You’ve arrived at your networking event. How should you approach these potential contacts?

Dos and don’ts of networking
For the uninitiated who are new to the game, here are some of the tacitly accepted dos and don’ts to follow if you are to get the most out of your networking activities:

1. Don’t start networking out of desperation when you really need whatever business you can get your hands on – you’ll end up overtly selling to people and they will run a mile from you
2. Do approach networking in a generous frame of mind not “what is in it for me?” – What goes around comes around and helping someone else will bring its own appropriate reward at some point – it may not always be in the form of business for your company; it may be some deep and lasting friendships
3. Do listen to what others are saying (and sometimes not saying) – keep the old 80/20 rule in mind, this time it’s for 80% you listen, 20% you talk
4. If you haven’t completed the exercise outlined earlier don’t assume that because a particular person knows you, he or she understands precisely what you do; very often they may only have the vaguest idea and their understanding may be way off
5. So, when you get the chance, do outline who you help, the problems you have tackled and the solutions you have provided
6. Do take the trouble to build relationships with people you might be able to help or who might be able to help you – people will be more comfortable referring others to you, using your product or service or opting for your solution themselves if they feel they can trust you
7. When initiating contact make three things clear:
   • What you want by initiating contact
   • What is in it for them
   • What the next step will be
8. Do update your records with any useful information you have gleaned after each contact

Back to the event:
On arrival you will probably need to register and then get your name badge. Now is the time to check out the list of attendees if you haven’t been able to in advance and earmark those you most want to meet.

If this is a formal event you will be directed to your place. It’s actually more tricky if it’s an informal event as you could be left hanging around on your own. Having got this far, you don’t want to waste time on displacement activity, constantly going to the buffet, the bar, the toilet, etc. – anything but making contact. So why not seek out the organiser, introduce yourself and ask to be introduced to one of the people you would like to meet.

Circulate
If you can’t find the organiser, scan the room for any friendly looking group that is not tightly knit and in intense conversation. Take a couple of deep, calming breaths and walk over to them, making eye contact with one group member. Normal manners kick in here, so you wouldn’t interrupt anyone who happened to be speaking; just listen and show interest (lean slightly forward and let your eyes follow whoever is speaking) and wait till there is a lull in the conversation then say:

“Hello, I’m John (your first name) from Whippit & Floggit (your company name). Do you mind if I join you for a while?”

Nobody will object because you are all there for the same reason: To make new contacts and give and receive referrals.

At the risk of stating the obvious, only say something when you feel you can genuinely contribute to the subject currently under discussion – nobody likes the pushy person: “This is me. This is what I do. Now, can we do business or I’ll move on.”

Remember that networking is about exchanging ideas, information and experience. If an opportunity to get more involved doesn’t present itself after a reasonable time, and you haven’t established a common interest that you can talk about, you could turn to one of the group members and ask how they came to be involved in this club/association/etc., how they feel they have benefited from it so far, what drew them to this particular event, etc.

You will get a chance to say what you are about. Don’t launch into your infomercial – save that for the formal networking events where you are expected to make a pitch. Here you just use your bullet points that you have committed to memory.

Exchange business cards with those people in the group that you feel you have established a rapport with – don’t be afraid to offer yours and ask for theirs in return. Make it clear how you would like to progress the relationship:

“Shall I call you or would you rather I emailed you? I’d really like to stay in touch and continue this conversation.”

Then make sure you do it!

Tip

Whenever you shake anyone’s hand, make sure that yours is a good firm handshake not a limp one or a bone crusher

As with any social event, you will get the most out of it by circulating and meeting as many new contacts as possible, so don’t stay with the same group all evening/lunchtime/etc. It’s perfectly acceptable to smile and say something like:

“This has been really interesting. But I don’t think we should monopolise each other any longer for now. Let’s each make some new contacts and catch up later. I hope you enjoy the rest of the evening.”

Take a couple of minutes out to make notes on the people you’ve just met on the back of their business cards to remind you who they are and what you talked about while the information is clear in your mind and then move on to another group.

