Every hairdresser you know loves to be in the ‘news’ and to find a measure of fame … Why not?  It’s a noble goal … and very doable for those willing [...]]]> You Recommend Clients Change their Look, Don’t You?

“It is not necessary to change.  Survival is not mandatory.”
– William Edwards Deming (1900–1993)

Every hairdresser you know loves to be in the ‘news’ and to find a measure of fame … Why not?  It’s a noble goal … and very doable for those willing to plan for, invest in, and put the sweat equity into obtaining it.

You need a few basic ingredients of course … talent and skill, a personality, and a decent work ethic.  Of course that does sound like a whole lot of hairdressers you know who aren’t getting very ‘noticed’.  So there must be something else we haven’t mentioned yet.

No, we’re not talking about hiring PR and marketing gurus.  Of course it helps to have someone who knows the ropes, but that has more to do with ‘making a fuss’… more about that in a moment.  First you have to think ‘newsworthy’.

What’s News?

It’s not remarkable that if you drop the ‘s’ from the word ‘News’ you have the word ‘new’…  a discovery, something unique, something no one has heard or seen before, a ‘light’ people haven’t  seen you in previously …  something newsworthy.  It doesn’t matter if you’ve been ‘in the news’ and ‘famous’ before, although it does help during the ‘fuss’ process.

But, even if you’re previously famous, unless you’re doing something ‘new’, you aren’t ‘newsworthy’.  Unless you innovate, remake, redesign, reform, or re-something, you’re a retread.  You can’t repeat the same act to the same audience and expect them to be re-thrilled for long, no matter how famous you are.  Once they’ve seen your act, you’re pretty much done.

Photo by Phil Hawksworth

Change and Innovation are Mandatory

The world is pulling out ahead of all of us, all the time.  Innovation comes fast and furiously all around us.  ‘New’ concepts and technologies are emerging everywhere.  So what do we have to do to become ‘newsworthy’?

Find one thing that pulls you out ahead in some way, somehow, if only for a moment … and while you have the lead, then make a big fuss so everyone around you notices.  Do that repeatedly every time you pull ahead for a moment and you begin to grow the circle of those paying attention to you.  You achieve ‘fame’ in an ever-widening circle.  It’s a process, not a rocket ride … BUT FIRST YOU MUST INNOVATE.

The Fuss

The fuss we keep referring to is the PR, advertising, and promotional processes … the mechanics of writing a good news release, telling a good story well, making phone calls to targeted local and/or national media, taking out ads, mailing promotional material, and in general doing whatever you can afford to do to share your story with as many people as you can reach every time you pull ahead for that moment.  Yes, of course it helps to have public relations and marketing people to help you make a fuss, but don’t expect them to be very successful retelling your ‘old’ story … that’s old news … save your money.

Bottom line

What you DO is the secret.  How you INNOVATE and REINVENT is paramount.  So before you spend your time and money making a fuss, decide what you are going to DO this year that is worth paying attention to.  If you’re going to spend money, spend it on someone that can help you see and do things differently.  Worst case … Just do one new thing in 2010.

It All Begins with a List and a Plan

• What do I need in 2010?
• What do I want in 2010?
• What worked for me last year?  What didn’t work for me?
• What is my plan FOR 2010?
• Who can I hire to help me innovate?
• What is my budget to innovate?
• What is my timeline?

These are tough questions.  That’s why most people don’t make the effort. Those that do …  and at least try … have a chance at succeeding

Have a great 2010 everyone!

Alex and Sharon

P.S. You can also read this post ( privileged to be included) with some truly brilliant content  in the January/February issue of Vivienne Mackinder’s MOD Magazine

What’s new with you?  Share your comments.

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It stood out in the pile like a sore thumb.  Hand-written, imagine that.  Different … That took time.

We went back into the house where we usually toss the mail on the kitchen table for opening later, but not today.  We stayed together [...]]]> Today was unusual.

We got a hand-written card in the mail.

It stood out in the pile like a sore thumb.  Hand-written, imagine that.  Different … That took time.

