Power of Persuasion: Look Like a Big Fish Part I
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
Catch 22: Small business pursues big business clients. The challenge? Big businesses tend to select other big businesses as their vendors.
Solution: Look bigger.
Lisa Kirby Gibbs of Highland-March Office Business Center and I just gave a presentation at WPI on how a budding entrepreneur can appear larger.
Today I will share with you the first three of the top ten tips to appearing to be a bigger fish:
1) While there is nothing wrong with working from your home office, never appear to be working from your home office. A virtual office is an inexpensive way to appear established.
2) If you are a male, have a female leave your outgoing message on your voice mail. If you are a female, have a male deliver your message. Never use an answering machine as callers can tell, and it communicates that you are working from your basement.
3) Think about your title. Something I learned too late. Putting “CEO” or “President” on you business card actually makes your company look smaller. Giving yourself the title “Director of Marketing” or “SVP Sales” makes your company look far bigger.
A caveat: there is a difference between managing your impression and over spinning. Always be guided by your ethics.