You get to the end of the evening. Are you on a high or shattered and disillusioned, thinking it has been a waste of time? And remember that you can’t expect instant results in the form of business from these people. In all likelihood you will find potential custom from amongst the people they know.

Depending on how many people are present at this event you may have exchanged business cards with four or five people and maybe five times that number now know what you do.

Follow up your new contacts

• Don’t expect the other person to make the first move – it may never happen!
• This is your chance to demonstrate that you do what you say you will and mark yourself out from those who may have good intentions but somehow don’t seem to get round to it…

This is just the beginning. You are going to have to do this regularly to make it work for you. If you are not sure about it all why not try attending another couple of events and see if it gets any easier. You may take to this like a duck to water. However, if you find you are putting yourself through purgatory each time then maybe you need to look at another way to go about it…

Taken from training material originally developed by Linda Mattacks

If you are serious about networking, by now you have determined who you want to meet and why and decided to join at least one group that offers networking opportunities. That’s great. But how are you going to approach your first meetings?

The answer to that question will depend to an extent on the nature of the meeting, but, as with any social or business meeting, you will achieve more if you prepare in advance:

10 Tips to prepare to network

• Whatever the networking event you should be able to find out who will be there in advance, so make it your business to do so
• Do your homework on these people to fine tune whom you want to make contact with and determine to make it your priority to seek out these individuals at the event
• See if you can establish common areas of interest with those individuals as that will help to make you more relevant to those you want to meet
• When you meet with them focus on their concerns, needs and problems
• Have bullet points about what you do, your relevance to the individual and what you want to achieve prepared in your own mind
• Introduce them only once you have built enough rapport for this to be of any potential interest to your new contact
• These days we are all familiar with infomercials so prepare a 60-second one that best outlines what you do and how it benefits others
• Test it out on people you know who are outside of your industry to see how jargon-free and understandable the end result is
• Make sure you have plenty of business cards but don’t zoom through the event handing them out like confetti – it’s not only rude, but also counter productive

First impressions count so take as much care with your appearance as you would for any meeting with new contacts

You can only do so much preparation, then it is time to bite the bullet and just do it!

Taken from training material originally developed by Linda Mattacks

Investigate people you may already know whom you can look to in order to help each of you expand your business opportunities:

• There are former employers and co-workers, and people who provide or have provided services to you. You might be able to refer business to them or provide a service for them



• On a social level there is your local community. It’s not by chance that the two buildings you could guarantee to see by the traditional English village green were the church and the pub/inn – one looked after your soul, the other your stomach! And you were bound to run into all of the other ambulatory villagers in that vicinity sooner or later. So don’t forget neighbours, members of your religious congregation and people you socialise with
• There are also your relatives and any of their friends that you know. What do they do for a living? Could you help each other, provide contacts or referrals?



• There are also golf/cricket/tennis/etc. clubs and/or your local gym. If you play a team sport you are gradually bound to get to know what line of work each of your team mates is in. Alternatively, after exercise it is fairly usual to repair to the bar (even if it’s only a juice bar in the case of a modern sports centre) where it is acceptable to strike up conversation with like-minded souls, even if you haven’t been formally introduced. Then, if you ‘click’, it can just be a matter of time before the subject of what each of you does for a living crops up. Bingo. If you make it a rule to carry your business cards at all times, you each have another contact in your network



• But you don’t have to be particularly physically active – any hobbies you have that involve contact with other individuals would be a great way to help you to spread your net over time, whether you are a member of a card club or a musician in a band or orchestra

All of the previous bulleted contacts listed are potential Level 1 contacts; that is to say people that you know and who know you.

Taken from training material originally developed by Linda Mattacks

A key point in networking is that everyone involved has to be prepared to give so that, ultimately, everyone receives.

So one thing to get your head around before you start is that you approach it in a completely different frame of mind from that of selling.

Most people when selling tend to be focused on what they want the outcome with this particular individual and his or her organisation to be. They are looking for the end result, the sale, the customer relationship.

You cannot do that with networking.

For a start it’s much more nebulous – you are not selling directly to the person you are contacting. You are exchanging information and experience. Your focus in business networking should be to actively seek out individuals who can introduce, refer or recommend you to those of their contacts with whom you might be able to do business, and you should be willing to reciprocate.