We went back into the house where we usually toss the mail on the kitchen table for opening later, but not today.  We stayed together and opened that piece.  We looked at the return address.  How ‘old-fashioned’.  We left all the other mail for later.

It was short, sweet, and thoughtful.  We commented on it and discussed that person and (I assume both) thought  to ourselves, ” Gee, they found this lovely card, sat down, thought of something original to write,  addressed it by hand, put a stamp on it, and took it to the post office.  Imagine that!  They spent time doing that for me.”

Good PR is Like That Because Editors are Real People

Short, sweet and personal.  No one likes to feel they’ve been ‘mass’ mailed.  Avoid what is known as ‘spray and pray’.  Each piece of news you send out should have a brief cover note written to that editor or producer, helping them understand how your news applies to their reader or viewer.  This approach to spreading news is always well received.

Perhaps your news doesn’t get used this time.  That’s OK.  You made an impression and will be a welcome guest in their mail box in future.  It’s clear you know what they write about, and that they are not just another email address on your (ugh) ‘media list’.  Remember, editors and writers save stuff for when they can use it.  So pick your target publications or TV/Radio programs, and go after them repeatedly over time with good information, well written, useful, helpful and of course … with your own personal touch.

Speaking of Thank You

Remember that thank you card?  Do you have any idea how many people don’t say thank you to the writer, editor, or producer who made a story happen?

When something editorial happens for you, or your salon, spa or product, for heaven’s sake … don’t forget to say thank you.  Believe it or not, you will be in the minority.  Acknowledgement done in a ‘special’ way, like that hand-written thank you note, separates you from the pack.  Time well spent.

Beyond a thank you note, what other editorial ‘thank you’ ideas have you used for someone who has gone the extra mile and done a story for you?

As our BeautyPRpro blog subscribers know, Sharon and I are great proponents of using social media to help you get closer to your clients (and the media), attract new clients (and the media) that don’t know about you yet, and keep you more ‘connected’ to all them … regularly.  Today’s social [...]]]>

Get ‘Engaged’

As our BeautyPRpro blog subscribers know, Sharon and I are great proponents of using social media to help you get closer to your clients (and the media), attract new clients (and the media) that don’t know about you yet, and keep you more ‘connected’ to all them … regularly.  Today’s social media tools allow us all to do that simply and economically.

The Power of Example

Doing our own blog, being on Twitter and Facebook (Sharon and Alex), and several other SM resources, have greatly expanded the universe of salon and spa owners around the country we ‘converse with’ regularly.  As a business builder for us, it’s been great.  We never would have been able to meet and share with so many of you ‘directly’ in our daily travels.

As we became more available to you here on our blog, sharing helpful information in our area of expertise, many of you discovered us.  You came to know us, what we believe in, who we are, how we think, and that helped you feel more comfortable about calling us to learn more about what we do and how we work.  Some of you have chosen to work with us on your ‘special projects’ needs.  (That’s how it works )

Who’s Else is Doing it Right?

There’s nothing like hearing from other salon or spa owners about their ‘first-hand’ experiences.  We’ve begun asking those of you we see “doing it right” how you did it.  We will share those experiences and that knowledge with you here from time to time.  Drop us an email or comment below, to share your experience out in the ‘Twitterverse’ and ‘blogosphere’.

Poza Salon – Charlotte, NC

Poza Salon and @pozasalon

We spotted Pooran & Zahava ‘doing it right’ about a month ago and have followed their tweets and blog posts with interest.  We tweeted them and asked if they would do a guest post for you on our blog.  They said sure … here it is

We launched our web site for Poza Salon last October and added our blog section titled ‘Features’ as a way to reach a broader audience and drive new traffic.

Initially we focused on finding topics that would interest our target audience (i.e. future clients, beauty junkies) and surfed the web to find places to post.  We needed to find a place other than our own site to promote our articles and was introduced to Twitter.

It didn’t take us long to see a huge opportunity within our own industry and was shocked at the level of access to high profile individuals we had.  Just posting a cool article can make you a micro-celebrity within hours.  You can’t buy that kind of attention!  With Twitter we have been able to meet like-minded people, share links, and ask questions.

