Ep 354 – Three Steps to Boost Client Retention with Heidi Holley

Summary

ASCP Esty Talk
Episode 354 – Three Steps to Boost Client Retention with Heidi Holley
October 15, 2025

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Overview

In this episode, hosts Maggie Stasik and Ala Cressman are joined by Heidi Holley—licensed esthetician, certified massage therapist, and experienced beauty business coach—to discuss three pivotal steps estheticians can take to dramatically boost client retention. With over 20 years in the beauty industry and having founded Sapphire Spa Coaching, Heidi delivers actionable advice aimed at helping estheticians not just attract new clients but keep them coming back for more. The conversation is brimming with practical anecdotes, useful scripts, and authentic advice grounded in real-world experience.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Create a Memorable Experience

[03:50]

• Heidi’s Core Belief: Make every client feel special from the moment they arrive, during, and after their treatment.
  • "What is that memorable experience that you're wanting to leave with your client? Because that's really what's gonna bring them back into the treatment room." – Heidi Holley [04:21]
• Personalization: Tap into what makes you unique as a provider and inject that into each client experience.
• Ala’s Example:
  • Lets clients pick their preferred music—ranging from Fallout Boy to 90s rap to Yanni.
  • "What I do is I let them pick the music they want...I have that ready for them when they get there." – Ala Cressman [04:47]
• Why It Works:
  • Clients share unique experiences with friends and family, which fuels word-of-mouth referrals and retention.
  • The unique touches are what clients remember most—not just the technical skill or service performed.

2. Pre-book Every Client

[05:55]

• The Essential Ask: Always recommend and help clients schedule their next visit before they leave.
  • "In order to maintain the results from this appointment, I suggest you coming back in this amount of weeks. Let's get you on the books today." – Heidi Holley [06:42]
• Guidance over Selling:
  • Use authentic language and make the recommendation personal to each client’s needs.
  • Avoid making it feel like a hard sale—frame it as guidance for achieving their best results.
• Ala’s Practice:
  • Makes rebooking “non-negotiable” and offers clients a choice: "Do you want to come back in four or six weeks?"
  • "That is your choice. That is your choice." – Ala Cressman [09:01]
• Why It Matters:
  • If clients aren’t asked to rebook, life will often get in the way, and they may not return.
  • Framing the rebooking as essential for continued results helps both client and practitioner.

3. Follow Up & Stay Top of Mind

[09:30]

• The Follow-up:
  • Especially crucial with first-time clients—check in to see how they felt about their service, request feedback or reviews, and remind them about future visits.
  • Adjust communication channels based on client preference (email, text, social media).
  • "I suggest you to do a follow up, you know, right after their first appointment...If we could get feedback or just remind them of when they're coming back in." – Heidi Holley [11:35]
• Staying Visible:
  • Send weekly emails to remain a constant presence in clients’ minds, similar to how big brands operate.
  • "If you send an email weekly to your clients, you're going to stay top of mind with them." – Heidi Holley [10:36]
• Personal Touches vs Automation:
  • Physical notes with a personal message (even including a small offer or sample) can stand out.
  • Ala expresses the intention to follow up with a handwritten note and sample for a new client after realizing she failed to prebook, highlighting the power of tangible gestures [13:20].
  • Leverage software for automated reminders and outreach when the client base grows, but personalize whenever possible.
  • "If you have the time...this is the opportunity for you to show your clients a little bit more personalization and a little bit more care." – Heidi Holley [14:37]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Clients aren't going to necessarily remember if you did like a really great service, but they're going to remember their experience and how you made them feel."
  —Heidi Holley [05:22]

• "You need to come back. Do you want to come back in four or six weeks?...That is your choice."
  —Ala Cressman [08:55]

• "It's about that repetition and it is about continuing to do it...just doing that effort and continuously doing it."
  —Heidi Holley [15:44]

• "I appreciate the integrations and the software that I have that's like click send reminders to the ones that haven't been here in six months...That will still provide that touchback."
  —Ala Cressman [13:41]

• "If you have a smaller client load right now...this is the time to do those personal things before your business grows."
  —Heidi Holley [14:37]

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Useful Timestamps

• [03:50] – Tip #1: Creating a memorable client experience
• [05:55] – Tip #2: The importance of pre-booking clients
• [09:30] – Tip #3: Following up and staying top of mind
• [12:16] – Handwritten notes and their renewed impact
• [13:37] – Leveraging automation with a personal touch
• [14:37] – Heidi on personalized outreach for solopreneurs

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Conclusion: The Three Key Steps (Recap) [15:19]

1. Make it memorable – Craft an experience clients can’t help but talk about.
2. Pre-book – Always guide clients to their next appointment before they leave.
3. Stay top of mind – Follow up personally and leverage digital tools to remain in your clients’ awareness.