This individual may never buy anything from you. But if the two of you respect each other, have some kind of common interest and get on well together, you don’t know what the relationship could generate.

Remember that in an age when it is increasingly difficult to distinguish between products, services or solutions on offer, people will gravitate to those they trust and like.

Also, there are various statistics flying around about the efficacy of networking and one is that a referral generates 70 – 80% more results than a cold call. So I guess that’s reason enough for our exploration!

Taken from training material originally developed by Linda Mattacks

To start with it is worthwhile remembering that, whilst the word ‘networking’ has only relatively recently entered into common usage, the concept on which it is based is anything but new.

For example, well-connected travellers in bygone days would often carry letters of introduction to several people they didn’t know in places they would pass through. One or more third parties who knew the traveller and did have the right contacts abroad provided those letters in order to facilitate the traveller’s journey in foreign lands. The idea was that each addressee would act as host to the traveller whilst he was in his area, providing food and lodging and introducing him around his circle of friends and associates.

Each host would not normally expect any direct payment: However, in those days when you couldn’t just turn on the radio, television, or access the worldwide web, etc. for information, the traveller would be expected to be informative and entertaining, bringing eagerly awaited news of people, places and events in other lands. He would, doubtless, offer to reciprocate his host’s hospitality, and extend that offer selectively to those of the host’s associates with whom he found a rapport or common interest.

The traveller might also bring an exotic gift for his host on his homeward journey. By the time he arrived home the traveller would be able to bring back personal messages to his sponsors and update them on people, places and events abroad. Meanwhile he would have many new contacts and, possibly, friends that he would probably never have met had he been left to his own devices.

What is that if not a form of networking, which reminds me: How many times have we heard it said: “It’s not what you know – it’s who you know”?

Another example is membership: Membership of the freemasonry, old boys’ public school ‘clubs’ in the UK – often informal but nonetheless powerful for that – graduating from the same alma mater or belonging to the same sorority or fraternity in the USA are all fairly obvious examples where ‘who you know’ – not necessarily even directly but by association – can give you an advantage and get you that all important business or social introduction. You basically move right to the head of the queue.

Your new contact is reassured that he can expect you and your behaviour to conform to that of the peer group: Here is someone who understands the rules. Therefore, because he is assured of you meeting certain required standards, he will also feel that he can save time on due diligence (checking you out).

Your path is made smoother by the fact that you are, provided you keep your implied part of the deal and continue to live up to expectations, one of the accepted.

Taken from training material originally developed by Linda Mattacks

What does the word “Networking” mean? One person, who has an IT background, automatically associates it with computer systems, another connects it with human contact, and yet another (who works at NBC) instinctively thinks of broadcasting.

So, before we get into the subject, let’s look at some definitions of the word:

Webster Dictionary
n. interchanging information or services among a group of persons or organisations

Random House Unabridged Dictionary

1. a supportive system of sharing information and services among individuals and groups having a common interest
2. the design, establishment, or utilization of a computer network

The Concise Oxford Dictionary
The Concise [?!] Oxford Dictionary (10th edition), has it as a derivative of network

n.

1. an arrangement of intersecting horizontal and vertical lines
2. a complex system of railways, roads, etc.
3. a group or system of interconnected people or things
   • a group of broadcasting stations that connect for the simultaneous broadcast of a programme
   • a number of interconnected computers, machines or operations
   • a system of connected electrical conductors

v.

1. connect as or operate with a network
   • broadcast on a network
   • link (machines) to operate interactively
2. [often used as a noun networking] interact with others to exchange information and develop useful contacts

So all three of the opening interpretations are correct. But somewhat surprisingly to us, each of the dictionary definitions appears to favour the people interaction aspect to a degree. That’s the definition we’re going to concentrate on here.

Overview
Various figures are flying around about networking being anything up to 80% more effective than cold calling so you should make sure you know:

• What it is
• The best way to approach it (most people don’t)
• Different ways of networking (including the Internet) and
• Various clubs and associations you may find it helpful to join

Taken from training material originally developed by Linda Mattacks

We don’t want to turn you into the archetypical salesman, any more than you want to be one.

