There’s a fine line between self-promotion and bragging. According to business coach and author Barbara Pachter, “Bragging is obnoxious boasting, and people do it to let you know how great they think they are. Tactful self-promotion is a business skill.” Learning when and how to speak well of yourself and your business is one of the keys to helping you keep your salon fresh in your clients’ minds and ahead of the competition. Here are six ways you can practice the art of self-promotion.
1. Be visible. Get more involved in the nail industry. Join organizations and participate in nail competitions (like The Glossies or at ISSE Long Beach). Share your salon’s work online on Facebook and Instagram – being sure to tag #nailprodigy for the chance to be featured by Nailpro.
2. Be prepared. You may often find yourself in situation where you have to tell others about yourself, when you’re introduced to someone new, for instance. prepare a self-introduction such as, “My name is Jane Smith, and I own the new nail salon that just opened down the street,” to help you become more comfortable speaking about yourself and promoting your business.
3. Accept compliments. If someone pays you a compliment about how great your nails look or how well you run your salon, don’t negate it (“Oh, I’m just lucky that I have nice nail beds”). You’re putting yourself and your business down. Instead, start by saying thank you, then elaborate if you wish.
4. When asked, do tell. If someone asks you, “How is your salon?” take this opportunity to mention your accomplishment and express genuine pleasure when you do. Avoid superlatives (“My salon is the greatest business in the whole town!”), which sound like bragging. Instead, simply describe what you did: “I have great news! According to my sales figures, my clients bought more retail products this year than last year!”
5. Don’t overdo it. They key here is balance. Weave your accomplishments into conversation when appropriate, but talk about other subjects too. Also, don’t mention the same accomplishment over and over again – this will make you sound like a braggart.
6. Speak well of others. Praise others’ accomplishments too. When you do, your comments about yourself won’t seem out of place. But don’t express praise if it isn’t warranted; others will know, and you’ll appear phony.
-Jodi Mills, Amy E. Hamaker, Kendra Kozen
[Image: Search Engine People Blog via Flickr Creative Commons]
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