Often what we think to be true is not actually correct. Our
perception of reality may not be what is really accurate. We must work to make
the perception held by our prospects, customers, clients, and everyone else to
be factual about our business and what it offers. Anything else will not bring
us success.
When we have dealings with others we must discover what their
perception of us is. What do they believe that we do as a business, how do they
believe that we perform our business tasks, and what do they believe that we
offer to the public? Do they believe that we are fair and honest business
people; do they even know what we actually do as a business and what our buying
process is? Is their perception accurate, or is it flawed in some manner?
Who are these other people whose correct perception is vital
to us? It includes prospects, customers, clients, networking partners, lost
customers, and anyone else that we know, have ever known, have ever met, or may
have some knowledge of our business, or us, in any manner. Of all the people in
the world, this group includes anyone who may have ever had any information
about us in any way possible.
How do we discover what the perception of others is of us?
Obviously the most direct manner is to ask them, actually have a conversation
and obtain detailed and factual data that allows us to determine what the other
person perceives. Some companies ask people to complete surveys, with
preconceived questions that are either true/false or multiple-choice. This is
not conducive to obtaining information that is detailed or even factual, and
may be tainted by what the requesting party already thinks is true.
What would anyone say if you asked them what they thought of
you and your business? What would they say if you asked them what they thought
of your products or your buying process, your website, your employees and their
manner of marketing, or your customer service and follow-up? What would they
say if you asked them why they stopped doing business with your company? These
honest answers would be very informative if asked in the proper manner.
Sometimes we must face the facts that we don’t like. If
people have the wrong perception about any part of our business, we must
correct that fact. It doesn’t matter how wrong the perception of us may be, we
must fix that perception and do so quickly. Otherwise the perception will
spread to others like a wildfire in a dry forest. To fix that situation must be
our objective as soon as we can.