But the purpose of the meeting, as far as you are concerned, is to progress a potential increase of business for your company. So a recognition and understanding of the processes going on around your discussions with your customer or prospect is pretty important.

Just bear in mind that the person in front of you sees potential value to him or herself and their company in your being there. Otherwise the meeting would not have happened.

Be prepared and use the following tips to manage the ebb and flow of the meeting. Most of them relate to state of mind, attitude and good old common sense.

You might like to note that these tips also apply to use of the telephone. You can, particularly after the first meeting, cover a lot of ground by telephone. So treat such a call with as much preparation and respect as you would a face-to-face meeting.

20 Tips on managing a meeting

Know your product or service inside out and believe in it

This is the only way you will successfully be able to show any prospect how they could benefit from owning and using it. Anything else is a con

Put yourself in the prospect’s position

What does he want to achieve? – How can you help him?

Once you start adopting this attitude you’ll both benefit. If it transpires that you can’t currently meet his needs, acknowledge the fact and agree that you will be back in contact only as, when and if you believe that the situation has altered. That way you’ll find that the that the door will usually be open for you

Questions are the answer

Practice asking gently probing questions in a conversational manner in order to uncover your prospect’s need. Try recording yourself – hear how you could improve

Make yourself agreeable to people

In a world where it’s often difficult to distinguish between one product or service and another, it’s a simple fact that people will tend to buy from those people they like

Have a goal in mind and plan ahead

Always prepare the call in advance. Have a variety of questions ready that can’t be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”. Make certain that you have something to offer the prospect. Have customer success stories ready

Practice listening

Too many sales people concentrate only on what they want to say next and consequently fail to hear and respond appropriately to what the prospect has said

Remember

Selling is not talking people into something they don’t want to do. It is helping them understand how they will benefit when they buy

Don’t exaggerate

If a prospect catches you out in one inaccurate statement it casts doubt on everything you say

Learn to recognise and act on buying signals

Listen for comments from the prospect that could indicate a need or potential interest in what you have to offer and explore them. Tailor your offer to meet those needs

Don’t talk too much

You don’t learn a thing while you are talking. Let the prospect participate in the conversation and you will get the information you need to progress and achieve your goal

It’s vital to make your first few sentences interest packed (this is absolutely crucial when using the telephone)

Did you know research shows that people remember:

• 35% of what they see and only 10% of what they hear
• But if the individual really wants to hear what someone has to say, he can retain 100%!

Read these sentences aloud, stressing the words in bold typeface

Hear the dramatic changes in meaning that can come from different intonation – the implication is shown in brackets:

I didn’t tell Sarah you were useless (someone else may have)

I didn’t tell Sarah you were useless (find someone else to blame)

I didn’t tell Sarah you were useless (I may have implied it…)

I didn’t tell Sarah you were useless (I told others)

I didn’t tell Sarah you were useless (I said a colleague was)

I didn’t tell Sarah you were useless (I said you are useless)

I didn’t tell Sarah you were useless (I said you weren’t very good)

Practice using light and shade in your voice; experiment with varying intonation

Develop a positive mental attitude

• Every material act originates in thought
• Take responsibility for your mental attitude
• Think big
• Think success
• Keep a cheerful attitude of mind
• Try saying the following aloud and with feeling several times a day, but especially when you first wake up and before you go to sleep at night (it’s probably best to do it on your own in the bathroom so you don’t get funny looks from other members of the household):
  • “I like myself”
  • “I am responsible”
  • “Something wonderful is going to happen today”

When you’ve asked a closing question, or made a closing statement SHUT UP!

Many people are not happy with silence and will rush to fill the void. He who asks the last question is in control

Be yourself

Amongst my fitness DVDs at home there is one I cannot bear to use. The workout itself is OK but the instructor has tried to overlay her voice with an accent that is not natural to her. Consequently her voice grates on me every time I try to do the routine. So, provided your accent isn’t so strong that the average person has difficulty understanding you (and remember that accents tend to be more obvious over the telephone) leave it alone!

