Confidence is the cornerstone to everything that we do in life.
It dictates our thought processes, our actions and therefore the results that we achieve.
Every area of our lives will be affected by how confident or otherwise we feel: relationships, stress levels, making money, health, and of course in business.
Lack of self-confidence is usually coupled with low self-esteem. Self-esteem being one’s emotional evaluation of self-worth, and self-confidence being ones belief in one’s capability or judgement, and ability to portray ones-self well.
Someone who isn’t confident in themselves, won’t believe that they are worthy of respect from anyone. Others can read this, either consciously or unconsciously, and may then treat that person accordingly.
This can manifest itself in many ways in day-to-day life.
If you are not confident when working within your business, the chances are that you will not be doing as well as you could. You will probably be charging way less for your product or service than you should be, and find that customers just don’t seem to want to come to you.
The way that we portray ourselves is very important.
If you meet a confident person in business, the assumption is likely to be that they are good at what they do and they would be able to treat you well as a client. They will probably be a bit more expensive than someone else but they will be worth it.
Conversely, you meet someone who isn’t very confident. The assumption there will probably be that they aren’t very good at what they do and if you became a client, you might not have much faith in their ability to deal with a problem should it arise. They’re probably quite cheap, but is it worth the risk?
Again these assumptions may be conscious or unconscious, but it shows that in order to make the most of our businesses, we must be confident in our ability, our value and the fact that people would be well served to work with us.
Having the confidence to portray ourselves as a good business person, with the associated unspoken promises of quality and trust, we must be able to back it up with offering a good product or service and good customer focus to warrant the trust. If there isn’t this in place then however many clients you get on the back of this newfound confidence, they won’t last and you will still have a business that isn’t working well.
Confidence doesn’t only extend to getting clients, it will play a part in lots of other areas.
Imagine the difference between a confident person and an unconfident person dealing with a supplier and trying to get a better price. The unconfident person would probably not even make the call, but if they did, without even hearing what was said, you can imagine that they come off the phone no better off. A confident person would come out with the best deal available.
So how do we show confidence in business?
Showing confidence and feeling it, are two different things. Showing it, if done correctly, will have the desired effect in that people will have more faith in you, and the more you pretend to be confident, the more you will feel it. The more that you meet with potential clients, shake their hands confidently and launch into the meeting with feigned confidence, the more it will become second nature to you.
There are a couple of easy ways to show confidence, and one is your stance.
Stand tall, head held high and be easily ready with a smile and eye contact. When you catch someone’s eye, smile with a nod of acknowledgement. This shows that you are confident in yourself, which is the impression that we want to convey, and it also gives the other person the opening to come and speak to you.
The second way to show confidence is to maintain eye contact when speaking with someone. This again will show confidence in yourself but also shows that you are listening and paying attention. This will make the other person feel interesting and valued, which in turn will make them like you and hopefully want to do business with you.
Whilst maintaining eye contact is good, you do need to look away every now and then to avoid it becoming a stare. There are different ways of doing this that give very different messages. To glance down to the left or up to the right with a suitable look of concentration on your face, will show that you are considering what they are saying and are still focused on them. The other way is to flick your eyes around the room to look for someone more interesting to talk to, or to admire the paintings on the wall. The message here is that you aren’t interested in them at all. This will not give them a good feeling towards you and will more likely result in them saying ‘I’ll get back to you’, rather than ‘Where do I sign?’.
One last thought is that whilst we all want to show confidence, there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance, and showing traits of either characteristic will reap very different results. Be confident but keep it controlled.
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Hello, I am Jessica, a Confidence Coach, qualified and experienced in coaching, Hypnotherapy and NLP. Whatever changes you want to make within yourself or within your life, I am able to help. Confidence is key to everything that we do, from losing weight to over-coming obstacles, or getting that new job. Please do call for a free chat to tell me about your concerns, and I’ll let you know how I can help.
A very useful article. Confidence in business has to be one of the key factors in determining your success or failure but its also one of the most over-looked factors when talking about how to make your business work. Well done Jessica.
Thanks for your comment, Maria. Yes indeed, being good at what you do is only part of having your own business, and alone, it isn’t enough. For all the other parts of it, you need confidence!