We all know that putting our best face forward is an important part of meeting people and attracting customers, but have you had a good look at all the ways people see you and your business? Is some professional “landscaping” in order?

As a business owner, you have to wear a lot of hats: project manager, sales person, business analyst…up to and including superhero. So it’s easy to let a few things slip through the cracks. When you decided to become your own boss, were you handed a magic wand that enabled you to coordinate all of your marketing and promotional needs beautifully? If so, can I borrow it, just for an hour or two?

What do they see?
How you connect visually with your prospective and current clients effects their perception of your business and capabilities. Although most of us were taught not to judge a book by its cover, it’s a trap that most of us, when instantaneous decisions need to be made, fall into at one point or another.

This is more than wearing a nice jacket and ensuring that you don’t have poppy seeds stuck in your teeth. When was the last time you took an objective look at your company’s presentation materials? If you don’t feel that you have any or aren’t quite sure what these may include, here’s a quick list:

Logo
This is the graphic symbol that represents your company. You may have invested a lot of money into its creation or perhaps you’re one of the lucky entrepreneurs with artistic talents or friends with talent to spare in exchange for a nice dinner. No matter how your logo came into being, take a good look at it.

Does it still communicate what your business is about, even if your service offerings have changed? Do the colours scream out the decade it was created in? One entrepreneur realized her corporate identity needed an overhaul when a supplier commented that her logo looked like it had Dynasty-inspired shoulder pads. When she asked some friends for their opinion, they unanimously agreed.

Website
Your website says a lot about your business, and it’s an important tool to have at your disposal. What isn’t helpful, however, is a site that appears outdated. The Internet is a fluid medium, so you shouldn’t let your online presence collect dust.

Website designers and Internet media professionals all agree that updating content, as well as your site’s overall look and feel, helps promote your business as one that’s up-to-date and detail oriented. Listing events that happened three months ago isn’t the way to go. And, by updating your content on a regular basis, customers and prospective clients will keep coming back to see what your company is up to.

Stationery
While we claim to live in a “paperless” society, entrepreneurs still issue purchase orders, invoices and the like. These also present another opportunity to connect with your customers.

Some entrepreneurs use their stationery as a tool to promote upcoming events or new policies that their customers may be interested in, such as participation in a fundraising activity or a sale on all products sold during the next month. All it takes is a moment to add a line of text (please proof it first!) and you give your clients another reason to appreciate doing business with you.

Email signatures
Nowadays, most of the communication we have with our clients is through email, so what is your signature saying to them? Before you type another outgoing message, send yourself a test so that you see how your emails appear to a recipient. Now ask yourself these questions:

Is the font legible? Using a light colour or small typeface might seem like a good way to make it stand out, but if your client can’t read it, it’s simply annoying.

Is your contact information included? Listing all the products your company sells, but not your phone number and email address is…I have to say it…crazy. Just because you’ve sent the email, don’t assume that your client has it memorized. If they print out your email, all they will see is your displayed name, not your email, so if they want to contact you from another location, they can’t unless they have access to their email.

Is your information less than ten lines? Having a never-ending email signature makes it less likely to be read, and it can be eye-roll worthy when it’s tagged onto a one-line email message.

Keep the graphics on the down low. While embedding your logo seems like a really cool way to promote your business, it’s also a really easy way to confuse a recipient. Less email-savvy clients may wonder what the attachment is that you’re sending.

What do they hear?
Your final curb-appeal checks require active listening skills.

Call yourself. Who does the woman on the outgoing message sound like? Are you a successful entrepreneur, a stressed mother of two or someone waiting for the weekend to start?

If it was any of the three, it’s time for a new answering machine message. Think of it as a commercial that works for you whenever you can’t get to the phone. It’s your mini elevator speech. Practice it a few times out loud, and then write it down. When you’re ready to record it, look in a mirror and smile: it’s something that a caller will hear, even if they can’t see it.

Hello? Is that me? Also, pay close attention to the way you answer the phone. After more than one person asked if they’d woken me up when I answered the phone while working on my novel, I realized that it might be better to let the machine get it when I’m in full “creation” mode. It also gives me an opportunity to collect my thoughts and any information I need on hand when I return their call.

Can you hear me now? And, if you work from home, try to shut the door on your home life when you’re conducting business. Nobody wants to hear you stuffing a turkey or husking corn when they’re asking for a quote.

While most clients can understand if your child requires attention when you’re on the phone, it can be quite another story when it happens during a conference call with an entire project team or client team. In some cases, you may want to arrange for a sitter. A fellow writer makes sure her dog has had a good run before an important phone call so that he’ll nap on the couch. It works every time.

Through a quick review of all the ways your prospective and current clients see and hear you, you may find that some adjustments may be necessary. And that’s a good thing, because the only way we can move forward is by making some changes along the way.