Objections

Objections are natural and can occur at any time during the sale. You have to decide whether the objection is real or a red herring. If you are not sure, ignore it. If it is a true objection it will crop up again – that’s when you deal with it

Competition

Don’t knock the competition. Be thoroughly aware of it and know how it differs from your own offer. Just sell the benefits of your own product or service which you know the competition can’t match

Don’t be nervous of the buyer

Provided you are well equipped, you have no reason to be nervous. And the more calls you make, the easier it becomes

Don’t use high pressure

High pressure is used by less intelligent people. You have no need of it. A prospect could possibly be pressured into a decision once – rarely twice – and you want to grow him as a customer

Smile

Enthusiasm and confidence are catching. Bring life and action into your calls and visits and enjoy yourself!

Taken from training material originally developed by Linda Mattacks

We’ll just set the scene first

1. You are punctual for the meeting (in this case at the prospect’s company), having prepared your journey and allowed time for unexpected delays
2. You have taken care with your personal appearance
3. You greet the receptionist pleasantly and state your name, that of your company and whom your appointment is with, handing over your business card at the same time to make life easier for her. Let’s say you are kept waiting a few minutes in the reception area so:
   • Silence your mobile
   • Use this time to look around you (check out the walls for any industry awards, extra information that may not be on the company website, etc.) and check out any literature on display for yet more information
4. You have checked out your personal mannerisms with a trusted colleague and have the irritating or disagreeable ones firmly under control

Okay, now we’re ready

Where within the company does the meeting take place?

Hopefully it will be in a room with just you and your prospect individual(s). If it’s in a designated meeting room it won’t tell you much about your prospect except to indicate that maybe he (or she) doesn’t have an office of his own or that it isn’t big enough to accommodate everyone at the meeting if there are to be several people present, or even, maybe that he does have an office but it’s a mess!

Likewise if the meeting is held in the Boardroom it may just as easily indicate lack of suitable space elsewhere as opposed to the perceived importance of the meeting itself.

So if it’s a one-to-one meeting the best place for it to take place, from your point of view, is in the individual prospect’s office. Then you get a chance to surreptitiously play detective and look for clues to his character.

Test your powers of observation

I’ll give you an example to show you what I mean, and you see what you can deduce from it:

Let’s look through the open door at the office of one company individual.

It is situated in solitary splendour at the top of a tall building that becomes narrower as you go up, reached either by using the lift or climbing several flights of stairs, with only the Boardroom across from it as company.

The office isn’t particularly large but the draw-less desk, with a state-of-the-art telephone, a networked computer that is switched on, a largish open, leather bound personal organiser, and several piles of correspondence, reading material, etc., dominate it.

The one window in the room is behind and to the right of the high backed leather chair in the corner behind the desk.

The remains of a takeaway lunch are in the waste bin that can be seen under the desk.

The walls show pictures of the occupant at what, presumably, are highlights throughout his career, certificates of his membership of various institutions, and industry awards the company has won.

Books on the industry line the shelves and the overspill is stacked neatly on the floor.

A large portable radio and CD player sits in one corner with a stack of music CDs next to it.

Three low semi comfortable chairs against two of the walls (on one of which rests a briefcase and laptop, another has a pile of glossy company newsletters which depict the same face as in the pictures on the wall on the top right of the front cover) complete the contents.

What could you learn from the above?

What might any of this, what is here and what is missing, tell you about the status and character of the person this office belongs to?

• Okay, some of this is a bit of a give away – From its position in the building alone is there any doubt that this is the office of the company boss? And if you weren’t sure, the company newsletters would appear to confirm it
• You are allowed, even encouraged, to know the public persona of this person but not the private one (there are no pictures of a wife or children, or of the man at leisure anywhere on view)
• The man has a pretty well developed ego as seen both from the choice of office and the way it is arranged as well as his picture on the newsletter



