Enhance or salvage your business reputation with these 10 resolutions

Reputations either open doors or slam them shut. If it is the latter, there is no better time than now to resolve to do things differently in future.

People make judgments about business and individuals in an instant. So it pays to have a positive reputation to keep as many doors open as possible.

However, there is a catch. Even though you have been brought up to believe that you can control your reputation, the reality is you can’t.

But you can, and should, influence your reputation to stack the odds in your favour and help people think well of you as much as possible.

There may have been times in the past when you have said or done something you know probably won’t make you or your business look as good as it could.

Do not worry, as the following 10 reputation resolutions will help you to create a new and reputation-enhancing future:

1. I resolve to think before I speak

I have two ears and one mouth and I aim to use them in that proportion.

2. I resolve to hold my tongue

I should count to three before responding to comments and situations that make me angry or defensive, online or off.

3. I resolve to never bad-mouth anyone

This applies to whether something is said in person or on the Internet.

4. I resolve to treat people positively

This involves being fair and gracious with my staff, clients and customers and valuing their contributions to our business successes.

5. I resolve to support the three Ps

These are the people, processes and partnerships operating within my business. I must ensure that they enhance, rather than damage, the business’ reputation.

6. I resolve to act with integrity

This involves being truthful and transparent in my dealings with people and creating a climate of mutual trust and respect

7. I resolve to keep promises I make to myself and others

This means avoiding over-promising and under-delivering.

8. I resolve to “pay-it-forward” when I can

I should do good with no thought of return, and enjoy the pleasure of giving without strings attached.

9. I resolve to accept responsibility for my actions

Avoid blaming others.

10. I resolve to avoid jumping to conclusions and labelling people

Rather, I resolve to accept people as they are and welcome the diversity that life brings.

If you focus on one or more that resonates with you, put them into practice, and you will find yourself attracting clients, customers and opportunities. You will be perceived as someone whom others are happy to be associated with and they will go on to recommend your services to others.

Even if you haven’t had much success making and keeping resolutions in the past, these reputation resolutions really could mean the difference between having a reputation you are proud of — and that opens doors wide — and one that makes it harder for you to achieve what you want to achieve because clients, customers and people around you have doubts about your integrity and ability to deliver.

No matter what has occurred in the past, it is easy enough to create a new, reputation-enhancing future.

Sometimes, actively “patching things up” with people around you may be required, and sometimes it’s more appropriate simply to “move on” to a more positive future without going over old ground.

Whatever choices you make, if you act with integrity, build trust and accept responsibility for your actions, the chances are you will move through the rest of the year and beyond with a reputation that opens doors and creates huge opportunities.

Stacking the reputational odds in your favour can help you increase your perceived value and worth, stand out from the crowd for all the right reasons and help create a winning reputation.

Article by Hannah Samuel, an international speaker with Training Edge International and an award-winning speaker, columnist and author. She speaks, writes and mentors worldwide on issues such as reputation, trust and integrity. 

For more information on our training programmes , please  contact us at 63365804
 

Spread The Good News

IMAGINE you have just received an amazingly positive testimonial from a superbly happy client. After you have basked in the glow for a moment of two, you immediately add it to your website, right?

Actually, if you are anything like most business people, you probably won’t do anything with it. Some people might print it out and file it away in a “Nice Feedback” folder that almost never sees the light of day.

Some might even go so far as to add it to the “Testimonials” page on their website. But most won’t do anything with it at all.

Testimonials and endorsements are massively valuable. Research suggests they are at least eight times more powerful and persuasive than an advertisement or anything businesses or individuals say about themselves. So why don’t we use them more effectively?

For some people, it’s not in their nature to talk about themselves. They are flattered by the feedback but don’t feel they should shout too loudly about it. 

Some may feel slightly embarrassed, others simply take it on board and either don’t know how to, or simply don’t find the time, to use it to their advantage.

Testimonials and feedback from clients and others are so valuable that if we ignore them, not only are we doing ourselves an injustice, we are also likely to do our current and potential clients an injustice.

If you provide outstanding products or services that meet people’s needs, surely the more people who know about you and can benefit from you, the better?

If you want to reduce the amount of time and money you spend on advertising and promotion, and positively profile yourself more effectively, you need to gather testimonials on an ongoing basis and make them work hard for you.

