Small Business Success: Is Making a Good Impression Your Top Priority?

Imagine you have a meeting with your dream client at 9:00 a.m. You’ve known for months that this is the one. If she will unite with you, the sky’s the limit for both of you! It’ll be fantastic!

The night before the meeting, you flip through your papers while you eat your pizza and watch TV. You consider going to bed early, but you know how it is during the holidays – so many good movies on TV! So you go to bed at midnight – okay, one, by the time you potty the dogs, feed the hamster, discuss claw etiquette with the cat (again) and lock up the house.

You roll out of bed bright and early at 8:15 the next day. No time for a shower. Your suit’s at the cleaners, but, hey, you are who you are, right? So you throw on some business casual clothes, pull your hair back in a ponytail, slap on some makeup, and go. You make it to the client’s office on time . . . almost . . . waving papers with tomato sauce smears and looking absolutely fabulous.

Pretty much.

I know. No way, right? There’s no way you’d allow yourself to make a sloppy impression at such a pivotal meeting.

But what if, you may be asking, you really are a slob? Isn’t it dishonest to present yourself as being together, if you really aren’t together?

Well, okay . . . you probably aren’t asking me that. But I’m going to answer you anyway.

This is the last blog in my Small Business Success Series about how your story can help you connect with prospective clients, but I’m actually going off topic a bit. Part of telling your story is the unspoken – how you present yourself to your prospective client. So today I want to talk about whether to present your Essence or your Image.

Your Image is the persona that you create. We all have one, or, actually, many. Maybe you’re the Good Daughter, the PTA Volunteer That Never Tires, the One Who Can Always Resolve Paper Jams in the Copier. Think of how you would present yourself in a job interview. You’d dress professionally and conservatively, speak clearly and politely, polish your resume to a high gloss. That’s your image – The Perfect New Hire.

If you got the job, gradually your boss and co-workers would come to know your Essence – the part of you that is truly you. Maybe you love kitten calendars and mugs, and you adore your grandmother. You can’t resist a BOGO shoe sale, and you’re secretly (you think) proud of your long, lean legs. You hum show tunes under your breath, and they all know to give you some space if it’s Annie Get Your Gun.

As a healer, coach, and heart-based entrepreneur, you have the opportunity to eschew all the corporate traditions founded in warfare and sports lore, and reach out to potential clients, heart to heart. This is a beautiful thing – the joyful energy will just spark off you. But does that mean you don’t have to worry about making a good impression?
Don’t look for a simple yes or no answer to this question. Instead, think of the question as a spectrum, with Essence on one end and Image on the other. You’ll constantly adjust your position on the spectrum based on where you are and who you’re with. Keep these things in mind:

• It is critical that your brochures and other paperwork are pristine and professional. You are offering the best of yourself to your client – not the summer Sunday self that’s collapsed on the hammock in the back yard.

• If you spend 42 hours of your 40 hour work week in jeans and your husband’s over-sized t-shirt with the faded beer logo, that doesn’t mean that you’re being untrue to yourself if you don a suit for a conference with a client. It means you’re being sensitive to context and meeting the client where she is.

• Put yourself together and of course be considerate enough of your client’s time to be prompt. But from the moment you shake her hand and smile into her eyes, stop thinking about the impression you’re making and start looking for the need you’re meant to fill. This is when your Essence shines through.

• You aren’t selling your Essence or your Image. You’re offering your gifts. Rather than thinking about Image — “branding” or “spin” — you should be thinking about how you will serve. Rather than thinking about your Essence, you should be watching for glimpses of the client’s Essence, and intuitively responding to what you learn.
The story you tell your client should come from your Essence – it should reflect who you are and spring from your soul-gifts and heart-felt need to serve. Because you are communicating with clients (not your best friend or your feline confidant), you should also be aware of (though not obsessed with) Image. Why? Because, while your story springs from your deepest parts, in this context, you aren’t telling it as a form of healing or self-expression; you are telling it to share how you can serve. This isn’t corporate spin. It’s professionalism.

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