Are you missing out on opportunities and damaging your personal brand?

Are you missing business opportunities and perhaps damaging your personal brand in the process?

If you operate from a one-dimensional mindset you may well also be leaving money on the table. There are three dimensions of operating in business, all coalescing to build an inspirational and strong personal brand: seller, buyer and referrer.

At any time, a business or consultant can be operating from one (or more) of these dimensions. Most people only operate from a one-dimensional mindset at any given time and can leave their business at risk of missed opportunities.

Treating everyone you encounter in your business activities as a potential client, a referral source and a person of value is key in building a broad platform of business and sales attraction.

Often, we don’t really appreciate who someone is, who they are connected to, what they do, their assets, and how they may impact, refer or help us in business in some way (now or later down the track). It can also bite us in the proverbial to assume or dismiss another business’ or person’s potential. Assumptions and underestimating is a major danger in business that results in missed opportunities.

Communication and behaviours demonstrate our true human values and personal brand. Inconsistent and situational responses and reactions that differ can alert to a lack of integrity and business trust as reputation spreads on how we make others feel.

In other words, if you have an abrupt nature, you may well show up like that to everyone.  But if you choose when to be abrupt based on who you think matters, then you are going to miss opportunities — and this will impact your personal and business brand.

A few questions to ask yourself

• Do you ignore emails and LinkedIn messages (especially from first-degree connections)?
• Do you treat staff impolitely and clients politely?
• Do you not respond to phone calls?
• Do you treat waiters rudely and your clients like gold?
• Do you treat job candidates totally differently to staff and clients?
• Do you greet a salesperson with automatic curtness, but a client with warmth?
• Do you listen intently to your senior managers but not to junior staff?
• Do you treat the managing director of any business respectfully but the receptionist rudely?

The truth is, we all have done this at times, because we are human. But it is not the occasional lapse of behaviour that matters. Rather, it is the general behaviour and attitudes that matter as a seller, buyer or referrer.

The business wheel turns rapidly with social media and competition, so we can all get caught if we are not mindful. Clients can become suppliers. Suppliers can become clients. Candidates can become clients. Clients can become candidates. And so it goes on.

Personal and business branding intersects at demonstrating and living core values and business manners. Ideally, they should be congruent and consistent across the board.

Doing this makes good commercial sense and helps us get the best out of people. Treating everyone respectfully will also minimise stress levels and strengthen the muscle of purpose and business intent. And the positive impact on others is insurmountable — all creating a better social and business community.

Be kind, be respectful and commercially smart.  You just never know where the next referral, sales deal or staff member you want to hire may originate from. And your bank balance and personal brand reputation will skyrocket.

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