Heidi Holley’s seasoned advice is both accessible and actionable, offering a blend of timeless service values and modern-day client management tactics for estheticians determined to build a thriving, loyal clientele.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Hello and welcome to ASCP's Estee Talk. I'm your co host Maggie Stasik and ASCP's program director.

[C]

And I'm Ala Cressman, licensed esthetician, business owner, ingredient junkie and content contributor for Associated Skincare Professionals.

[B]

On the show today we are joined by Heidi Holly. She is a licensed esthetician, certified massage therapist and beauty business coach with over 20 years in the industry. After having owned her own Spa for 14 years, Heidi she stepped away from the treatment room to found Sapphire Spa Coaching where she now helps solo estheticians get clear, confident and booked. Welcome to the show. Heidi hi.

[D]

Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be on. I'm so excited about this topic today.

[B]

We're happy to have you. Today we are discussing an important topic. Whether you are new to the industry or been at it for a while, we're diving into client retention. Heidi, you have three actionable steps estheticians can take to boost retention and create more long term clients.

[D]

Yeah, I mean my passion really is helping beauty professionals gain that clarity. Obviously when you gain clarity and things, you are going to retain your clients a lot better, you're going to attract clients and you're really going to truly build either the books or the business that you're obsessed with. So I love this topic because the client retention tips that I'm going to share today are also going to be client attraction tips too so they can work hand in hand. So I love that part as well.

[C]

Me too. I think it's really important because we focus on you attracting clients but we don't focus enough on Retaining them or keeping them. We get them, but then how do we keep them?

[D]

Right, right, right. And really, a lot of things go together. Right. So, you know, if you're. If your messaging, let's say, for instance, is fuzzy or it's not connecting with the clients that you really are wanting to attract, the same thing could be happening in the treatment room. Right. The same thing could be happening with the conversations that you're having. So I find that, you know, that connection and, you know, getting that clarity of who you're working with and why you're bringing them back in is. It's just intertangled. So I really. I love this part because this is the best part. It's so much fun to attract and to keep those clients coming back.

[B]

So let's dive into tip number one that you have.

[D]

Yeah. So I'm a big believer in creating a memorable experience. So, you know, really, this is where you get to make your clients feel special. Right. Get your clients feeling like, wow, that was so much more than the treatment that I had booked. That is so much more than, you know, I was expecting. So you obviously want to make them feel special, like, before they even get onto the table or get into your treatment room during and after the service. But creating that memorable experience requires you to kind of dive a little bit deeper in yourself and explore of what makes you unique as a business owner or what makes you unique as a service provider. So I always try to kind of get people to say, what are they really offering their clients? Like, what is that memorable experience that you're wanting to leave with your client? Right. Because that's really what's gonna bring them back into the treatment room.

[C]

The one way that I create memorable experiences, and it just came up because I asked for client feedback, but it was what I do is I let them pick the music they want. So I have one client who likes Fallout Boy, one client who likes 90s rap, one client who likes Yanni. And so I have that ready for them when they get there.

[B]

I love that I've heard you talk about that before, Ella. I think I would have a hard time doing that. I'm sorry. They don't get to pick their music.

[D]

Yeah, you know, that is a tricky. Depends on what you're trying to do in your treatment room. But I. I really think this is something that people are going to share. So your client, if they can remember that experience, they're going to be more likely to share it with their friends, family, people that they run into on their daily lives. So that's why I think it's important to kind of focus on this a little bit and to really tailor it to you, make it unique to you, you know what I mean? Because that's what the client remembers as well. Clients aren't going to necessarily remember if you did like a really great service, but they're going to remember their experience and how you made them feel, you know. So that's a huge one.

[B]

Yeah, very good point. Heidi, what is tip number two?