Commenting on others tweets and retweets has also been great for building our little community.  On Twitter, it has taken us less than a month to get over 300 followers!  Some of whom are in the salon industry, but the majority is regular people who are interested in what we have to say.

Typically we spend about 2 hours every morning sifting through articles; videos and pictures that we think will grab their attention.  Every couple of tweets we will throw in something from our own web site.  We do this mainly to gain respect and not look like we are always trying to toot our own horn.

For anyone thinking to themselves “Where do I start”?

1.      Open an account with Twitter.  Look around the site to get familiar with the territory.

2.      Decide on who you want to be to your followers.

3.      Talk to people about THEIR interest.

4.      Ask questions.  (Twitter is great for getting opinions and feedback.)

5.      Follow those who can help you learn all about social networking.  There are countless tools with twitter that can help you with every aspect of networking and everyone has a trick or two when it comes to finding interesting stuff to post, even me

I will be happy to share if you follow me @pozasalon on Twitter!

Next Steps for Poza Salon (and You)

1. Find the names and contact info for local newspaper and magazine’s beauty & grooming and lifestyle editors, and other freelance beauty journalists who write for those publications.  Learn about them.  Do they twitter?  Does the newspaper or magazine blog?  Figure out a way to get them included in your opt-in email blog posts.  It’s a process.
2. Discover how to geographically locate Tweeple (other twitterers for the twitter-challenged J) in their geographic area (area code, zipcode, city) and begin adding them to their ‘followers’.

Last Word

Don’t neglect your traditional media work!  Social media is very cool and viral, but don’t neglect the ‘ink’.

Leave a Comment!

How Are You Using Social Media?

Do You Have a Blog and Twitter identity?

Related Posts

http://www.beautyprpro.com/are-you-twittering/

http://www.beautyprpro.com/the-pr-power-of-the-blog-for-salons/

http://www.beautyprpro.com/twitter-for-on-line-scheduling/

Ice cream photo by cogdog

Even before the current stream of layoffs, editors at newspapers, magazines and websites had little time to fix, plump up or pare down press [...]]]> by Guest Poster Rosanne Ullman, contributing editor to Modern Salon, Salon Today, Renew, INOurSalon, FirstChair and firstchair.com.  Read her blogs at modernsalonlearning.com and beautyschooladvisor.com and visit her website at betterwritinggroup.com.

Even before the current stream of layoffs, editors at newspapers, magazines and websites had little time to fix, plump up or pare down press releases in order to transform them into publishable articles.  And now, with skimpy skeleton staffs, more than ever editors select for publication those pieces that need minimum tweaking.  If you see the same people getting press over and over, that’s why.

How can your salon or spa join the list of PR sources that editors consistently count on to save them time?

1. Always include visuals. Show the before-and-after photos for a dramatic make-over, include a pic of the finished style when you describe an innovative technique or send a head shot of the staffer who won a national competition.
2. Choose a topic readers will find interesting.  In 2009, an announcement that your salon has gone green by switching light bulbs and installing recycling bins does not make for fascinating reading.  If you’re also composting hair cuttings and all of your electrical power is generated by the grease from the fried chicken joint next door, now you’ve got something.
3. Write punch-packing copy … and as little of it as possible.  Every sentence-indeed, every word-must be necessary.  In print publishing, space is money; in web publishing, wordiness only motivates browsers to click elsewhere.  If your copy cannot grab the editors’ attention, they will never share it with their readers.

Speaking of Copy – Verbs Rule

For your first draft, write down everything you want to say.  Then go back and delete extra words, redundancies, and nonessential information. Editors don’t mind correcting comma and apostrophe usage or replacing a lame headline, but proofread your copy to free it of typos and awkward language.

Two broad and interrelated guidelines will help you to craft sophisticated sentence structure. Stick with me here, because if you get lost amid the grammatical terms you’ll still be able to pick up the idea through the examples.

• Write more sentences in active voice than in passive voice. While you may have heard about the evils of passive voice, few people know how to identify and avoid it.  With active voice, the subject starts the sentence, and the verb helps it to drive the action.  With passive voice, the object starts the sentence, and the verb indicates what happens to that object.  The difference may sound subtle, but an entire paragraph of passive voice irritates the reader.

