Sunday, November 16, 2008

Polite honest self promotion in tough times

With the economic monetary crisis filtering down to all walks of life and nations throughout the world many of us are afraid for our livelihood and for our business.

This financial storm that is rattling the world will be weathered, but the question is how are you preparing to minimize the damage?

A lot of us who make and sell jewelry full time have noticed a decline in sales as the public tighten their financial belts cutting back on luxuries.  This season could be difficult for you depending on your preparedness and your labors.

I have found that how you sell yourself directly affects how your creations will sell. Friendly, polite, knowledgeable, honest, and professional are all traits that I bear in mind when "setting up shop".  Self promotion is important and you will never find me without business cards or wearing examples of my work.

Striking up friendly conversations with as many people as possible is key to promotion. I like to open a conversation with an honest compliment; usually a piece of jewelry, accessory, or a feature about the person in question.  One should never be overbearing or dishonest, take this comment for example:

"Oh, such a lovely lapis necklace it really brings out the color of your eyes"

Is an honest compliment that will often lead to talk about jewelry, gemstones, and a peak in my hand case of fine works that is never too far away, and a business card passed.

Often I ask about loved ones or relatives and how they will be expressing their affection this season.  I can never forget the loving look in my beachcombing grandmother's eyes when she opened the druzy starfish tree agate pendant I made for her.

I heard on NPR that with the frugality of consumer spending these holidays that consumers are taking more time to research their products then making rash decisions.  For this reason it is essential to have your online gallery, etsy, or MySpace, listed on your card; where your work can be seen and all the information examined. Next blog we will discuss how to set up a gallery online for free and promote your etsy shop with a limited budget.

See Part two Thriving Sales in a Frugal Economy

 

 

 

1 comment:

Tiffany Westlund said...

Hope you don't mind that I posted the link to you blog in my etsy team forum. A lot of us have noticed that sales have been slower than usual. It can be hard not to take it personal and realize that times are tough right now - but I agree that consumers are taking the extra time to make more informed decisions about what they do buy.