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You’re your own boss for the first time, and it’s terrifying enough trying to do your job well without worrying about how you appear to others whilst you’re doing it. You might be an expert in your field, or the best manager in town, but if you appear nervous, scatty and underprepared, you may look as though you haven’t the first clue what you’re doing; without the professional attitude to match your knowledge and expertise, how can your clients possibly know how much you have to offer? This article offers a brief guide to making your business appear professional and desirable:
Present yourself well
We’re talking not just about appearance; although being smart and well-groomed is important, presenting oneself well also extends to attention to detail and manner at work. Proof-read your emails before sending them (it sounds tired but you know it’s important); take care to address them correctly and use the appropriate sign-off. Speak carefully, sounding assertive rather than belligerent, and encourage your staff to cultivate a polite, friendly telephone manner.
Know your facts
It’s perhaps obvious to say that this is particularly important in meetings with clients and colleagues, but if you find yourself frantically memorising KPIs and outcome percentages ten minutes before you start a presentation, or scrolling back through several weeks’ worth of emails to find a single statistic, it’s time to reassess your methods. Take a few minutes at the end of each day to check over your emails and documents and update your knowledge of what has changed; next time you’re doing the end-of-the-month summary or are asked a difficult question by a client you’ll feel much better prepared.
Carry branding down to the minutiae
It seems like a small thing but it carries a lot of weight: branding. If you want your business to be a market leader or a true benchmark of high standards in its niche, it absolutely must be memorable. Having a company logo displayed on your website and the door of your office is a good start, but take it further to truly make yourself stick in people’s minds: make your logo part of your email signature, have your own corporate stationery printed (1stclass-envelopes offer a bespoke service), and design templates to make sure you use your company font and colours for every presentation.
Spruce up your website
In this day and age, there is relatively little excuse for having a poor quality, clunky, hard to navigate website: well-regarded web developers are ten-a-penny, and even a cheap all-in-one package delivers professional-looking results. Your website will often be the first place prospective new clients and customers become aware of your business, and you want it to present your brand in the very best light possible. Spend some time tending to your site, improving the formatting if you need to and updating the content (see Point 1, although it may be worthwhile investing in the services of a good copywriter for this). It’s also vital to keep your site visibly active: if it has a blog make sure to update it at least a couple of times a month, and if it doesn’t; well, it should.
In short, professionalism should start at the personal level and extend to the workplace. The more emphasis you place on politeness, diplomacy and self-presentation to your colleagues and employees, the better an aspirational model you provide. You are not only an ambassador for your business, but also the standard-setter to your employees: lead by example and they will follow.