Passive voice: Earth tones are used in the decor throughout most of the understated salon, while a splash of color is supplied by a mural on the reception area wall. (The verb phrases are used and is supplied by indicate passive voice. The actual subject does not appear in the first part-who uses the earth tones?-while in the second part, the hidden subject is mural.)

Active voice: The designer uses earth tones throughout the understated salon decor, while a mural supplies a splash of color on the reception area wall. (The active voice’s simple verbs, uses and supplies, cause the subject to drive the action.)

Is passive voice ever okay?  Sure.  I’d argue that the first part of the above example works better in passive voice, because inserting the subject-the designer-adds extraneous information. But often you can craft an active voice sentence by switching out a weak verb like uses for a stronger, more precise verb.

Better active voice sentence: Earth tones define the understated salon decor, while a mural splashes color on the reception area wall. (Do you see how verbs like define and splashes freshen the sentence and smack the reader into paying attention?  This leads to the next guideline.)

• Choose strong, dead-on verbs, which will help you to limit “be” verbs and prepositions. By using active voice, you’ll already eliminate many “be” verbs such as is, are, was, were, have been, has been, had been, could be, should have been and so forth. Aim higher yet for beefier verbs than catch-alls go/went, has/have, do/does, make and give.  Further simplify your sentences by avoiding unnecessary prepositions-those little words like in, on, of, by, for and to-and reworking any sentence that begins with There.

Weak: There are many opportunities for clients to become involved with our salon’s activities.

Stronger: Our salon offers many opportunities for clients to become involved.

Even stronger: Our salon involves clients in many activities.

Weak: This style has the same lines, although updated, as the ones that were popular in the 1940s and makes women look great no matter what their age.

Stronger: This style updates popular 1940s lines and flatters women of all ages.

Weak: The seminar that our staff went to was focused on the latest hair cuts that are being presented on fashion runways for the fall of 2009.

Stronger: Our staff attended a seminar that showcased hair cuts hot off the fall 2009 fashion runways.

Sorry to turn this into grammar class, but powerful verbs pave the path to developing compelling copy.  As an editor myself, I can confide that editors would much sooner toss a press release than spend hours on the revise. Provide succinct, captivating copy accompanied by professional-quality photographs, and you may find yourself or your salon in headlines all over the place.

Make a Comment

How do you edit your releases to make them compelling?

When you comment on this post, don’t forget to check the “Notify me of follow-up comments via e-mail ” box.  You can follow the conversation without returning to the blog.

If you found this article useful, get a free subscription to BeautyPRpro. You’ll receive a FREE copy of our ebook, “Life-Changing PR for Salon & Spa Owners” and receive each article post minutes after it hits the blog.

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We know you’ve been tapping your fingers waiting to find out who receives our free PR planning package.  We won’t keep you in suspense much longer, [...]]]> We were going to post earlier, but Sharon was in New York and unlike the song, time was not on our side before the Easter weekend.  Sorry

We know you’ve been tapping your fingers waiting to find out who receives our free PR planning package.  We won’t keep you in suspense much longer, (you could skip to the bottom right now if you just can’t wait) but we’d like to share the thinking and doing process of PR planning for those of you that didn’t win this time.  What exactly did our winner win?  How can you develop your own PR plan for the year?

I Should Do Something for PR This Month But …

If it isn’t planned, calendared, reviewed with your team, and initiated by you in advance, it isn’t going to happen.  You know that … right?  Life and daily business ‘happenings’ wash over you every day, week, and month of the year.  Only those prioritized projects on the salon/spa calendar get done.  If your PR isn’t on your calendar, laid out in advance alongside your ad schedule, you know it’s not going to happen.  You do know that.  After all, it’s only the PR and I just don’t have time this month. 

Steps Along the Way

(requires a #2 lead pencil and eraser (remember those?)

