Get Ahead in Life

By David Sanders, Certified Master Consultant

What do people think about you? What do you want them to think about you?

You don’t need to act phony like some people do — in fact that’s a good way to fail. I suggest instead that you learn to be yourself. Then you can promote yourself to your customers, boss, coworkers, significant other and friends.

How? For starters, most people judge us by what we wear. When I started, I didn’t have a clue about this and what I wore was not appropriate for my line of work as a business consultant. It made it hard to gain acceptance. If you take a look around at your workplace or at successful people in your industry or company, you can get an idea of what will fly.

For example, one Friday afternoon I got my paycheck and ran down to the bank to deposit it. The bank had just closed. When I knocked at the glass door, the guard inside took one look at me and turned his back on me without opening the door.

During the following week I avidly read some survey data on what clothes communicate in a Dress for Success (there is also The Woman’s Dress for Success) by John T. Molloy and started to apply it on a small budget. The following Friday, same time, I rushed to the same bank with the same small paycheck. This time the same guard took one look at the new, improved me, unlocked the door and invited me in like I was some kind of big shot! The only thing that had changed was how I looked.

What you wear in social situations can make the same kind of difference and help you to get ahead in other ways.

Are you well known and well thought of? To be well known you must communicate. You might say that you have a cell phone, email, lots of technology to communicate.

But what you talk about and how you say it is at least as important as the technology you use. Despite its importance, few of us have been trained on how to communicate one-on-one to other individuals.

To take this to another level, speaking to groups is most people’s greatest fear, closely followed by fear of death and fear of snakes. But if one is to rise in today’s world, communication is the most important component. Searching out a good communications course certainly made a big difference for me. Feel free to contact me for recommendations based on your profession and location.

I once had a jewelry store in a artsy area of Northern California as a client. The owner wore a white tee shirt while attempting to sell expensive diamond jewelry and was probably one of the few who ever had any success in doing this. Probably his success would have tripled if he had found out what kind of look customers expect from a reputable jeweler.

How much do you want to make? If you want more customers or a raise, promote yourself. How? Try arriving on time or early, looking good, cheerfully doing your work, pleasantly suggesting workable ways to improve the income of the group, being friendly with customers. These same actions could improve your family life. Even if this seems hard to do, still something can be done about it.

A final tip — sit down and write out your personal and business goals. If you align your goals so that they work well with one another, it will make a big difference in how you perform — and more important for you, how much you enjoy life. It is, after all, your life. The fun really begins when you fully answer this question, “What do I want my life to be like?”


David Sanders is CEO of Creative Business Strategies. (www.CreativeStrats.com), a consulting firm specializing in entrepreneurs and professionals. He can be reached at CEO@CreativeStrats.com.

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