system. She still uses this system today and has hugely happy clients and a business that provides the rewards and success she so thoroughly deserves.