In my presentation on Creating Brand-YOU at Gloria Willis' workshop, we emphasized that you must create a professional image that makes people want to do business with you, and then project that image 24/7 every time you walk out the door. Not only do you need to "dress for success" but you must communicate pride and professionalism to prospective customers and clients in everything you do.
An easy way to project your professional image is to wear your nametag everywhere you go. Massage therapist Laureen Persson once got a new client at Sam's, just because she was wearing her nametag in the checkout line. You never know where your next customer will come from, do you?
Wearing a nametag is important, so why not make it into an instant conversation-starter? You know, of course, that I now have over 20 nametags, all individually decorated. Some are pretty fancy. But this is another case where something is better than nothing . It's easy! Just ask Louise Creager how easy it was to add an Aspen leaf to her nametag! Perfect for Aspen Canyon Gift Baskets, don't you think? And Sheryl Rhodes has the Pre-Paid Legal blindfolded lady on her nametag.
Connie Hulme has a super logo with her Healthy Balance business, and when she went to Loveland 's Awards Unlimited, they mentioned that they could put her balancing figure logo on her new nametag. Connie has made her nametag even more memorable by hotgluing a piece of a tape measure, signifying the inches she lost following her own good advice! What an INSTANT conversation starter that's going to be!
No matter what the business, you can come up with a creative way to call attention to it via your nametag. A wedding cake decorator might hotglue a tiny bride and groom on her nametag, a Realtor a house, and so on. I have one nametag that's decorated with pins from all the organizations I've belong to. I'm never surprised when someone sees my 4-H pin and says, "hey, I was a 4-H leader also!" Presto! We already have something in common! Remember, you always want to make the connection and not the sale!
Are you beginning to get the picture? As Julie Piepho would say, "Just think outside the box" and--as I would say-- put a little personality in your marketing !