1. Number 1 is a most fundamental first step for all of your annual business planning activity.  If you haven’t done it recently, ummmm … I would certainly think now would be a great time to do it.  What are your salon/spa goals and objectives this year? Write them down.  PR is supposed to support your salon/spa marketing objectives.  Don’t think of PR as just a traffic builder.  Public relations should be strategically interwoven to serve all your objectives.
2. Pencil in the major holidays that may be ‘candidates’ for some newsworthy activity for the next 12 months.
3. Pencil in a meeting time with your staff to select a ‘local’ cause (causes?) for the year.  The more important (and potentially newsworthy) the ‘local’ cause, the better.  Have everyone ask their clients what ‘local’ causes they like and support.  Have we said local enough?  Big national causes are fine, but important local causes are simply … well … more locally newsworthy.
4. Pencil in several cause-only related event dates on the calendar.
5. Pencil in several ‘unique and unusual‘ newsworthy idea type event dates on the calendar.
6. Pencil a time in on your calendar for at least one photo shoot for your salon’s seasonal hair fashion trend statement.  Spring/Summer goes out in February. Fall/Winter in September.  Plan out lead up activities accordingly.
7. Don’t worry right now how you’re going make it all happen.  This is only the first draft planning and wish list calendar.  Let your imagination go.
8. Where are you spending your ad dollars during the year?  Plan to seek editorial support from the media you are thinking of making ad commitments to.
9. Pencil in the date you will begin developing and refining your ‘signature’ press kit materials.  A handsome press kit is important.  It’s the recipient’s first impression.  Your signature materials are the branding and identify you amidst the many things that cross media people’s desks.  Remember, “look good, feel good” goes for your PR too.
10. Now, in a separate sit-down, review everything you have on the calendar and decide which of your ‘wish list’ events/activities you can ‘reasonably’ do and which must wait for next year.  Finalize your selections.  Don’t be overly ambitious. PR efforts should be fun and exciting for everyone involved.
11. With your final PR calendar in front of you, begin creating as many of the detailed plans and budget estimates for whatever you have selected as you can. If your pre-event planning sheets are laid out before the date appears, you can more easily delegate tasks, and you will have less stress.  With life and daily business flying by, you will probably not have as much time as you would like to start planning from scratch and you may start out feeling ‘behind’, or worse, cancel the event because, “it’s just too much”.  Plan ahead to succeed.
12. Select unique, fun-sounding ‘sound bite’ names/themes for each of the newsworthy event/activity you have scheduled.  Calling your events ‘Cut-a-thons’ and the other old yawners may use a term people know, but it sure doesn’t excite us (or editors) that much … less than thrilling.  Dee Levin coined “Color Clusters” for the special in-salon educational programs she does.  How about the rest of you?  Got any cool names (that aren’t trademarkedJ) you might want to share?  (Play nice and comment below).
13. Pencil in a week/date to meet with each of your selected media advertising reps.  Plan to share your completed calendar wishes and dreams with them.  You will want to ask them how they can help you achieve your goals.  Ask them to review their editorial calendars for special issues with you.  Where could you fit in?
14. Don’t over-commit.  Plan and execute for success.  It’s better to do fewer happy and successful events.

OK … that’s enough for now.  We’ve kept up the suspense long enough.  We risk mutiny …

And the Winners Are

1. Annual PR Planning Package (value $3,000.00) – Sondra Thrasher, Appearances Hair Color & Design Studio in Westminster, CO
2. Press Release Writing 1 (Value $800.00) – Peg Cribari, Salon Three Thirty in Dallas, TX
3. Press Release Writing 2 (Value $800.00) – Meghanne Haran, You Salon in Ellicott City, MD

(Audience applause sign flashes on in the background)

What Does a PR Planning Package and Press Release Writing Look Like?

The PR planning package begins with all of us spending time on the phone together to get to know each other.  We need to understand you and your salon or spa, your clients, industry experience, prior PR experiences, your existing body of work, previously successful activities, etc. etc.  Then together, we’ll review any existing goals you have for PR this year and hopefully bring some additional objectives to the process from a fresh and more distant vantage point.  What is it they say, “you’re an expert of you come from more than 100 miles away?