• His work is a very important part of his life and, if he doesn’t have a meeting, he’ll eat lunch at his desk
• Anyone visiting him in his office is forced to look up to him from one of the low chairs unless they remain standing
• The computer on his desk could be for show but the fact that it is networked and the laptop on the chair suggest that they are both very much working tools
• The presence of the briefcase and personal organiser indicate a traditionalist side to the occupant’s nature
• The radio cum CD player and CDs could point to ‘thinking time’ spent in the office outside normal office hours
• Looking around a bit more carefully, there is no space for a printer or filing cabinet that could contain any paper to print anything out on (unless you removed at least two of the chairs)
• Neither is there a secretary in a nearby office to perform these tasks for him
• This last point could be a bit fanciful but combine the last two observations and they could indicate that the occupant of this office is a person who to whom appearances are very important and he is prepared to put up with a certain amount of inconvenience in order to maintain the desired impression
• My bet is that this man’s strong behavioural style traits are those of the expressive and driver (I’ll explain this in a later Post)

Whilst it is unlikely that you would be left alone for any length of time in the office of the prospect you were meeting, hopefully this little vignette, which is of a real office and its occupant, has demonstrated just how much you can start piecing together purely by being observant and looking around you.

However, to keep this whole observation of surroundings part realistic, I have to also admit to knowing an extremely powerful Marketing Director who chooses to have his desk in the corner of an open plan area. If he forgets to book a meeting room he will quite happily draw up an extra chair for you and conduct the meeting there. I would describe him as primarily an amiable/analytical type but I know him. Would I have got inklings from the surroundings alone? Tough one!

Taken from training material originally developed by Linda Mattacks

Now let’s have some tips that you can take on board and adapt to various situations:

10 Tips on how to create a positive image in person

Do your homework

• Social/ business networking, functions or events: Find out in advance who is going to be there and identify those individuals you particularly want to make contact with
• Know as much as is reasonably possible about those individuals
• Focus on their interests/ concerns/ needs NOT your own
• When attending a business meeting research as much as possible about the company beforehand and, again, focus on your contact’s concerns when at the meeting

Be punctual for any meeting

• Allow for delays en route or, for example, a 15 minute walk from the nearest parking area
• Prepare your route in advance
• Check journey times and frequency of public transport – don’t rely on the latest train that will get you there just on time if nothing goes wrong
• If meeting on neutral territory, try to be there early so that you can familiarise yourself with your surroundings
• Telephone ahead if you are unavoidably delayed and are going to be late

On being kept waiting for a meeting

• Don’t wait longer than is reasonable beyond the agreed appointment time (I’d say about 15 minutes), unless you are chasing payment or there is a viable and acceptable reason
• If the meeting is scheduled at your contact’s place of business
  • Don’t be obvious about it but keep your eyes and ears open and use the waiting time to observe your surroundings and learn from them as well as checking out any company literature that may be provided in the reception area
  • Be aware that any conversation you have with the receptionist/secretary/etc. could well be related to your contact later
  • If you must conduct other business on your mobile telephone whilst waiting, do so quietly and discreetly

Be aware of your personal mannerisms – and tame the disagreeable ones

• Don’t jiggle change or keys, drum your fingers on the table or your laptop, keep flicking your hair back or scratching your nose, for example – the first habits are irritating, the last two make you look nervous or potentially dodgy
• Any habit you have has been learned – if it’s irritating, unlearn it!

Use your eyes wisely in the meeting

• Look your contact in the eye when talking to him, but don’t stare at him as though you’re trying to hypnotise him!
• Observe what his body language is indicating to you – is he looking everywhere but at you, leaning back in his chair, playing with a pen or an executive toy – if he is you’ve lost him, and you need to get him back PDQ
• If you are meeting with a group of business people and the chain of command is not obvious, for instance he or she who does most of the talking is not necessarily the ultimate Decision Maker, look to see who the group look to for approval or defer to, and make a point of subtly visually acknowledging that distinction

At the same time use your ears

• What is your contact’s tone of voice – is it bored, aggressive, interested or eager – and adjust your pitch to accommodate it – but never be aggressive back

Don’t “pounce”

• Be careful not to pounce on your contact and continually interrupt him – not only is it likely to be extremely annoying to him but also you won’t be giving him the opportunity to open up and provide the information you need in order to progress potential business – let him talk

Avoid potential pitfalls

• You may well be nervous but you want to appear calm and in control. So politely decline the cup of tea or coffee that may be on offer, thus avoiding the potential clattering of the cup in the saucer or, even worse, slopping the contents. Request a glass of something instead and leave it to one side until you are more relaxed and in your stride

Project an aura of friendly professionalism

• You don’t have to smile all the time, in fact it would look decidedly odd if you did, but the smile should be there in your voice
• Don’t confuse this with familiarity – you are there as a professional, not to be your prospect’s chum

Know when to leave

• Once you have achieved the objective of the meeting, or as close as you’re going to get to your objective, outline and agree next steps with your contact and go!

