First Impressions Matter

Trustworthy and Confident. Two very important traits in a successful business owner. A prospective clients first impression of your business is very important.

Definitions…Trustworthy: worthy of one’s trust, belief, or confidence. Confident: persuaded of; assured of.

What’s the easiest way to project yourself in this fashion? Use these six basic guidelines:

1-Eye contact (don’t look up, down, or all around. If you have trouble with “eyes” use the eyebrows or the bridge of the nose as a focal point).

2-Cleanliness (never meet a customer face to face unless you’ve showered, shaved and dress appropriately-remember, if your hair is permed, it should be DRY-wet hair looks lazy)

3-Dress (today’s business climate allows for some casual attire, just remember that a comfortable old tshirt and jeans does not present you as a professional person.)

4-Speech (while it’s easy to fall into “slang” in every day conversation, it’s important not to use it when speaking with customers, also remember to speak at a volume that’s loud enough to clearly hear in the current situation)

5-Preparedness (this step requires some time-so let’s discuss it in more detail):

• take the time to “think like your customer”-what are the most important things you would you want to know?
• use the list of questions you come up with to prepare yourself-sit down and answer those questions on paper
• memorize your answers to those questions
• consider making up a FAQ sheet to hand to customers
• it never hurts you to prepare for even the most off the wall inquiries, if a customer asks an odd question, write it down so you can add it to your FAQ sheet for the next time.

6-You are your brand! Imagine that you’ve changed your name to the name you’ve chosen for your business. This gives you the perspective of “living the business”. You never want to use your business name in any negative way, or have your customer associate your name with anything negative. An example would be using your business name as a “handle or user name” on a discussion forum—then badmouthing another business or person in that forum. Conduct yourself as professionally as possible when you are in any potential business environment. What physical items do you need to appear professional in your day-to-day dealings with customers, maybe:

• Business Cards
• Brochures
• Note Cards (handwritten thank you notes are very impressive)
• Post Cards
• Introduction Cards
• Samples of Your Products

Just to name the most common. The well thought out business plan will include these items before you even go out to present yourself (and your business) to the public.

And speaking of a business plan….it’s always a good idea to have one! Even if you’ve done one before, it’s a good idea to update it every two or three years. Use your plan to keep yourself focused, and to keep track of your goals, and whether you’ve met them.

Equally important to your Business Plan…a Marketing Plan is essential in setting out your goals for HOW you plan to make your business known to the public (advertising). Writing a Marketing Plan will help you to see the big picture when it comes to your Business.

Lastly, it’s important to set goals for your business. Make two lists…..Long Term Goals and Short Term Goals.

Long Term Goals: are things that you want to achieve that may take you a year or more……..such as a certain amount in sales, or a certain number of customers. Another long term goal might be to move into your own brick and mortar shop.

Short Term Goals: can be set as daily, weekly, or monthly. I like to do all three. A very good way to keep track of short term goals is with an erasable board in your office space. A chalk board or wipe off board will work great. You can put a line through the goal as you reach it….it’s there to inspire more confidence, as well as to remind you! Examples of short term goals would be setting a number of sales calls to make, or handing out a number of business cards/samples/catalogs.