Why is Professionalism So Important?
By Abram Herman
First impressions matter—a lot. The moment a new client finds out about you, she is immediately looking for clues as to what kind of business you run. She wants to be assured of a positive experience before she spends her hard-earned money, and the best way to ensure that, short of actually visiting you for an appointment, is to investigate the public face of your business.
Things like misspelled words and grammatical errors on your website or marketing materials, an unclean work space, and even your personal appearance all factor into her decision of whether or not to invest in your services.
Paying proper attention to all these little factors will pay big dividends when your appointment book fills up, as Kay Warren in North Carolina has found out: “I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve gotten an appointment because I was the only one who called back when they asked for more information,” she says.
Though you may be an independent stylist running a small to midsize business, and not a huge corporation with an army of public relations people, you can still take a lesson from the most successful companies in the country. Anna Diaz in California says, “I have a Fortune 500 customer service background that always kicks in.” This is exactly the attitude needed in order to attain that level of success.