Do you judge a book by its cover?

So we all know that you should never judge a book by its cover, everyone tells us we shouldn’t and of course there are lots of always lot of examples to justify that statement even to the degree that recent book written for children have had ‘adult’ covers produced so that adults were less embarrassed reading them publicly, Fielding’s Harry Potter & Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to name a couple.

However, sometimes this is easier said than done, particularly when it comes to our own reaction to what we see when we first meet people. This is because our instant response is a natural instinct based on our need to identify threats to our safety and so one we have little control over.
We make judgements based on what they see because humans are visually dominant and so for the most part we believe what we see over
what we are told.

How many times have you caught yourself making judgements about people sitting across you on the train or in a supermarket or even just
walking down the street. People watching is an ‘activity’. If you undertake such activity are you just gently observing or are you mentally appraising each and every person that passes by?

It is the fact we know that that instant judgement does take place that when it comes to business, you should always look your very best. You want to be known as the best accountant, web designer, hypnotherapist, coach, salesman etc etc so you need to look like the best that there is.

You only get one chance to make a first impression so you need to make sure you get it right! Do you really want to take the risk of getting judged harshly and incorrectly?

In the same way you manage your business processes you need to manage your personal brand.

First impressions have a powerful affect and you have the ability to make that affect a sensational one, one that is memorable and will stick in people’s minds.

If you make a good first impression, customers will be more likely to continue to believe that you are excellent at what you tell them you are good at i.e. at your business! Make a poor 1st impression and you will have an uphill struggle to convince them you really are the best accountant, coach, designer etc etc in the room. So why make your job difficult?

To be the best, look your best.