You’ve wisely spent a lot of time on your website and branding.
From the images, to the fonts, to the copy, you’ve gone back and forth asking yourself which is more “you”.
No doubt you’ve also spent time mastering Twitter and Facebook, and now think carefully before every 140 character tweet or filtered Instagram pic you post.
You understand that every detail is vital in communicating who you are and what you’re about. Every interaction evokes emotions in your audience and says something about you, your business and your brand.
Click to tweet
But what about YOU?
You are your brand as much as anything else.
After all, it is you that that has to show up, attend networking events, sit down with prospective clients, give talks and – as is increasingly common these days – appear in video content.
In fact, in an age when everyone is using similar digital marketing strategies, superior face-to-face rapport is a powerful differentiator with clients.
So how do you ensure that you are maximising your personal impact as a vital tool in the advancement of your product or service?
Here are some tips:
Develop a signature style as soon as possible
Just as the visual elements of your website took some thought, so the components of your appearance should be considered.
You thought about the colours on your website, right? Similarly, the colours you wear communicate something about you: for example, red can convey passion and confidence, while navy conveys reliability.
Clothing, hairstyle and accessories should all be used to say something about who you are and make people remember you. Ideally, you should have a distinctive (but consistent) look: a signature style as identifiable as the logo on your website.
Don’t underestimate the power of body language
You took time polishing the copy on your website. No doubt you were especially careful to choose a font that suited your message. This is because the look and feel of the text is just as important as what is said.
Likewise when talking to people in person, it’s not just what we say, but how we say it, that counts. Studies indicate that 56% of the believability of a message is actually communicated via a speaker’s body language (38% is transmitted by tone and volume, with the actual words only accounting for 6%).
No matter how confident our words, a lack of self-belief can easily be communicated in our posture and the amount that we make eye-contact. So make sure when pitching for business, face-to-face, that your body language re-enforces what you are saying.
Whatever you do, make people feel something
Nobody just tweets “buy my product” to their followers over and over again. Sales messages are typically blended with useful tidbits of information and entertaining tweets that add value for leads or prospects.
Similarly, when networking, focus less on selling your product and more on adding value for the people you come across. Compliment them, tell them something funny, share a secret, a top tip or a new contact. Most importantly make them feel something: positive, happy, inspired, educated, curious, listened to, important.
Maya Angelou said “people don’t remember what you say, they don’t remember what you do, but they will always remember how you make them feel”. So when interacting with people, the hard sell is far less likely to make your product remembered than YOU making a positive, emotional impact on someone.
For more information on the tips above, and for details of Image and Impact events run by Jodi, email her at jodi@jodigoldman.co.uk
With a unique background that includes communications science and psychometric profiling, Jodi Goldman is an image consultant with a difference.
Passionate about transforming both the outer AND the inner, her holistic approach has helped thousands of people to develop a signature style, an impactful mindset and charismatic communication skills.
With a greatly increased profile – and the power to connect with whomever they want – each of Jodi’s clients gain the personal edge in an evermore crowded marketplace.