One of the skills that comes with time, that your clients look for in the very first meeting, is confidence. When you show confidence with your presentation and knowledge, you have succeeded with the client much sooner than if you show a lack of confidence. It sets their state of mind toward you, your company, and the product.
How does one gain confidence with a new product or with speaking in front of a group? As with anything, it takes practice. Continually review the product you will be working with. If you have the opportunity to use it, then do so. Read all the documents that are available. The more comfortable you are with the software, the more confidence that will be displayed which ultimately makes your client become comfortable with you.
Besides learning everything you can about the software, another way to build confidence is to work on your own self-confidence. How to build your self-confidence:
- Look at what you have achieved already
- Think about your strengths
- Think about what is important to you and where you want to be
- Manage your thoughts, your mind
- Commit to yourself
Look at what you have achieved already. Review what you have achieved in both your professional career and your life. Make a list of the top 10 or 15 achievements and review steps you took to achieve those tasks.
Think about your strengths. Make an inventory of what your strengths are, as well as your weaknesses. How did you become strong in certain areas? Think about what you did, how you did it, and then apply that to your weaknesses to change them into strengths.
What is important to you and where do you want to be. Look back at your achievement log and your list of strengths and set goals to obtain what is important to you. By setting goals you will be able to measure how close you are to completing your goal. You will have a better understanding of what steps are required to completing your goal and when you complete them, add them to your achievement list.
Manage your thoughts. This skill requires you to realize what your negative thoughts are and reverse them. Keep positive thoughts only. Negative things happen in life and we all have negative thoughts from time to time, but the way to change them is to learn from those negative thoughts or experiences, and change them to something positive.
Commit to yourself. Get your achievement list, your list of strengths, where you want to be, and commit to making those goals a success by utilizing the tips above. You have to work at having self-confidence. Your confidence in yourself will translate into your work environment.
Your family, friends, and co-workers will see the confidence building in you, and how it changes you for the better. This change will translate to your professional life and will help your clients become more comfortable with you and your team. Remember that your confidence level is closely looked at in the first meeting or presentation you give to the client, and will set the tone of your working relationship.