As a business owner, or someone who wants to become one – promotion is the name of the game. No matter how good you are at what you do, if no one knows about you, your business will suffer.
Shameless Self-Promotion
Today we’ll talk about shameless self-promotion. That’s right, I said it! Shameless!
It’s all about how you promote yourself and your business, loud and proud. Self-promotion comes in many forms, and you can use different tactics to get your name out there. Look at politicians! They are usually a master of self-promotion and often, in some not so discreet ways, at that.
Unfortunately, some of the most famous self promoters also come off as slimy. That tends to give the idea of self-promotion a sour taste. But, it doesn’t have to. Self-promotion can be done tastefully and be beneficial to your business and potential clients.
We All Do It . . .
In reality, we all self promote. For example, did you raise your hand in class to show the teacher you knew the answer? Of course! That’s self-promotion. This is the kind of self-promotion we are talking about. promotion with dignity, class and the knowledge to back it up. If you self-promote only to prove you don’t really know what you’re talking about, you’re going to lose business.
Natural self-promoters usually thrive in the field. That’s true whether they are in business, sports, entertainment or an employee in a big corporation. And, if you watch them carefully. You’ll see they generally share a few key traits. You can learn to use these traits too.
Three Key Traits of Successful Self-promoters
Here are a few major traits that can help you promote yourself and your business without that “slime factor” feeling.
Position Yourself for Success
The first is position. You need to position yourself around people who can make a difference in your life. When you do this you and your business will grow. So the more often you can do this the better. When you wake up each day ask yourself “Who can I meet today who will make a difference in my success?” In fact, go a step further, write it in big, bold letters and tape it on your bathroom mirror.
Another variation of that statement can be: Who can help me meet my goals?
Is it a prospective customer/client? A colleague with contacts? An association with key members who may become prospects?
Don’t settle into interacting with the people who are the easiest to access. You need to reach outside your comfort zone, that’s where you’re most likely to find a wealth of new connections that can help you create the success you want. Make sure you give back to those relationships though. Or more likely, give first! One way relationships aren’t healthy and never really work out. This needs to be a win/win.
Check Your Style
Now, let’s talk about Style. No, this doesn’t mean you need an Armani suit to bring in more business. Anyone who has spent anytime with me, knows I’m not a “dress up” kind of gal. What this really means is how are you different from your competitors and others in your industry. What makes you memorable to potential customers?
If you are meeting a lot of people and they don’t remember you once you leave the room, you have a serious problem! But, I can also promise you from personal experience, you can change that. It just means you have an opportunity to learn ways to present yourself in a more memorable way. I use to be invisible and I’m certainly not anymore.
There are lots of little subtle changes you can make. Reassess your:
- Business cards
- Company message
- Your picture
- Your wording
Maybe even, your hairstyle (of course, now we’re back to the expensive suit, but it really works!)
You get the idea. There are lots of little ways you can work on making your image and business more successful. Also, consider how you sound on the phone and how you greet people at meetings or other events. Think about your typical potential customer conversion conversation.
And yes, I am deliberately choosing the word conversation over 30-sec elevator pitch. That’s my style. I don’t want to deliver a canned sales pitch to my ideal prospect. I want to have a conversation with him or her. Now-a-days I get remembered. And, I get hired.
Repetition Is Critical
The third and last trait I want to leave you with is repetition. You can’t say it once and leave it at that. You have to get your marketing message out there continuously. Successful self-promoters say it as many times as needed until they get a response. That’s why follow-up is so important.
Think about it. If I were to say “is it live or is it . . . ,” those of us of a certain age, would immediately think “Memorex” even if we didn’t say it out loud. That commercial hasn’t played for decades. But, when it did, we saw the commercial over and over again, until the message was ingrained.
You don’t need to run million dollar commercials. You just have to find ways to make multiple impressions on those you are marketing to or networking with in order to build brand awareness.
Positioning, repetition and style all work together for effective self-promotion without the slime.
You can sign up below if you need a little more inspiration for becoming visible.
