IS YOUR PERSONAL PRESENCE WORKING AGAINST YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESS?

“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly” - Anonymous

As an entrepreneur, you may be quite skilled and knowledgeable of your area of business. You may even possess qualifications that stand you out as exceptional in the market, but you may find out that business is going away from you rather than coming to you.

What might be responsible for this? While I cannot say specifically what may be in all instances, research has shown that a common denominator of such situations where you are skilled and knowledgeable and the business does not come to you is your personal presence.

But what is your personal presence?

Your personal presence consists of “how you dress, how you conduct yourself, how you use your voice and how others experience your persona when you are with them”¹

People naturally are drawn to people that are just like them. You must act dress, speak and act accordingly.

Best-selling author Diana Booher in her book Creating Personal Presence – Look, Talk, Think and Act Like a Leader classifies your personal presence in four categories viz:

1.       How you look

The way we appear to others has a huge impact on their perception of us. As a businessman, you must have the right look to earn the confidence of current and prospective clients. In fact looks are SO important; you must give it serious thought. A popular cliché is “dress English, think Yiddish”.  Dress to be accepted by the people you are calling on and consulting with. Avoid clothes that make you mundane. Do not wear flashy jewellery, expensive gaudy watches. Before approaching prospective clients, take a good look at yourself in a full length mirror. Do what you see match what you’d like to see? Do you need to start trying to lose some weight? Does your wardrobe need some updating? When in front of the client, translate your body language to credibility.¹

2.       How you talk

Nothing puts people off more than another person who is seen as not knowing “how to talk”. An arrogant professorial manner makes others feel insulted and would ultimately lead to their despising you and the business you stand for. The thing to avoid is to say only the right things at the right time and leave the wrong things unsaid during emotionally charged moments.

Apart from what you say, how you sound also has a direct bearing on whether you would get that business. The book Independent Consulting-A Comprehensive Guide to Building Your Own Consulting Business, provides the following advice: “tape your voice. Do you like what you hear? Does your voice have the qualities of resonance, vitality, clarity and support you’d like?”² It is best to speak before some friends as you would before a prospective client and have them criticise your speech, with emphasis on the tone and quality of the speech. Words of caution though; while you do not want to appear timid and not in control, do not also sugar-coat or embellish your credentials or abilities. Remember; only say things you can reasonably offer. The Latin maxim nemo dat quod non habet should guide you here. It means roughly: you cannot give what you do not possess.

3.       How you think

To be successful, you must think strategically. This involves organising in your mind the key variables and throwing away the clutter which inevitably labours the thought process. The ability to in many cases proffer on the spot solutions for your clients is a big plus to your personal presence. You need to be able to think on your feet while under pressure. Always take a point of view and ensure it is the right one, then think it through without allowing emotions to cloud your decisions. You must be able to organize ideas coherently and think in pictures as it were. Such thinking will help you communicate your ideas in a more colourful and impactful way

4.       How you act

The way you act is the final piece in the jigsaw puzzle that is your personal presence. You need to act in a confident and calm manner. Note though that confidence and arrogance are two different unrelated concepts. A confident person shows of enough self believe to convey to clients his technical competence and professionalism without offending such clients. If you need to take a different position from what your client is taking do so in a calm manner.  Make commitments when you communicate, show your clients that you appreciate their business. In order to be persuasive, create an atmosphere of working together. Do not concentrate on your achievements; no one wants to hear how good you think you are. Concentrate instead on showing them what they stand to benefit by using your product/service.

On a final note, it is important to here say that if your intent is to add value to your clients business, that intent would come across in what you say, how you say it and in how you act. Your client should hear it in your voice, in your language and in other forms of non-verbal communication. Be genuine, have a good sense of humour. Demonstrate to your clients your thoughtfulness and act with impeccably good manners.

So take a long honest look at yourself and at your business practice. Do you see areas to improve your personal presence? An honest assessment would bring these areas to the fore and help you develop a sound personal presence that would work for and not against your business success!

References

1.         Diana Booher, Creating Personal Presence – Look, Talk, Think and Act Like a Leader. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2011

2.       David, Kintler et al. Independent Consulting – A Comprehensive Guide to Building Your Own Consulting Business. F+W Publications, 1998.