Ultimately, we will offer up some strategies and tactics to get you where you want to go and work with you to ‘nudge’ it all onto a calendar, considering budget limitations and concerns so we’re not talking ‘pie in the sky’.  Everything has to shake out to be affordable and practical.  Last thought … If you don’t use up the 5 hours of phone time included in the ‘package’, just bank the remaining hours for up to a year.  Pre-purchased consulting hours do not expire.

Our press release writing ‘package’ consist of ‘at least’ an hour of phone time for input, discussion and pretty much all of the above getting to know you stuff and to gather what we need to know in order to write.  Then, we’ll write that release.  As always, the offer is good for a year, but we hope you’ll take advantage of us long before that.

Congratulations to Sondra, Peg and Meghanne!!  Let’s have some fun.  We look forward to speaking with you soon.  Call us at 760-414-3370 and we’ll make an appointment to get together.  You don’t have to rush … but of course, if you haven’t got your PR planning done for the year, maybe you’d better get on it? 

When you comment on this post, don’t forget to check the “Notify me of follow-up comments via e-mail ” box.  You can follow the conversation without returning to the blog.

If you found this article useful, get a free subscription to BeautyPRpro. You’ll receive a FREE copy of our ebook, “Life-Changing PR for Salon & Spa Owners” and receive each article post minutes after it hits the blog.

Feel free to click on the ‘Share This’ icon below to send this post to a friend or mark it at your favorite social bookmarking site.

OK, I admit it.  Even though I’m a publicist, [...]]]> As a salon owner or independent contractor you grow your salon or spa business by bringing new clients into your fold.  Local personal networking is a powerful tool to do that … if you do it right!

Networking Has To Be ‘Real’ To Be Right!

OK, I admit it.  Even though I’m a publicist, I’ve never been big on networking gatherings and cool, chic mix-and-mingling events (all right … I hate them!).  These ‘get-togethers’ always feel so contrived, put together so complete strangers can ‘act friendly’ (as if they really care) to manipulate you into listening tirelessly about their business and taking their business card (circular file time).  Blah, blah, blah, I tell you – it’s unnatural!

However, this networking-naysayer may have been ‘saved’.  I discovered how ‘real’ networking can work, where the conversations get real, the people get real, and the results are real … and in many cases the other evening, immediate.

L to R: Scientist, educator & author Doug Schoon; Sharon Esche, Social Media Maven Rebekah King; Alex Irving

I think I’m now a supporter of the ‘new school’ of networking.  The premise remains the same – to make new contacts that will benefit your business, but how you do it makes the total difference in making more lasting people connections of more mutual benefit.

Making ‘Mixing’ a New Mission!

What turned me around was a recent ‘mega-mixer’ Alex and I attended in Los Angeles,  co-hosted by two terrific beauty industry organizations working together to change the face of ‘the same old boring pseudo-networking event’; Beauty Industry West (BIW) (www.beautyindustrywest.org) and Southern California Health & Beauty Professionals.  This evening the guest speaker was networking ‘queen’ Kathleen Ronald (More on Kathleen in a moment).

During the evening’s “mega-mixer on a mission”, Kathleen made it clear that in these difficult economic times, we all really need each other’s help, and we need to openly and honestly reach out with earnest energy to learn about each other’s business, to listen to the specific needs of others, and to sincerely offer a helping hand on the spot in the areas we were able.  Remarkably, the group truly responded to Kathleen’s call for caring, openness and sincerity and the dialogue went both ways.  We could really feel ‘caring returned’.  Kathleen set the stage that night and her call to action played a key role in the success of the event for us and many others.

Are You Like Me?

I wouldn’t be caught dead admitting that my business (or I) needed help from complete strangers – let alone ‘baring my soul’ and letting them know ‘my most important need’ in my business today?  Can you believe I started out saying ‘I need to be more organized’ and changed my tune (gotta be honest) to ‘I need more clients!”

For those of you who know me, let’s face it … going beyond ‘everything is just fine’ is like confessing a mortal sin back in my Catholic childhood – just mortifying!  But that evening, spurred by the knowledge that we are all facing a difficult economy, with the mission of honesty and helping each other, I have to admit that I walked away with new client leads, wonderful new contacts and business resources, and the brand new slant on professional life that ‘networking can be your friend – In fact, your ‘best friend forever’ (BFF). No matter what business or industry we’re in, this kind of this business-building tool can help us survive even the worst of economic times together.

