Home-Based Business Strategies to Project a Positive Image

Confidence sells; it breeds success. Regardless of your occupation as a home-based business owner, always remember you are the product and you have to sell yourself. You have to project a confident image to the buyer. If, the buyer does not feel you have confident in yourself or your product, then you may not be able to close the deal. Some indicators of lack of confidence are you are rambling on and on in your presentation; excessive nervousness; not being prepared, and or you are not knowledgeable about your product..

The purpose of this article is to help you build your self-confidence. This is the first of three articles that was written to increase your self-confidence level.

1. Prepare yourself before you speak. In an ever changing society you need to be prepared. You have to ensure you have all the facts (or at least the ones you need) about a subject matter before you set out to take on the challenge. You have to do your research talk to other people who may have experience in your area of interest. If, you have time get some training in the area. There is an enormous amount of free training, especially online. Prepare the facts get expert opinions and be able to quote what the experts are saying or said about the matter. However, most importantly, be organized. Develop a reputation as someone who can intelligently present a logical presentation or make a good factual based decision.

When you realize you are going to be in a situation where you have to voice your opinion and it may not be the most popular opinion be prepared to defend your position. Prepare at least three positions 1) Best case – if the other individual(s) are in agreement with you; 2) Worst case- if there is total disagreement and; 3) the most probable case - this is the case that will most likely occur. It is a mixture of best and worst cases.

2. Practice acting in a firmer more confident manner. Stand in the mirror and practice holding your ground but not being obnoxious. Watch your body language: practice open posture - eye contact and smiles avoid closed posture – folded arms and very little eye contact. Portray a relaxed demeanor stand straight and tall do not snoop or slouch. Listen at your voice tone, ensure it is not too high or low. Remember to apply your best, most likely, and worst case scenarios with a smile, calmly, and methodically. Practice, practice, and more practice until the body language, voice tone, and thought process are natural.

3. Always keep in mind confident people are positive people and everything begins with your thoughts which determines your destiny. I stated this before but it bears repeating:

Watch your Thoughts, for they become Words
Choose your Words, for they become Actions
Understand your Actions, for they become Habits
Study your Habits, for they will become your Character
Develop your Character, for it becomes your Destiny

So, you see your thoughts determine your destiny, they determine your place in life. Guard your thoughts do not entertain any negative, destructive, and or degrading thoughts about yourself or anyone else. They will come and when they do cancel them with something positive pure, edifying, and or uplifting about yourself and or that person, place, or thing.

4. You can identify a confident person by their body language and conversation. These people more than likely are positive people. They have positive thoughts and have positive things to say. The next time you have a conversation with some one, it can be a total stranger listen to what they say and how they say it. If, you talk to them long enough you will be able to determine their self-confidence level by their conversation and body language. If you talk with someone and all their conversation is about someone else’s misfortune or gossiping, usually there is something going on with that person. Usually, they have been hurt and hurting people tend to hurt others. It makes them feel better about themselves to talk about what they heard about someone else’s affairs. Rather than talk about themselves and how they are making their positive “mark” on society, they would prefer to continue spreading second-hand information (gossip). These are the people you want to get away from with a quickness, pray for them (under your breath), and keep it moving.

Always remember, act confident even if you are not, if you are nervous take deep breaths and hold them so you can calm down. Try your best to exude confidence. People generally believe a person who appears to know what she/he is talking about whether the person is right or wrong. They tend to believe the person because of their body language and because of the eloquence of their speech in other words “they sound good.”