To become a professional Personal Shopper, you must be aware of the work of a Style Expert. Today we share some insights on the professional path of a Personal Shopper to inspire your career goals.
Personal shoppers are professional buyers for private clients and advisers inside premium retailers, offering a styling service and giving wardrobe recommendations. Their work is versatile, as they exchange valuable information for the client’s desires, and execute the entire process of finding the clothes, making a quality selection, and then showing it to the customer.
The Style Expert or Image Consultant is a similar career path where we can find similar duties a Personal Shopper performs.The job is a mix of delivering the best customer service and personalized attention and listening to wishes or aspirations regarding the client’s self. With personal shopper assistance, they can improve their confidence and general look, to be prepared for a business career or create their personal image.
Personal shoppers or styling advisors work with people as the main asset. Whether it be groups, classes, customers, or companies, their job is to educate them about general fashion apparel, color combinations, types of body silhouettes, and how to buy smartly to build a worthy wardrobe.
If you are looking to pursue a career in styling and become a Personal Shopper, you need to know the following crucial skills for this type of professional:
1. You must become a fashion expert in all senses.
To become a professional personal shopper is not enough if you enjoy the shopping experience at a personal level, In this career path, you will need to know everything about fashion, from fashion designers, latest trends, changes in average fashion silhouette, and be aware of the timeless fashions. Culture in the fashion industry is a very important thing to foster. Information is power, you must develop a deep understanding of the fashion cycles, curiosity to discover new fashion designers and the state of different urban styles around main cities or through social media. To be up-to-date in fashion is a valuable quality that any retail or fashion company is looking for. It is not enough to like fashion, you have to be a professional at it.
2. You need to work on your people skills, empathy is the key to success
A Personal Shopper or an Image Consultant listens to the client’s needs and tries to fulfill them in the best possible way. Some clients require style assistance, others need to find confidence in themselves. There is no standard case to work with as every person is unique and has different wardrobe choices. You should foster soft skills such as being a good listener, friendly, and tactful while diagnosing a case. Cultivate your oral communication and coaching skills and be ready to connect with people.
3. You need to build a client portfolio, and deliver the best experience
Several personal shoppers work with a high-profile clientele such as celebrities, actors, or politicians. However, this is not the only career path you can aspire to. A lot of people are having difficulties dressing for their jobs or special events. Sometimes they do not have time to browse the stores to find clothes for next season or, simply they do not know how. That is where you intervene, delivering the best experience and an accurate solution for your client’s wardrobe problems. Remember that in this industry word-of-mouth is a very common way to get new clients.
4. You have to create your own consulting process, and advise smartly
Personal shoppers and style advisors usually develop a method to approach their customer’s needs. You can create a unique way to gather important information to deliver a solution. Ask for several aspects of your client’s daily routine create a workflow where you can register your client’s color selections, skin, and body complexity, height and weight, best hair and make-up choices, and wardrobe needs for business and special events. While you analyze all the facts, you can get creative and propose smart tips and unexpected solutions to bring your client out of their comfort zone in terms of clothing styles or hairdressing.
5. You must know how to network, look for a fashion retail network to work with
The stylists and personal shoppers know every single fashion retail where to find wardrobe treasures. From luxury destinations to second-hand and vintage stores, every personal shopper develops a network for trustful stores. They can advise their clients on the spot or eventually do freelance consulting for the retailer’s clientele.
Becoming a Personal Shopper and an Image Consultant requires coaching abilities, protocol, and body language knowledge to get your recommendations right. Fashion and style are your main tools to provide an extraordinary business service that improves the client’s life.
Do you want to learn more about this topic? Find more in the Image Consultant and Personal Shopper program.