Projecting a Professional Image for Your Company

You may enjoy unrefined activities during your off-hours like bar-hopping, laying around in your skivvies, and yelling "NO DEAL!" at the TV, but when you're on the job, prim and professional is the way to go. Professionalism should not only be your mantra as an owner or employee -- it should also extend as a philosophy for the entire company.

If you are a one-man (or one-woman) show, you may counter that last statement with, "That's why I went into business for myself. So I could be as lazy and unsophisticated as I want to be." Fair enough. You may stop reading. And don't come running back when someone doesn't want to do business with you because they think you're unprofessional.

Overall, professionalism is an attitude - stable, reliable, consistent, polite, business-like - but there are action steps that small businesses can take to ensure the utmost professional experience for all of your customers.

First let's talk about your availability. Do you or another representative for your company answer your phone? If not, do you return phone calls? Are you consistently on time for appointments? Are you or an employee on site at your business at all times (lunch excluded)? If you answered "no" to any of these questions, then you are guilty of being unavailable. It's very hard to do business with someone who you can't see or communicate with. Do we want it to be hard for people to do business with us? No - they'll find an alternative.

So once you do come in contact with someone, how's your demeanor? A customer wants to feel as if he or she is being treated politely, fairly, and respectfully. No matter what reason a customer has for coming to you - be it a transaction, complaint, or miscellaneous inquiry - you always want to be courting that customer. Yes, there are times when a customer - like a bad friend - needs to be ex-communicated. But you can pull off even that feat in a business-like and unemotional manner.

Finally, are you keeping your personal life far, far away from your business? Are you committing other atrocities against your image? Very rarely is it NOT considered unprofessional to do the following:

• Accept a cell phone call from a family member while you're in a meeting or trying to help a customer (or accepting a call from anyone for that matter.) Only in emergencies is it okay to ignore someone in person for someone you can call back.

• Answer your phone with, "Hello?" That is a personal greeting that should be reserved for personal calls. During business hours, you should immediately identify your company and yourself. For example, "Jim's Photography. This is Jim." Or if you really want to shmooze, you can say (real chipper-like) "It's a great day at Jim's Photography. Jim speaking. How can I be of assistance today?" For most businesses, I would go with the more casual former greeting.

• Share the intimate details of your personal life. It is very professional and cordial to make small talk with your clients, such as "How's the wife? How was your vacation, etc." As a rule of thumb, keep answers to these questions very positive and at a minimum. Unless your client is also a close friend, he or she will most likely NOT want to hear about your ailing aunt, your suspected fertility problem, or your best friend's affair with your child's teacher. Professional dialogue should be free and clear of any drama WHATSOEVER. If you suspect that your story would garner favorable ratings for Jerry Springer, remain mum on the subject.

• Pass along the latest joke, shocking movie clip, or unsightly photos via email. I for one, thing email forwards are a sin against ALL humanity, but they are a definite no-no in a provider-client relationship.

• Bring the kids along. Nobody can look professional while sporting a diaper bag, stroller, baseball or dance gear, and - oh yeah - kids. Even if your children are good as gold, their mere presence will scream "off-duty!" to your clients.

• Dress for the beach. Or the bar. Or a NASCAR event. Of course if you work at the beach, or a bar, or for NASCAR, gearing up for such would be appropriate. But for the rest of us un-hipsters, the garb needs to be toned down. No, you don't have to look like your auditioning for The Apprentice. But if you don't have a uniform (such as a mechanic), and your job isn't mega-trendy (like an upscale hairdresser), keep it moderate, mainstream, and fairly conservative when you'll be meeting with customers. This means nothing too tight, bright, revealing, casual, or shoddy. Always remember that you represent your company.

• Make yourself too much at home (even if you ARE at home). If you meet up with a customer -- either over the phone or in person - turn down Justin Timberlake or Oprah Winfrey or whoever is diverting your attention from your work.

• Send out poorly designed and/or typo-filled correspondence or marketing materials. If you are grammatically-challenged, hire someone who is not. It's that simple. Typo-ridden, badly put together correspondence chock-full of grammatical errors is a huge hit to your level of professionalism. I once saw an invoice hand-written on notebook paper -- and barely legible at that! Have enough respect for your image to pay attention to the details of what you are issuing to your customers.

• Reek of perfume, a long night at the club, or yes - smoke. As I stated before, one attribute of being professional is being polite. ‘Tis not polite to infiltrate the available oxygen supply with your scent, good or bad. Scent is leading to a broader category, which is professional hygiene. Perhaps it's an extreme example, but would putting an Armani suit on a panhandler be adequate primping for a day on the job on Wall Street? I think not. Be very mindful of all aspects of your appearance.

Perhaps you went into business for yourself because you don't like your appearance and actions to be dictated by "The Man". Although understandable, the fact is that your customers probably won't cut you too much slack for lack of professionalism. Anybody can project a professional image - ditch diggers, childcare providers, and mortgage brokers alike. The key is a willingness to adopt a professional attitude that will be manifested through your actions and appearance. Now go return phone calls.