Jill on stage with Tony Robbins

The best way to build or expand your business is to become influential; to convince others that your goods or services can improve their businesses or their lives. In order to become influential, get noticed. Getting noticed is the most powerful way to drive your business, increase your profitability, and your worth.

Getting noticed is a full-time job; it’s a continual process that starts when you slip outside to retrieve your morning paper and continues until you switch off the lights at night. People watch you from afar; they observe how you act, what you do, how you work, and how well you perform. They listen to what others say about you and they follow your exploits.

Frequently, people notice you before you spot them or even think of them as potential customers, clients, or referral partners. Everything they see or hear adds to their impression of you and affects how they judge you. So train yourself to think that you are always being observed because when you drop your guard, even for the briefest moment, that’s when they invariably catch you and that will be the impression that sticks — it will preempt all others.

Many people work hard to create strong first impressions and then they drop the ball. When they meet others, they always look great and greet them with firm handshakes, dazzling smiles, and mesmerizing opening words, but then they fall flat. Once they think they have them hooked, they relax and don’t capitalize on the great impression they made.

Getting noticed isn’t hard, but it usually takes more than your natural charm. It requires thought, planning, and discipline. You must prepare. It’s too important to wing it and not follow through.

When you do it right, your life, your business, and your future will dramatically improve. You will perform better and more efficiently, gain more confidence, and enjoy greater success.