How To Act Like A Business Person

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If your venture makes more money than it spends, then you have a bona fide business. That makes you a business person. As such, you need to act accordingly, but how?

Value of Time

Time is your most valuable asset. However, other people will not automatically respect it if you don’t.

Any meeting with a client shouldnt last more than an hour. A meeting with a potential client shouldn’t last more than an hour, unless you’re going to seal the deal then and there. If you spend more than an hour with a potential client, then they’ll see you as desperate, and willing to bend to their rules. You can’t give them that luxury.

Tell them up front that you have another appointment in an hour. If you forget, look at your watch before the hour ends and say that you’ll “have to leave soon.” They’ll get the clue that you need to go and wont try to prod.

Emails

Try to get everything in writing. Try to conduct all business through emails. Even though meeting face to face is better than emailing, it’s more cost efficient to just email.

Also after talking to a client, always email them after the meeting and reiterate what they said. That way there is no misunderstanding of what the meeting was about. Plus, if you forget, you’ll have a way of remembering what was it that the client wanted.

Contracts

Always have contracts ready. Always try to seal the deals then and there. Try not to let the client leave without signing, however, don’t try to be pushy about it either. Sometimes, they’ll have to think about it, and consult other people, and that’s okay. Let them have a copy of the contract so that they mull it over.

Make sure your contracts dont have spelling mistakes, it looks very unprofessional.

Business Cards

Don’t get free business cards. Man up and get 250 cards for less than $30 dollars. Try to get full color back and front. You can get your designs from Graphic River, and search for business cards.

Vocabulary

Your vocabulary should aways be positive or neutral, never negative.

“Cheap” becomes “affordable.”
“Bad” becomes “okay.”
“Slow” becomes “in a timely manner.”
“Expensive” becomes “a little pricey.”

Scheduling

You are never free. Even if you have a week of nothing going on, you still say you “may be available.” You want to seem like you’re always busy. Perception is reality. Reality is perception. Just because you’re not busy now doesn’t mean you wont be busy later.

When you’re scheduling with a client, always give them your available times. Don’t give them exact times, give them chunks of time. For example say, I’m available Monday afternoon, Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning.

Don’t ever say “I’m available ALL DAY Monday.”  Say “I’m available  after 11am on Monday” even though that means you’re available most of the day anyways. Dont ever say “I’m FREE ALL DAY Monday” either, that’s even worse. That just makes you sound desperate.

Extra Tips

• Always Keep Composure
• Don’t Make Business Decisions based on Emotion.
• Stop Making Excuses for Everything. Own up to it.

How do you stay professional and act like a business person?