Julia Shmigelskaya: «People buy from people.» How to work on a personal brand?

Nail technician with experience of over 11 years (Irpin).
The very technician who has a diploma in profile education. I have my own small beauty-room.

«I am fluent in 100500 manicure techniques, I paint on nails better than Pablo Picasso on canvases, a certified doctor and psychologist, I do a manicure in an hour, but there are no clients … Or not as much as I would like …»

Is that familiar?

Let’s try to figure it out.

And who are you besides a manicure technician? How do you live? How do you have fun? Why should the client choose you? And anyway, how should the public know how good you are?

You need to talk about yourself.

Do you have pages in social networks? Good girl, if you have. And what is on your page? Only the nails? Articles from the Internet like “Why does gel polish peel off?” or «How to hold a hand in a lamp?». And where are you? Oh yes, here you are in the countryside with friends and a barbecue. Funny, right? And the clients feel funny. He does not see the nail technician. He sees a random Luska, Masha, Katka. Not a nail technician! And does not take you seriously.

Wait, not fall in despair! Everything can still be saved.

Take a pen, write down the recipe:

On a piece of paper, you write out your professional strengths sides.

For example: “Experience five years, and do manicure without injury. I know how to choose a base for the client’s nails; I draw the perfect french manicure. I improve my skills annually.”

Do makeup, hairstyle, invite a girlfriend, together with her look for good light and a sole-colored background and make a photo of you! A girlfriend can be replaced by a photographer in the studio, but it’s a little expensive.

What photos do you need:

– a good portrait photo – it will be the face of your profile

-photo in work or with a tool – so that the client understands the nature of your activity

– Just a few good photos where you – it’s you.

You launch a page on a social network, if you haven’t done it yet, and fill it with qualitative content.

Write by yourself, do not copy – people feel it.
Do not be Wikipedia, write in simple language, as if you were talking about this with the client in person.
Mix photos of works with personal photos that you took earlier (see clause 2). In posts, share useful knowledge with clients, remind about free “windows,” talk about books you read or movies that you watched, share opinions.
Photographs of work this also applies. Write at least a short description below the photo: what was done, how much time it took, what shades used in work (“Empty” photos do not like anyone unless they are such a masterpiece that the words are superfluous).
And most important: do not forget to remind clients of your advantages (do you remember cause 1?). Remind gently and carefully, but so that it is clear that no one makes a better french manicure than you.
Do not abandon your page, imagine that it is a flower and you need to water it regularly; otherwise, it will dry out and cease to bloom. No one buys a dried flower.

We figured out online life, but what to do in offline?

It’s simple – to be human. Be a nail technician.

n addition to doing your job well, try to give the client more than he expects to receive. Give him not only a manicure, give him emotion, understanding, listen to him.

Meet the client with a smile. Remember your regular client’s name and address to them by name. You know that the sound of your own name is the most pleasant for a person. If you work in the salon, before the client arrives, ask the administrator what his (client’s) name is and meet him with the phrase “Good afternoon, Victoria!” Instead of the rude “Next!”.
Talk with the client: ask how he is doing, give a compliment. Never stoop to gossip, do not discuss colleagues and other clients. Do not force communication if a person wants to be silent. Tactfully give him this opportunity.
Show the client that you are not indifferent to the fate of his nails. Suggest strengthens the nail plate, if necessary, advise color and design, tell what is fashionable now and which of the new products is already in your arsenal.
Be neat. Make light makeup for work, gently collect your hair, let it smell good, wear beautiful workwear.
Become such a person for the client – to whom they want to return, whom they can confidently advise to a friend.

And remember, you are not a servant. You are a nail technician, a specialist in the nail industry! A person who not only can “paint nails”, but knows how to do it qualitatively, safely and correctly!

You are a man, you are a professional.