Do people believe in you?
The success you achieve in the world of business depends on so many factors, including your tenacity and ability to solve problems. But one of the defining factors into whether or not your business plan eventually makes it through scrutiny, is how well you can convince people to believe in you. In fact, if you are failing in any area of your business, be it sourcing new customers or motivating your team, you need to ask yourself this very simple question:
“Do people believe in you?”
Answering this question accurately can be difficult, but you need to be honest with yourself. For example, say you are looking to launch a new product into the market – beforehand, you showed friends, family and prospective customers your business plan who all said: “yeah, sure, go for it!”. But then, once you’ve come to sell it, numbers are slow and you don’t see the product performing very well. It may be because people don’t truly believe in your ability to create unique solutions that deliver on your promises.
On the flip side, look at someone like Steve Jobs. After decades spent launching innovative new products and revitalising Pixar, he was then brought back to lead Apple and rejuvenate the brand. They did this despite ousting him from the board some 12 years before – he had a track record of leading teams and building outstanding products.
Then, he went about releasing a range of new products that have now changed the world we live in. Including the iPhone, iTunes, the iPod and the iPad. He achieved all this because of one simple reason, people believed in him and his proposals. His design team believed he was the one to guide them to designing beautiful hardware. His marketing team believed that he knew what would sell. Most importantly, the world believed that he knew what they wanted to buy!
How to help more people believe in you
There is no step-by-step guide to making people believe in you or your business plan. Instead, it takes time and dedication to fulfilling a purpose and being clear in your objectives. But here are some key tips to help you on your way:
- Lead by example
- Be consistent in everything you do
- Create social proof of your abilities (using Facebook, LinkedIn etc.)
- Become the authoritative voice in your industry
- Help others to succeed
- Be sincere with people
By helping to build your credibility and boost the way people see and respect you, you will find it does wonders for your business career. Doing so will then help you vastly improve any proposals you put forth and the quality of your business plans. Just remember, people will not believe in you without good reason. You will need to earn it first!
Image credit: Dingell Business Roundtable by Kaleidico licensed under Creative commons 5