Our local business community is predominantly comprised of small business owners, with more home-based businesses than ever before. Today, image is extremely important, and most small and home-based businesses strive to convey the most professional image in order to give their prospects confidence in doing business with them.<\/p>\n
There are so many subtle nuances that can give off an image of professionalism. Here are a few ideas:<\/p>\n
1. Did you print out your business cards yourself in an effort to save money? Remember, your business card is often the first chance for a prospect to judge your company. And yes, people do notice the perforated ends! Spring for the $30 – you can\u2019t afford not to have professional business cards!<\/p>\n
2. For self employed or home based businesses – do you answer your phone with a simple \u201chello\u201d? Think about the impression that makes. If you want to seem bigger, answer with the company name.<\/p>\n
3. How does your literature look? Does it look like it was done at home? You don\u2019t have to spend a lot to get sharp looking brochures. With the right paper and layout, you can do it at home and have it look like the pros….or you may want to get it done at a printer.<\/p>\n
4. When talking about your services, instead of saying, \u201cI can do this\u201d or \u201cI offer this\u201d, use \u201cwe\u201d. If you want to be a \u201cwe\u201d someday, then think and talk like a \u201cwe\u201d now.<\/p>\n
5. When asking for a sales appointment, do you say, \u201csure i can do it any day this week, i have nothing else going on all week.?\u201d How about, \u201cI have several appointments this week, but maybe I can squeeze you in on Wednesday…\u201d<\/p>\n
6. For home based businesses – Do you have young children or babies at home? Nothing makes it more obvious to someone that they are dealing with a home-based business than hearing children crying or screaming in the background while you\u2019re on the phone. I know you want to give them that personal family feeling, but remember that you\u2019re trying to gain their trust and confidence. Here\u2019s a creative way around this problem: insulate your door jamb with inexpensive weather striping, and close your door when the phone rings…you\u2019ll be amazed at how good this sound proofing technique works.<\/p>\n
7. Do you conduct all business calls on your cell phone? That may be OK for some businesses, but keep in mind that it\u2019s usually obvious to someone that you\u2019re on a cell phone.<\/p>\n
8. Do you use call-waiting on your business line? Most businesses do not use call waiting, but instead have multiple phone lines. It\u2019s just another subtle thing that can make it obvious that you only have one phone line. Instead, consider having that second call go directly to voice-mail. It\u2019s a bit more professional.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Our local business community is predominantly comprised of small business owners, with more home-based businesses than ever before. Today, image is extremely important, and most small and home-based businesses strive to convey the most professional image in order to give their prospects confidence in doing business with them. There are so many subtle nuances that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-small-business-tips"],"yoast_head":"\n