Appearances and professionalism can make your small business seem huge. If you look as though you’re substantial and that you can handle anything thrown your way, your odds for success improve dramatically. That’s especially true in this economy.
Clients and customers will often prefer dealing with you as a small firm – if the job doesn’t appear too big for you to handle. So it’s best to look the part.
First impressions are critical. You have about three seconds to create a favorable first impression – whether it’s your advertising, Internet presence, in-person contact, or on the telephone.
It all starts with branding: A distinctive logo that tells your story about delivering desired results, a three- to five-word slogan also reflecting value, five value propositions or benefit statements.
PROFESSIONALISM COUNTS
Does your business card look professional? A meaningful logo with contact information on high-grade card stock will suffice. Your email address should indicate your website’s domain name, not, for example, joesmith30@sprinter.com.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, clients are very accepting of a home business, if you look professional.
If you have a physical location where people visit you, cleanliness and orderliness are paramount. Smart businesspeople have clean windows, sidewalks, parking lots and workstations every day. Even if you have a home office and don’t receive visitors, cleanliness and orderliness will help keep your optimism and efficiency at a high level.
Is your telephone answered before the third ring? Do you have a person answering your telephone? You can certainly get by with an automated system and voice mail more easily if you have professional branding on and offline. But a live person works best, even if it’s just a virtual answering service.
Return all phone calls from clients ASAP. Never let customers or important vendors feel as though they’re hanging by a thread while waiting to hear from you. Unless I’m in a meeting, I never let the person wait more than two hours for a return call.
In the case of an email, it’s best to confirm receiving the message right away, even if you don’t have an answer to a question. (Naturally, make certain your smartphone is turned off when you’re in a meeting.)
DRESS THE PART
If it’s not customary in your industry to wear a suit and tie, do what’s best for your style, and be in distinctive, good taste. Remember Socrates’ statement: “Know thyself.”
As a business-performance consultant since 1992, I’m a dark suit person with a relatively small clientele on a regular basis. I’ve had both an outside office and a home office.
I want clients to know it’s a special event for me to work with them. That’s been the company uniform for employees, too. No matter what anyone says – it’s still the professional appearance that will command respect, and separate the winners from the wannabes – especially when a lot of money exchanges hands.
Once, when a blue-collar marketing client seemed worried that I usually wore a business suit, I started to remove my coat and reassured him, “You’ll find I know how to roll up my sleeves to get strong results.” He was immediately convinced.
If such folks still seemed uncomfortable, they’ve always chuckled when I’ve said, “By nine o’clock, I always seem to spill coffee on my tie.” They appreciated my humanness and quickly relaxed. (It’s true about the spilled coffee.)
All such clients have accepted my preferred style. Moreover, they have come to expect it.
I’ll never forget when I’d been in business just a few years on a Friday afternoon at the start of a three-day holiday weekend, I was dressed casually when I dropped off a marketing document at a valued client’s office. Normally, I visited such clients two to three days per week in business attire. (This was a client who spent a hefty five figures a month with my firm.)
He seemed shocked. He took me aside and quietly asked me, “What’s wrong?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Where’s your suit? I’ve never seen you in jeans and boots. Is everything OK?”
I laughed and said: “Everything’s fine. This is how I sometimes dress when I leave town to visit my parents in rural Oregon, but today I wanted to make sure you didn’t have to wait for this paperwork before I jump on the freeway. I’m really just a cowboy at heart.”
At that point, I learned how much he grew to value my uniform, which leads me to another point. Clients like consistency in all dealings.
HANDSHAKES & THANK YOUS
For me, that also means consistently showing gratitude and preventing buyer’s remorse.
My client-meeting agendas always start by bringing up her/his concerns. This immediately alleviates any tension the client might have. I do my best selling when the client does most of the talking. I ask a lot of pertinent questions, list the results of my work, and never end a meeting without saying “thank you” with a handshake. The attitude and gratitude goes for all memos and emails, too.
If the client doesn’t thank me, I subtly ask for strokes, too, such as: “So you like the results?” Over time, this grooms the client to show appreciation for my results. I’ve learned it’s vital to have appreciative customers.
If you don’t receive appreciation for results, you won’t be doing business with the customer for very long.