[D]

Tip number two is to pre book every client. And I know this is going to sound really like, okay, Heidi, we know this, but it's really important that we ask for that pre book, that we're guiding our clients in that pre book process. So, you know, I think this is something that we can work on as a collective. Right. In the beauty industry of what kind of to say as we're guiding our clients out into the world. And, you know, they're in their like, relaxation bubble. They're in their, you know, they came off of that great experience that you just came, you know, gave them. And this is something that we have to kind of practice sometimes of like the words to say or. But I really say, I just tell my, my coaching clients, like, you have to just ask for it, say, hey, in order to maintain the results from this appointment, I suggest you coming back in this amount of weeks. Let's get you on the books today. Because I want to ensure that you have the proper time and date for yourself. Because we all know that everybody's busy and you can kind of add something in there that's very unique to your client or very unique to you, or I only have so many Saturdays I work or something like that. Right. Because, you know, we're going to make it personal. But if you're not asking for that rebook, there's more likely a chance that that client either isn't going to come back or they're going to get so busy that they're going to, you know, life is going to get in the way. And so you're not going to see them when you probably want to see them in order to maintain those results. Right. So, you know, the pre book and asking for the pre book, you'd be surprised at how many people miss this step. And it's really essential to like letting the client know, hey, I want you to come back. This is how you're going to maintain these results.

[B]

I hear you, Heidi. I think this is definitely hard for estheticians. I think it was hard for me when I was Just coming out of aesthetic school and it's, it's closing the sale is what it is. And I have heard tips throughout my career about don't let the client know that your calendar is wide open. Pick specific dates or times, you know, little tricks like that. I don't know if you have a perspective on that.

[D]

You know, I think I'm all about authenticity in business. I'm all about authenticity when it comes to clients. Right. So I really, I'm just trying to invite that client back in. And I think that for me, as long as that, you know, relationship is kind of being built and you feel that connection with your client, there's no need for you to, I don't know, tell them all these different things, just invite them back, say, hey, I want to have you come back in, but I wanna ensure that you are coming back in in the time that works for you.

[C]

Yeah, I make it non negotiable. Except remember a couple weeks ago I was talking about that fail that I had the client fail. Like a, I mean, I, it's not like I'm new to this, I should know better, but I, I totally had a fail with a brand new client. And the one thing that I did not do that I do with every other new client is I didn't pre book her. I said, it'll calm you in a little bit if you, you know, in a couple weeks and we'll get you back in. Everybody else, it's a non negotiable. You need to come back. Do you want to come back in four or six weeks? I don't say I want to see you back. I say do you want four or six? That's your choice. That is your choice.

[D]

That's a great tip because yeah, we're leading the conversation, right? We're leading, we're guiding, we're, you know, directing that client. And so I love that you use that verbiage because honestly, like, that's probably going to be the deciding factor of the brain of like, okay, oh wow, this is my choice. Okay. Yes. I need to maintain this. I need to listen to this person. This is, I love this result and I love this experience. So I love that. Yeah.

[B]

What's tip number three?

[D]

Tip number three, which I was gonna kind of lead into because it really does is the follow up and staying top of mind. So this is also another thing that I feel like people kind of shy away from because they don't wanna seem like they're, they're, you know, emailing their clients too much. Or you're signing like they're in their inbox a lot or something like that. But you know, we really do want to follow up with that client, especially a first time client. Right? First time client. We want to just follow up them, say hey, how was the treatment? I would love to hear, you know, any feedback. This is a really good opportunity for feedback. You had mentioned feedback earlier. I love getting feedback. I think it's important and it's part of the process that I had. So, you know, whether it be text message, email, social media, it's really up to you and your client. Right. Because everybody does communicate a little differently nowadays. So I will say like yes, back in the day emails were like the standard for business. But I think honestly if a lot of your clients text message, a lot of your clients are on social media communicate that way. But I do highly suggesting also top of mind because staying on top of mind and how I do this is send an email weekly. And I know some people listening are going to be like an email weekly. Oh my gosh, that's a lot. But it's actually not if you think about how many emails you receive in your inbox from big brands, let's say. So like Sephora for instance, like they'll send an email a couple times a day, every day. Right. So we are used to getting emails, we are used to things coming into our inbox. But if you send an email weekly to your clients, you're going to stay top of mind with them. So that means that they're going to see that email and probably think about you if they've had a conversation or they're going to see that email and maybe it resonates with them or they're going to see that, you know what I mean? So, but same thing with follow ups. So obviously I suggest you to do a follow up, you know, right after their first appointment. We want to get, you know, an awareness of how they enjoyed their appointment. If we could get a review from them, if we could get a feedback from them or, or just remind them of when they're coming back in or if they did not pre book, which you know, that happens too, so don't get me wrong, but remind them when they should come back in. So that follow up after their first appointment is very vital. But then after that, let's say you don't see a client for a while, you know, this is an opportunity to start that conversation again. And I think that's where people become a little bit shy as well, is like, you know, Am I going to seem like, oh, am I, I don't know, aggressive with this? But it's like, no, you're, you have to realize that people's lives are very busy. They have work, they got kids, they got all sorts of stuff going on. So some people might want to see you again and they just forgot to schedule and like time just passes. So that follow up and staying top of mind is huge.

