3 minute read
Personality
Personality My best tip for running a successful business
When personality first came to my mind, I instantly remembered a song I liked from my earlier years. Most of you young’uns wouldn’t know the American black singer, Lloyd Price. He co-wrote the song ‘Personality’ which became a top hit in 1959. An interesting fact when I was Googling, ‘People With Money’ magazine recently reported he is the highest paid singer in the world, earning $46 million between July 2014 and July 2015.
The reason for mentioning the song is the significance of the lyrics in the chorus, as they are based around five personalities: Walk; Talk; Smile; Charm; and Love.
Let me break these down and I’ll explain the importance (to me) of each.
When you go to a client’s house and meet them for the first time, what message are you sending out? How is your body positioned? Are you standing up straight or slumped over, disinterested and wishing you were somewhere else? Do you approach with confidence and have direct eye contact with them? Do you give a formal greeting with a handshake?
People can gather information about you from your body language before a word is spoken? We all do it without even thinking about it. Our poise and posture reflect our mood and our confidence level. We stand and walk a certain way when we’re confident and another way when we’re nervous. It can also show if we’re apprehensive or outgoing, relaxed or aggressive.
Being confident in your mind about the product and what you are selling is one thing, but it takes skill to verbally relay this without fault or hesitation. It’s not just the paint job you are offering them but your professional service also and this is what you have to get through to the customer with confidence in your voice.
In most cases the end price is not what sways the customer into accepting a quote. For a job acceptance they need to know that you know, what you a talking about. Being hesitant or indifferent in your approach is not a good sign for them. If the client has a question, you need to have the answer straight away. If you ‘umm’ and ‘ahh’ it’s showing a lack of knowledge on your part.
A good smile can break the ice on any meeting but unfortunately this isn’t happening enough in today’s society. Be genuine though, or at least try to look that way, as there is nothing worse than a fake smile. A sincere smile portrays friendliness and trust. You may be working on their site for days or weeks, so if you look unhappy it can form an uncomfortable environment.
A bit of charm doesn’t hurt and is another good way to build good will in a relationship between you and a client. Listen to what they are saying and expand on it. For instance, if they mention they have just come back from a holiday, be honestly interested and ask questions about it. People love to talk about their experiences and it can ease any tension between you. (A word of warning though; don’t overdo the charm, or pry as it could backfire on you).
A big part of your personality is love. You need to love yourself, love what you are doing, love life and love living. If you can’t do this then you are missing out on so much, and your customer will too.
All these traits make up your personality and I truly believe it helps you to be a better person, tradesperson and owner. Not only that, it helps you in business and helps you win jobs. The added advantage too is if a client likes you they will more likely pay you on time, be less difficult to work for and (maybe) overlook some of the minor faults in your workmanship. It’s a win-win situation.
