How Promoting Yourself is like a Great Dining Experience
Self-promotion isn’t always the most enjoyable thing in the world, but it’s a necessity to find success in the business world. Many people struggle with exactly how they should do this and what the best self-promotional strategies are for their purposes. I always tell people the same thing – act the same way in promoting yourself as you would at a fancy dinner.
The First Impression
Chances are, when you go to a fancy dinner you are going to be concerned with making a good impression on the other attendees. You wear nice clothes, ensure that your hygiene is good, etc. An important part of promoting yourself is to make a good first impression on your customers or potential business partners. Without a strong first impression, you could significantly damage others’ perceptions of you.
Having Meaningful Social Interactions
After you’ve created a good first impression, it becomes time to be social. At your dinner as the host, you interact with your guests and share a few stories. But you also want to be sure that you’re not taking up too much of the spotlight yourself; your dinner guests should always feel like they’re the ones being honored with the dinner. It’s the same way in business; you want to be as social with your customers as you can through great customer service and social media interactions. However, these interactions should be about creating conversations, not about you hogging all of the speaking time. For example: rather than only using your social media to post links to your site, use it to get opinions and create discussions among your followers.
The Tip
When it comes time to pay, guests typically leave a tip that they feel is appropriate based on the service they received. While this doesn’t happen in the business world, it’s still a great philosophy to take. If you are a business owner, keep in mind that every single one of your customers is paying for a high-quality product, and it’s up to you to deliver it. It’s easy to promote yourself when you deliver consistent quality. And remember, the best hosts pick up the check every once in a while. Give back to your customers whenever you can to show them your gratitude and keep them coming back.
Treat Your Customers Like Your Dinner Guests
Remember: self-promotion is necessary in the business world, but it shouldn’t be overly complicated. Create a great first impression, have meaningful interactions with your customers and remember that they are paying for a quality product. These tips should help you to continue to reach new customers with your business year after year.
by Christine Kelly, CEO of Viral Solutions LLC (Denver, CO)
Prior to joining Viral Solutions, Christine held executive leadership roles at some of the largest small business consulting firms in the USA. Her experience includes leading direct reports of over 130 remote sales agents who generated $38mm in annual revenue. She obtained her Marketing degree from British Columbia Institute of Technology. Bring her C-Suite experience to your small business. Although our company is virtual, and we can work with you wherever you are located, she is located in Denver, Colorado and owns a second home in Vancouver, BC Canada.
At Viral Solutions we are committed to seeing YOU succeed. It is our goal to grow your business with proven digital marketing strategies that will help your business for the long haul.
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