Finding the right space

So where should you put them? Depending on the type of products or services you provide, consider using them in or on:

Fliers, brochures and advertisements: Stop talking about yourself and let others speak for you. Ensure at least 30 to 40 per cent of the space available is taken up by testimonials from happy clients.
Your e-mail signature: Add a short testimonial (perhaps changing it monthly) beside your contact details to turn your e-mail signature into a significantly more powerful promotional tool.
The back of your business card: Stop promoting your features and benefits, or worse, leaving your business card blank. Instead, let a happy client explain why someone you give your business card to should get in touch with you.
Every page of your website: Ensure there is at least one testimonial on each page of your website so no matter what page someone is on, he will see what others are saying about you (especially if he fails to click on the “Testimonials” page).
Your testimonials page: This almost goes without saying, but you may be surprised how infrequently testimonial pages are updated. Ensuring you have recent testimonials on your website will also help your search engine optimisation.
Proposals and pitch documents: Back up what you are saying about how marvellous you think you are by including relevant feedback from others at appropriate points throughout the document.
Annual and other reports: If you report regularly to a board or any kind of stakeholder group, include plenty of testimonials to demonstrate just how great you are and remind the people you are reporting to, to continue to support, recommend or fund you.
Invoices and estimates: A single, powerful testimonial on an invoice or estimate is a  reminder of why the company or person about to pay the bill should engage or pay promptly without you having to spell it out directly.
Posters for your wall: Seeing a growing range of positive testimonials every day will encourage you to continue doing a really great job and also provide assurance to visitors to your workplace.
Appropriate signage: A few short words on the back of your car or company vehicle may make the difference between the driver behind making a point of remembering your web address or forgetting it completely.

This is not an exhaustive list but a prompt to help you think about how you might benefit from including or displaying testimonials and endorsements.

No doubt you will be able to think of others that may be more relevant to you. Be creative. Get into the habit of asking yourself: “Could a testimonial enhance this?”

If the answer is “Yes”, and you have permission to use it from the person who gave it to you, then add it in.

Article by Hannah Samuel, columnist, author and international award-winning speaker with Training Edge International. 

For more information on our training programmes , please  contact us at 63365804
 

Think about it

The irony of common sense is that it is anything but.

In my experience, “common sense” is really rather uncommon.  

One reason for this may be that we have become accustomed to relying on what other people “feed” us in terms of information.

Our access to knowledge is virtually unlimited now that so many of us have instant access to the Internet.

However, our ability to question and productively use the knowledge and information we now have may be diminishing.

It seems that increasing numbers of people are willing to accept information that is provided without questioning its relevance, validity or value to them.

What do you do with knowledge?

The saying “knowledge is power” may have been true before the Internet age, but it is not true today.

“Knowledge that enables us to make informed decisions” is power.

What is more important than getting knowledge is how you apply it — in other words, how you interpret its meaning and relevance in any given set of circumstances, and how you choose to behave as a consequence.

Conscious critical thinking is possibly one of the most important and useful abilities to develop, especially in a world where we are increasingly being required to make decisions quickly and under pressure.

Yet, significant numbers of us focus on acquiring knowledge rather than on applying that knowledge in appropriate and meaningful ways.

Acquiring knowledge is a good thing. But you need to know or understand something before you can have any hope of taking the next step of deciding how you might use it, if you choose to use it at all.

What seems to be lacking is a widespread ability, and willingness, to delve into knowledge and information and look beyond the obvious for more subtle learning and meaning.

Think critically

Critical thinking is important for both personal and business success.

The ability to accept and review information impartially and objectively and hold it up for deeper examination enables us to consider multiple options and outcomes which in turn, can help us “hedge our bets” and minimise risk to some extent.

It is worth remembering that although some people may think similarly to you, others won’t.

Clearly, your upbringing, education, life experiences, prejudices and biases will affect to a greater or lesser extent how you process information, and the outcomes you reach as a result.

However, the very process of delving deeper and being willing to question what is presented will inevitably help exercise your critical thinking muscles and make the process easier each time you do it.

When your family members, colleagues and even those with whom you have a less direct connection challenge you, it gives you an opportunity to think critically.

If you are able to avoid taking the challenge personally, and instead use it as an opportunity to examine your own thoughts, feelings and opinions that come up as a result, you get the opportunity to expand your thinking.

Of course, you may or may not choose to share your thoughts directly with them.

What is important is not the challenge or debate itself, but the process you go through to form your own opinions as a result.

Workplaces — and leaders — that encourage critical thinking know thinking, debate and discussion can take up valuable time.

However, they also know this is an investment rather than a cost, and the benefits that can accrue as a result can fast-track their success exponentially.

Just think

Google is famous for encouraging its staff to “just think” at least 20 per cent of the time.

That is what they are paid to do.

Think critically and creatively.

Some might need quiet time and space; others might need activity and other stimulation.

Either way, employees are encouraged to question, think, debate, talk things through and try things out so that they can look beyond the obvious.

Critical thinking is a critical success factor in almost every successful business. If you have never thought about encouraging it at your workplace, think about it now.

Article by Hannah Samuel, an international speaker with Training Edge International and an award-winning speaker, columnist and author. She speaks, writes and mentors worldwide on issues such as reputation, trust and integrity. 

For more information on our training programmes , please  contact us at 63365804