Impress for Business Success

It’s important to create a good first impression, but it’s essential to create a great lasting impression.

The first thing to understand is that dressing for fashion and dressing for style are two separate things. The latter can enhance your personal and business brand and success; the former can drive customers away.

Attire directly affects personal performance in any profession.

• be appropriate for the environment, the occasion, the industry, and the client;
• be intentional and purposeful;
• embrace your awareness of first impressions;
• express the best aspects of the company you represent;
• reflect your client, target market, and industry;
• connect with your audience;
• create and build rapport;
• reflect the best you have to offer;
• look ethical;
• indicate your uniqueness - the way you want to be noticed, known, and remembered; focus on generating a great lasting impression.

The products and services offered and delivered also affect the company’s image. The sum of all those characteristics creates the company’s reputation , and much more.

• Good post ure and a confident stance are necessary to project professionalism. In all walks of life, clean and filed nails and groomed cuticles are essential.
• Every professional needs a good haircut, styled appropriately to maximize his or her facial features. Keep highlights subtle. Men: Get a great short haircut. And go easy on the sideburns - shorten them up. If you are balding, consider a completely shaved head. Just make sure you powder the high shine on top.
• Both form and function are critical if you wear glasses. They are an accessory and one of the first things people notice.
• Good skincare is essential. With advances in skincare technology and aesthetic services, there’s no excuse for poor skin. Exfoliating for men and women is an absolute necessity. Through that process, gentlemen can say goodbye to ingrown hairs. Women with a well-exfoliated complexion find foundation glides onto the skin and blends beautifully.
• The way you care for your clothes determines their lifespan. Wool suits should be aired-out frequently and dry cleaned minimally. Buy quality hangers to ensure your clothes hold their shape. The wrong hangers can create holes or bumps that poke out of the shoulders of garments.

If you want to be seen as authoritative and powerful, combine a black suit with a white shirt and add a touch of dark red. To be perceived as conservative and understated, try mixing charcoal grey with white and navy. To appear friendly and likeable, mix taupe, blue, and pale yellow.

Positioning yourself correctly will determine whether you get the business. Do you want to be just average or do you want to be considered an authority in your industry?

• Who am I?
• What are my values?
• Where do I want to go?
• Who are we as a company?
• What do we do?
• What do we bring to the table collectively and individually?
• Where do we want to go as a company?
• What problems do we solve?
• What do we offer our clients?
• What image best represents the message we want to convey to our prospective customers?

If you’re looking for greater success and financial freedom down the road, look like the career you want. If you are looking to grow your business, expand your target market, or raise your prices, you should increase your skill and professionalism to step up your game.

The abi lity to build rapport and develop lasting relationships enhances any business environment. Business and corporations will pay for attitude and great people skills.

Implementation is key. Knowing something is one thing - doing it is something else entirely. Taking action is necessary for success.

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