[B]

Really, really good advice. And this takes me back. I'm going to date myself here. But when I, when I first entered the industry, you know, I, I would have those clients that I would see and then not see for a while. So I would write a little thank you card and then put my business card in the note and write 10% off with a. Yeah. Saying like, hey, haven't seen you in a while, come back in. Which, I mean today. I don't even know if that would be effective. Everything is digital. Everything's like you're saying email or text or social media.

[C]

I think that is effective. I think that there's a lost art of like getting something in the mail because to Heidi's point, we are inundated with digital communication.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Maybe now again it would be effective, but there may have been a period of time when people would say what is this? And toss it.

[C]

If it's handwritten, I'm opening it. Okay. Yeah, you can send me a note anytime.

[B]

I'm gonna send you a note, Ella.

[D]

Okay.

[C]

I love that.

[B]

Stamped in everything.

[C]

But do you also, in the spirit of a lot of these touchbacks or top of minds are integrated into softwares as well. So making it easy is, or making it easy for yourself if it is something that you find intimidating or not understanding what to do. Listen, it's a lot of work. Yesterday was my social media catch up day. I'm so far behind, I had to do an email, I had to do posts, I had to schedule them, all that other stuff. It's a lot. And so I appreciate the integrations and the software that I have that's like click send reminders to the ones that haven't been here in six months. And it's a lot less personal than a handwritten note. But I think that is something that you can use as a busy solopreneur or entrepreneur that will still provide that touchback. And then when you, you have time in your schedule or allowing time in your schedule for those authentic connections too. And I think you made me think of that fail that I had. This is a very enlightening conversation for Me, because that fail that I had, instead of sending an email or a text or like a social media message, I'm going to write her a handwritten note and put a little sample pack in there or something.

[B]

Do you think a personalized text message is as effective?

[D]

And especially, let's say if you have a smaller audience, if you have a smaller client load right now, then this is the time to do those personal things before your business grows or before your books really grow to the point where you have to rely on those more automated systems like she had mentioned. Like I think, yeah, if you have the time, if you have gaps in your schedule, this is the opportunity for you to show your clients a little bit more personalization and a little bit more care. And I love the postcards. I love the postcards. By the way. The postcards are near and dear to me. I mean, I'm in my 40s so like that was what I did early on. But I love that because a client probably will feel a little bit special and feel a little bit cared for differently.

[C]

So especially in this day and age. So the three steps, one is make it memorable. Two was pre book, three stay top of mind.

[D]

Those are my three top tips for really client retention. And you know, these are the things that have just worked over time. So it doesn't matter like what technology's doing, doesn't matter how busy people are, doesn't matter. These are tried and true things that I've worked over my career. These are tried and true things that pretty much everybody does in the industry. And so, you know, but it is about that repetition and it is about continuing to do it. So I like that you mentioned the technology earlier because that is one way that you can just do it. So I say the same thing with social media. I would rather have you post something than analyze it and not post it all type thing. So same thing with communication, same thing with working on things in our business and our books and bringing clients back in is just doing that effort and continuously doing it.

[B]

Heidi, excellent tips. Thank you for being on the show with us today. Now listeners, we want to hear from you. Share with us on social media through Instagram, Facebook or send us an [e-mail] in the meantime, thank you for listening to ASCPSDtalk. For more information on this episode or for ways to connect with Heidi, Holly, Ella or myself, or to learn more about ascp, check out the show notes Sam.