Professional aura and mannerisms

We’re not always aware of these, so it’s a good idea to:

• Check yours out with a trusted colleague whose opinion you respect and who has seen how you operate at business meetings
• Take on board any constructive criticism and adapt your behaviour accordingly

Taken from training material originally developed by Linda Mattacks

Preparation for every single social or business meeting or function you intend to go to should be given the attention it would receive if you were about to meet your most important customer ever – because you never know when that will indeed be the case – and you want to be ready for it!

A little story on just how much first impressions count:

I remember when the £multi million turnover company I worked for had been taken over by a £multi billion turnover group.

The new overall Director of Sales for our entire operation came in to address our department bright and early on the Monday morning.

Everyone was intent on watching and listening to him as he walked around the room telling us how things were going to be from now on.

I didn’t take to him as, although he apparently meant to be motivational, his manner was extremely brash in comparison to our previous company culture and I couldn’t help but notice that, whilst everything else about his appearance was fine, his shoes were really worn down at the heels.

This observation probably wouldn’t have bothered him in the slightest, had he been aware of it. But I still remember his name and my first impression of him 25 years on.

Now take it further

Taking that a bit further, you may switch off and not to worry too much about your appearance when ‘just’ going to your local pub or wine bar for a couple of relaxing drinks, for example. But you’re in charge of the persona everyone there sees. A new arrival that you get chatting to may have, or know someone who has, a need for the very products, services or solutions you provide.

Based on your usual behaviour and attire would you inspire confidence in a potential 4, 5 or 6 figure value customer? If your honest answer is “No” or “Probably not” you could be missing out on a lot of business that you’ll never even know about.

Now look around you at the most successful people you know: When have you seen them completely scruffy, switched off and relaxed? I’d guess rarely, if at all.

So, if you don’t already do this, how about starting right now to think, dress (as closely as possible wthin your current budget) and behave as you see that successful company owner in your vision thinking, behaving and dressing in any social or business situation?

Just to put this whole subject into perspective, I mentioned this piece to a friend who said:

“Aren’t you going a bit over the top? I wear a T shirt and jeans quite a lot. Does that mean I don’t look the part and ought to wear a suit all the time?”

No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. As I pointed out to him, when he goes out anywhere:

• His jeans are always clean and never distressed or tatty
• Ditto his T shirt, which is always ironed
• He, his hair, hands, finger nails and shoes are always clean
• He never smells overpoweringly of anything
• I’ve never seen him other than totally observant and in control

That’s what I mean.

Tips on personal appearance

• I know a couple of people whose nature of work makes it, by and large, impractical to dress ‘ready for for a meeting’ all the time, so they keep an entire outfit at work to get round the problem
• Ever since my first full time customer facing job I’ve always kept the rudiments to effect a quick makeover in my office wherever I’ve worked (toothpaste, tooth-brush, comb, flannel, deodorant, new pair of tights, etc.)
• Wear outfits that are smart but comfortable – you’ll find it difficult to concentrate if your waistband is digging in or your toes are pinched
• Avoid eating spicy food, drinking alcohol or smoking just before a business meeting with anyone you don’t know or know in a different context (or in worst case scenario ensure you have a powerful breath spray with you!), ditto anyone new to you in a social context (it might be tempting to have a quick nip prior to meeting the lady who may be your future mother in law for the first time but it’s unlikely to go down well with her if she’s a teetotaller…)

Prepare yourself for any meeting

• Write your own personal grooming preparation check list
• Ensure that whatever kit and/ or outfit you need to effect a speedy makeover is at hand (in both your office and your car if you’re out and about a lot)

Taken from training material originally developed by Linda Mattacks