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The Pre-Game Playbook — consultations, inspo photos & what to say

You know how to do the hair. But do you know what to do BEFORE the hair?

Your client shows you an inspo photo. You ask a few questions. You start thinking about placement, formulation, timing, and how many foils you'll need.

And halfway through the appointment you realize you never discussed the maintenance. Or the price. Or whether she was expecting to be platinum TODAY. 😅

The Pre-Game Playbook is your behind-the-chair cheat sheet for everything that happens before you pick up a color brush.

Wouldn't it be nice if you knew what to ask, knew what to look for and knew what to say?! 

$48 · Instant digital download · 3 guides in 1. 

You can nail the color and STILL have an appointment go wrong.

And sometimes it has absolutely nothing to do with your technical skills.

Maybe you assumed you knew what her inspo photo meant. Maybe you forgot to explain that her dream blonde would take three appointments. Maybe you were so focused on foil placement you never asked about her budget. Or maybe you knew exactly what needed to be said — you just didn't know how to say it without sounding rude.

Suddenly the problem isn't the hair. It's everything that happened before the hair.

You don't need to become a mind reader. You need a system.

Stop winging it. Start walking into appointments with a plan.

Imagine starting every color appointment knowing:

  • I know what my client actually wants. Not just what she said — what she MEANS when she says "bright but dimensional."
  • I know what's realistic. We've discussed her starting point, hair history, timing, and what we can accomplish today.
  • I know how I'm approaching the color. I've broken down her inspo photo and built my placement and technique from it.
  • I know we're on the same page. Pricing, maintenance, expectations and the realistic finished result — all discussed.
  • I know what to say when things get uncomfortable. Unrealistic requests, pricing pushback, awkward texts — the words are ready to go.

Instead of second-guessing everything before you've even started… you can actually focus on doing the damn hair.

Three resources. Three very real behind-the-chair struggles. One playbook.

Part 01

The Consultation Game Plan

My simple, repeatable 5-step consultation system:

  1. Understand what they REALLY want
  2. Talk maintenance and lifestyle
  3. Set realistic expectations
  4. Discuss pricing without making it weird
  5. Recap and confirm

Bonus: a quick-reference consultation checklist + a downloadable pre-appointment consultation form to send clients ahead of time.

Part 02

The Inspo Photo Gameplan

Your client brought the Pinterest photo. Now WTF do you do with it? 😂 My S.R.C. Method:

  • S — Sections: break the photo into top, mids and ends to guide placement.
  • R — Read the Roots: decide between highlights, teasylights, balayage, root melts and more.
  • C — Contrast Control: guide your pickup size and how much hair to lighten or darken.

Plus: two real client examples, from starting point to finished result.

Part 03

The Client Communication Playbook

My actual words and plug-and-play scripts for when:

  • A client wants a price before you've seen her hair
  • Someone shows up 20 minutes late
  • The inspo photo is completely unrealistic
  • The budget doesn't match the service
  • The hair can't safely handle more lightener
  • You need to enforce your cancellation policy
  • You're raising your prices
  • You need to politely decline (or fire) a client

And SO many more. Find the situation. Grab the script. Send it.

You need the Pre-Game Playbook if…

  • Your consultation sometimes starts and ends with "So… what are we doing today?" 😂
  • You've realized halfway through an appointment that you forgot to discuss something important.
  • Your client shows you an inspo photo and your brain immediately lists 47 ways to recreate it.
  • You feel uncomfortable discussing pricing, maintenance, or unrealistic expectations.
  • You've ever heard "That's not really what I pictured."
  • You've screenshotted a client text and sent it to your stylist group chat asking, "Does this sound bitchy?"
  • You've agreed to something during a consultation and immediately regretted it.
  • You want a repeatable system instead of relying on memory, guessing, or vibes.

Or, quite simply: you know how to do hair, but wish someone would make all the OTHER stuff a little easier.

Carly, founder of The Blonde Chronicles

You don't need to know everything. You just need to know what to do next.

I spent years behind the chair overthinking consultations, placements, client conversations, and just about everything else. Eventually I realized: the more systems I created, the less I had to rely on my brain to figure it all out on the spot.

I didn't need to remember every consultation question. I needed a checklist. I didn't need to memorize every placement. I needed a method for reading an inspo photo. And I didn't need to become some confrontational person who always knows what to say. I needed the words already written down.

That's the Pre-Game Playbook.

xoxox, Carly

The October Bundle

Want all three?

Get The Pre-Game Playbook, The Break Room Bible and The Blueprint: Going Darker Edition together for $120 (instead of $144).

Before you do the hair, get your sh*t together. 😂

Okay, but seriously. The next time your client sits down with an inspo photo, I don't want you spiraling about technique. I want you to have a process.

Ask the right questions. Understand the expectations. Break down the inspiration. Build your game plan. Know what to say.

And THEN… do the damn hair.