Collaborative Corner: Tony Wanless

Posted By admin ~ 23rd March 2010

This week on Collaborative Corner, Tony Wanless who is a Certified Management Consultant and a business writer for BC Business as well as the National Post talks about marketing your small business with authenticity:

Listening recently to Mark Silver, a business advisor I deeply respect because he insists business operation should come from the heart as well as from the head, I was reminded of the need for authenticity if you’ve opted to become an entrepreneur in your own independent advice or service business.

You see, most large and corporate professional entities use traditional “marketing” to snare clients. That means that, because their market targets are generally other large corporate clients, they adopt the same language.

Usually that involves spewing a lot of blather about their credentials, their impressive client list, their “processes” and all the usual bumpf that you can see on any corporate website.

This is corp-speak and fakery at its worst. Prospects are apparently supposed to be impressed by the ability to be as pompous, straight laced, and organizational as the every other large firm.

Even though they may give a nod to reality by featuring their principals in an “about us” section, they’re essentially distant and unfeeling. It’s broadcasting, not connecting.

This probably works at that level through sheer size and momentum.

But if you’ve escaped (or were thrown out of)  being a large-firm drudge and chosen to run your own business, you don’t have that kind of momentum.

You’re alone or have a very limited business family instead of an organization. You’re finding the work, as well as doing much of it. You’re vulnerable.

And everyone out there knows it, so why pretend to be anything but.what you are?

Why not be authentic?

Authenticity is really quite simple if you look at it right.

It means you admit you’re a human being and not a corporate entity. You may have a skill that people need, but you’re a human performing it. That means you have flaws, foibles, and the occasional failure.

It also means you have beliefs, characteristics and lines that you won’t cross. It means you understand that they too are humans with their own skills, flaws, and characteristics. It shows you understand that, like you, they’re trying to just get along in this world as best as they can.

This doesn’t mean you have to be some tragedy queen emoting all over the place at a moment’s notice. That’s just another form of gamesmanship and attention seeking.

It just means that you treat clients, prospects, and everybody as real human beings.

It means you’re authentic. And people will like you for it. And probably pick you over competitors who are trying to hide their humanity.

This authenticity stuff may go against all your training — especially if you’ve been in corporate harness for a long time.   But let’s face it, do you want to work with those corporate drones anyway?

If you have to work, wouldn’t you prefer to work with people instead of machines?

So do so. When you’re a small business your best asset is your authenticity.