Is Your Holiday Promo Actually Helping You Or Hurting You?

In this episode of The Modern Hairstylist Podcast, Hunter Donia and Jodie Brown are getting into a conversation that comes up every single year at this time: holiday discounting. Before you roll out a promo, a package, or a gift card sale, Hunter wants you to stop and actually think through whether it is serving you or quietly working against you. Hunter walks through the real questions you need to answer before you discount anything, using a real example from a Mastermind student to show how a well-intentioned holiday promo can end up costing a fully booked stylist money they did not need to give away. This episode is not anti-discounting. It is pro-strategy. Key Takeaways: 🤔 Ask Yourself What The Promo Is Actually For: Before you run any kind of holiday special, you need to get clear on the purpose. Are you trying to fill slow months? Show client appreciation? Keep up with a precedent you accidentally set years ago? The answer to that question should completely determine whether you do it at all, and how. 📅 Your Busiest Season Is The Worst Time To Discount: The holidays are already your highest-demand period. Clients are more willing to spend without any incentive during this time than almost any other point in the year. Running a discount when demand is naturally high means you are giving away money you were already going to make. 🔁 Time-Specific Promos Create Client Expectations You Cannot Escape: If you discount every November, your clients will start waiting for it. Hunter uses REI and a med spa as examples of businesses that have trained their customers to hold off spending until the sale comes around. Once you set that precedent, you are working against yourself for the rest of the year. 💡 How To Discount Without Losing Money: If you are going to run a promo regardless, Hunter shares a smart way to do it. Look for add-on services that do not require additional appointment time and have minimal product cost. Bundling those in at a discount actually increases your revenue per appointment rather than cutting into it, and it gets clients hooked on services they will pay full price for later. 🛍️ Retail And Add-Ons Are Your Highest Leverage Move This Season: If you want to maximize the natural demand of the holiday season without working more hours or cutting your prices, sell more add-ons and retail to the clients already in your chair. Your profit potential is already higher right now. You do not need a promo to unlock it. Why You Should Listen: If you are a beauty pro who runs some version of a holiday special every year because it just feels like the thing to do, this episode is your gut check. Hunter is not telling you never to discount. He is giving you the framework to figure out whether your specific situation actually calls for it, and if it does, how to do it in a way that does not leave you burnt out in January with less money than you should have made. Let's connect on Instagram!