How Do You Sparkle?

Keep your sparkle

Seeing all the dazzling Christmas trees and strings of shimmering lights draped across shop facades always brightens the winter gloom and warms the soul for a brief time of the year.

Yet after the 12 days of Christmas have long gone, does the glitter remain or simply fade away?

What makes one person or service distinctive from another? How do you stand out from the crowd so your business sparkles throughout the year?

Being different

When I was a teacher, you couldn’t pin me down to a stereotype. Rather than huddle in the staffroom every lunch hour drinking copious cups of coffee, subverting school politics or whinging about the kids, I caught up on marking in my room or nattered to students about how to crack the latest N64 game!

I didn’t constantly ‘talk shop’ away from the ‘office’ even though I lugged the ‘office’ home with me in a trusty leather satchel every other night.

Whilst I didn’t always agree with endless initiatives, I often wished there was enough time in the day to do the job justice. And I sometimes – gasp – taught from the heart instead of ticking every target box every lesson. Was I wrong?

I was still a ‘team player,’ did my job, was applauded for excellence and even singled out as a strength of the school when county officials observed me in action with special needs kids…

Before you start thinking I polished my halo every night, it was a tough career. I didn’t always get it right and found teaching a huge challenge at times.

As a teacher, the buck stops with you. You can’t outsource your marking if you’re snowed under, or snooze in your chair hoping your rowdy year 9 class morph into well-behaved cherubs on Friday afternoons. Now that is wishful thinking!

After all, if you’re not enthused, inspired or truly believe in what you do, nobody will bother to listen will they?

Running a business is equally challenging. You not only have to maintain the momentum and deliver what you say you will, but differentiate yourself from others. How do you do that with all the competition?

Is it purely ‘what’ you offer, or ‘how’ you offer it that stands out? Because there is a distinction…

Whilst some business owners get hung up on trying to offer a different service to Joe Bloggs Ltd down the road – and there is some merit in that – the answer often lies within you. Doesn’t it?

10 Ways to Stand Out

In considering how you are different, don’t forget how you make a difference – because that’s what people are really interested in.

Whether you change a perception, save someone time or teach someone an invaluable lesson, it’s not just ‘what’ you do that counts, it’s the ‘value’ of what you offer.

Initially though, how do you spark interest whilst at the same time instil trust? Simply plugging your product (especially on social networking sites) won’t work. You need to interact with people … be real:

• Have integrity – be genuine
• Listen to others
• Exceed expectations
• Always keep your word
• Dare to be honest
• Promote your ‘value’- not just the product
• Take an interest in people
• Admit mistakes – put them right
• Learn to help/support, not just sell
• Don’t give up

Funnily enough, these work for me outside of business too – proving that you can only be who you are. What works for you?

As you take your ‘sparkle’ into 2012, may we wish you a wonderful New Year full of hope, success and happiness…