The Importance of Your Image As A Means to Achievement (Personal Branding Master Class with Sir Eric Seyram A)

The look of Success

Looking successful breeds further success. There is no doubt that if you look successful you will be viewed as successful. I am sure that you would prefer to do business with a person (or a company) with a proven track  record which seems to be frequently chosen and approved by others. Successful implicitly implies that you are good at what you do.

Climbing the Success Ladder Faster

Others with the same skills and ability as yourself but who already look the part may well receive the next opportunity or promotion. The advice often given is to look the part of the person immediately superior to you. If you do this, there will not even begin to be an issue about whether you look appropriate when the time comes for promotion. You obviously do. It will also help to get you noticed at the outset.

Some organizations send men or women who are being groomed for greater things, but whose image is not compatible with that required at higher levels, to an image consultancy. However, in other organizations, or in certain circumstances, the decision-maker may not bother, or have the inclination, to invest in their employees in this way.

Get it right yourself now and ensure that you are first in line for the next opportunity.

Increasing Confidence

If every day could be a look Good: Feel Good day, think how much less stressful and better our business lives would seem! I would be very surprised if you do not admit that you feel good when you know you look good. On those days, we often seem to get on swimmingly with others, everything seems easier and accordingly we get better results. It is because when we have more confidence, our body language and our general aura are more comfortable which consequently brings out the best in others.

Easier communication also leads to a more confident and enhanced performance which will undoubtedly eventually increase chances of business success and promotion.

Being taken seriously

Irrespective of their image, (whether an impoverished artist or an eccentric professor) anyone who thinks, or appears, negatively – is rarely viewed positively by others.

When it comes to presence, pale grey is probably a graphic description of someone with almost zero presence. Someone who will really be noticed or remembered. Remember, positive doesn’t mean ‘standing out’ in a negative way, it means that you are noted and taken seriously for positive qualities, attitudes and ability.

You can measure presence as a percentage. To be seen as positive, you should aim for at least 75%.

Getting the best out of life

If you make the most of yourself as far as your appearance is concerned, more often than not you will get the best out of people and situations. We are not talking about personal beauty but a well groomed, well co-ordinated, ‘successful’ overall appearance which generates innate respect in others. This is no longer a premise but has been borne out by academic research. Even starting at the very beginning of life, pretty babies are talked to, more by their mothers and by their siblings. Besides image being important per se, the right business image can contribute a great deal to your career development.