What Alex and I Learned.

Kathleen Ronald (www.speaktacular.com) is a self-described, “cross between the Mother Theresa of Networking, and a Chatty Cathy doll”.  She drove home that it’s how you network that makes the time and effort worthwhile, not the fact that you do it.  There is no doubt that if you are already out there and mixing it up in public, you may want to evaluate what you’re doing right … and perhaps wrong.

When we heard Kathleen Ronald’s, “Seven Deadly Sins of Networking”, we immediately recognized why we had always disliked networking events.

KATHLEEN RONALD’S “SEVEN DEADLY SINS OF NETWORKING

• Sin #1: Not Understanding ‘Who Is Your Perfect, Right Client?” — Unless you know who your perfect ‘right client’ is, you don’t know where to go to meet them.  Where do they hang out?  Where should you go to network to find them?  How long should you plan on being there?  What do you need to bring?  Do you have a plan in mind?  Those who just show up without a plan Kathleen calls ‘drive by’ networkers … just stopping by to take a shot in the dark.
• Sin #2: Making a Poor First Impression — Everyone meeting you for the first time ‘has a dialogue in their head’ about you within the first five seconds.  It’s either a good or bad dialogue. What you look like, how you’re eating … all the obvious and subtle details about how you come across.  As a beauty and fashion image authority yourself, you are certainly the experts in how to make that first impression a great one on your own behalf and shouldn’t worry too much about this sin.
• Sin #3: Badge-Lookers — Kathleen reminds us all that when we meet someone, we’d better look straight into their eyes and not keep staring at their badge during the conversation.  Don’t you hate it when you’re talking to someone for the first time and they keep staring at your name badge?  Also, don’t treat people with any more or less importance according to the badge they’re wearing.  Everyone gets equal treatment … and everyone is a VIP.
• Sin #4: It’s All About Me, Me, and Me! — You know what we mean. Mr. or Ms. Blah, blah, blah.  People love a good listener.  When you listen well, ask questions, and give the other person the floor, to take in their business, their needs, their points, you make an impression.  Nothing turns people off faster than self-centered yakkers.  Focus on ‘Tell Me about You” and the people you want to meet will be sure to ask, “Well, tell me about you”.
• Sin #5: Card Sharks — Of course remember your business cards and always keep them handy for a moment’s notice BUT, don’t look desperate to hand out all 200 cards you brought that night.  It’s the quality of the connection – not the quantity of the cards that you manage to exchange.  You are building the foundation of a relationship with the start of each conversation.  A super-sonic card exchange at warp speed doesn’t serve.
• Sin #6: Poor Follow Up! — Kathleen is most EMPHATIC about taking the time within 24 hours to follow up with those who you meet during your networking experience.  She stresses that, “the fortune is in the follow-up’ when it comes to getting the full value of networking”.  Carve out half an hour the next day to find some way to connecting with these newest influences on your future business (e.g. e-mail, phone call, personal handwritten note, flowers, whatever is appropriate for the person and occasion).  As a salon or spa owner, it certainly would be appropriate to invite a prospective client in for a tour, perhaps for a consultation … something complimentary and non-committal on their part.  If it’s another type of connection for your business, there’s nothing like inviting someone out to breakfast or lunch to start the ball rolling.
• Sin #7: Not Keeping Your Word – Integrity! – In our busy lives, it is easy to over-commit ourselves and as a result, not be able to do something we said we would do for someone.  Since ‘Our Integrity Is Our Word’, we have to make the supreme conscious effort to ‘say it – do it’ with all of those we meet.  Kathleen’s own life philosophy is to ‘Be My Word’ and advises us all to stick strongly to that belief and not self-sabotage.  (Factoid: It takes 12 positive happenings to undo 1 negative behavior.  Moral: Keep Your Word.

No wonder I hated networking.  There are so many people out there doing it badly.  I’m looking for the good guys.

What have your networking experiences been?

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