Apr 05 My Personal Passion: Presenting the ABCs of Corporate Presence
Customizing and
designing corporate programs to help organizations take their businesses to the
next level is one of my great passions. Large, successful companies always understand
that people are their most valuable asset. But not all of them train their
personnel about how to positively represent their corporate brand through their
professional presence and what I call the ABCs of Image (Appearance, Behavior/etiquette
and Communications skills). Today business branding is such a huge phenomenon that
it takes real branding expertise to differentiate yourself from all the noise
in the marketplace and stand out from your competition in a way that positively
resonates with your target audience. But that will happen in noticeable ways
once you make a commitment to invest in the professional image development of your
people.
Organizations are often
apprehensive about how their employees will react to an image seminar. But I
love to make my presentations fun, interactive, and educational – while sharing
many fantastic image secrets. I know that most of the tips I offer will be new
to the people in the audience and that they will leave the seminar knowing that
they really learned how to step up their image in ways that are easy to quickly
implement at home. I always love the questions I get from my audiences and I
use those to tailor the presentation to them as I go. While they are learning
from me about my expertise, I am also learning from them about what a pain it
was to get dressed that morning, the embarrassing power lunch they had last
week, or something they posted on Facebook that they wish they could take back
because it might harm their reputation.
Yes, many of us grew
up with parents who were excellent role models. They wore formal business dress
every day and attended professional networking and social events to learn
proper manners and etiquette. Maybe we had a parent who learned the art of
effective communication as a public figure. But I’d be willing to bet that most
of us did not grow up knowing all there was to learn about our professional
presence. We most likely didn’t get it from our parents, from school, or even
from college courses. Now we are at a place in life where a polished professional
image is crucial if we are going to build relationships that create greater
business success.
Please don’t expect that every one of your
employees will know all these important skills and the ABCs of Image. Invest in
some quality training and give them the confidence, soft skills, and kind of
professional appearance that they need to navigate the contemporary business
world with grace and ease. Ours is a diverse multicultural business environment
propelled by social media, and to succeed today we have to be ready and willing
to reinvent and strategically hone our image skills.
Do you want to use
this blog article?
You may, as long as
you include this complete bio with it:
Sarah Hathorn is a professional image
consultant, certified personal brand strategist, speaker, and author.
Her company, Illustra Image Consulting, works
with high-achieving future leaders and large businesses by enhancing their
corporate and personal brand image to take their businesses and careers to the
next level.
Blog, Ezine & Website:
www.illustraimageconsulting.com
Copyright 2010, Sarah Hathorn, AICI CIP, CPBS
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Sarah Hathorn, CEO of Hathorn Consulting Group, is the go-to-expert in working with leaders and companies to create successful corporate DNA. As an executive coach, consultant and speaker she collaborates globally with clients and brands such as Deloitte, McKesson, Kimberly-Clark, Sherwin-Williams, Home Depot and other leading organizations.
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