The Art Of Selling Yourself
One of the most important business building techniques massage professionals need to become good at is self-promotion. In fact it’s probably safe to say your future business success depends on it. If you’re like most of us you’re not fond of what you feel is selling yourself and your service to strangers. If the thought of cold calling sends shivers up your spine there are other ways of self-promotion. Very basically self-promotion is another term for marketing yourself.
The easiest way is to stop thinking of self-promotion as a project and start doing things that allow you to incorporate self-promotion into your day to day business activities. You need to have a keep-in-touch strategy.
In other words get into the habit of regularly sending your clients and potential clients emails, personal notes and useful articles. It means giving to people, building and maintaining relationships, and honouring one’s commitments. Ultimately self-promotion is about establishing trust, credibility, respect and creating a presence in the marketplace.
If you lack the trust and self confidence in yourself, and you feel you’re no good at marketing yourself here’s three things you can start doing today. By the way if these techniques don’t resonate with you, you should really think about whether being in business for yourself is for you.
1. Set daily self-promotion goals. Just like you do for your business. Choose small goals like dropping someone a line, joining a networking group, donating your service, writing an article, starting a blog, or showing up at an networking event. It may take months before you see the end result of new clients, but it gets you taking action. The reality is that clients will come to you when the time is right for them, not you, and you have to be ready to serve them when that time comes. You won’t build your business without taking action. Just a reminder, you need to make this an on-going habit for successful marketing and business building.
2. You need a website. Preferably from day one. You don’t need an elaborate one like mine, but you do need at least a couple of pages. A website creates visibility and credibility. Whatever your target market, people need to be able to find you. Remember the first impression a client has of you is what they see when they visit your site.
3. Be proactive. Once you’ve gotten a client make sure you follow up. Keep in touch with them tactfully. Remember to thank them for choosing you and your service. Even if they only use you once a year make an effort to stay in contact. Keep them up-to-date of your activities, your newsletter, specials etc. Sometimes it’s difficult. People change jobs, move around have different needs, budgets and so forth. But the onus is on you.
Remember in the end marketing your service is about marketing you. People are already being sold on the benefits of chair massage. You need to sell your prospective clients on you. Your uniqueness, your brand and what you have to offer your clients.
With over six years experience as a massage professional Irene Orkin is very familiar with the secrets to building a successful massage business. Irene is the owner of one of Toronto’s premier on site massage companies In My Hands. As a business owner, author, keynote speaker and blogger she promotes the benefits of stress relaxation and on site massage in the workplace and on the green. Visit Irene’s blog at http://www.inmyhands.wordpress.com or sign up for her free ezine at http://www.inmyhands.ca Want to reprint this article? Feel free. Just give Irene full attribution and a link back to her site.
Tags: entrepreneurs, massage business, massage marketing