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Perception Management: 1 Skill You Need To Convince Stakeholders

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Perception Management and the skill of articulating your message

 

Last week I saw instances where an action or two done in good faith affected the person’s credibility and perception about their leadership and presence.

2 stood out for me. In all cases the individuals have lost ground and will require damage control to redeem the situation.

One was a Coach who was put in Facebook Jail. She was reaching out to her email list subscribers to keep posting in her Group while she cooled her heels in the slammer.

Considering she’s a Facebook Coach, that’s a hit on her credibility as a specialist. Unless she swings this to her advantage, potential customers may shy away from her products and services.

 

I admire her and know she’s good but …

 

I’m not a Facebook Expert by any stretch of imagination.  Maybe it had something to do with sending lots of messages via Messenger. Somebody or somebodies might have gotten irritated and complained.

Messenger is being touted as the next best thing since sliced bread for reaching our followers on Facebook for business. What many Gurus forget is that there is a social element in social media as well as a fine line between marketing and spamming.

Then there was the instance of a marketing professional who messed up an important deal because she didn’t do her homework. She pitched her proposal right out of the ballpark.

Not satisfied, she badgered the prospective client with cold calls and is now getting the cold shoulder.

I appreciate the tenacity of the marketing professional. Back in the day when I was working in the Big Four Accounting firms, despite my client-facing role, I used to be involved in many of the proposals we’d send out. There is a lot of hard work involved.

It was not just filling up a template with numbers. We’d research the client, the market and draw on our firm experience to demonstrate why we were the right choice.

Quite often we’d win the mandate not because we were the cheapest but because the client liked the way the pitch team approached them.

2 completely different examples. The point is, it doesn’t matter what you know but what the other person thinks of you.

 

In a world that is going more digital by the day, our online actions take on a deeper significance.

 

Here’s another example from my own experience.

I received a cold email from a company offering me soft skills and leadership services. No personalization in the email. Clearly no research done on the company they were sending the email to.

I decided to research this company a little more and what better place than LinkedIn?

It turned out we had 25 mutual connections of which quite a few were known to me at both a personal and professional level.

So, I called the sender and asked how they had found me. I got a rude response about being in a marketing database. The conversation went in a completely different direction with my giving a few tips on Permission Marketing.

In return I was instructed to send an email requesting to be removed from their database that I did pronto.

I continued my research on this company and found they had plagiarized a blog post from a reputed SEO and content marketing company that I follow. The author is someone I admire. They posted it on LinkedIn’s Pulse.

 

Their credibility is completely destroyed in my eyes.

Sometimes it depends upon the story and how you present facts that can create a completely different perception as was pointed out in an HBR Article called Managing Perceptions .

The case study was about the propaganda created involving the incident during the Blair government of the capture and release by Iran of Britain’s 15 sailors. It was about how both sides managed the “truth” of the story and its aftermath.

Key lessons were shared in that post. One that is worth thinking about seriously is managing stakeholders sensitively because they will be the first to point out the blatant use of spin or concealment.

Perception is important in the corporate world where there are enough competent professionals vying for the top spots and sadly, everybody is dispensable.

Credibility and executive presence are more important now than ever.

Of course, the degrees from prestigious organizations will get your foot through the door. After that, your ability to demonstrate your leadership potential depends upon your actions and how they are interpreted.

 

Leadership requires attitude and action

 

In other words, you need to get a new skill that isn’t taught in school but in life experience – Perception Management.

The perception that I’m talking about isn’t just how your boss or senior decision makers see you. It includes the perception of your peers and subordinates at work too. If you are in a role where you are facing outside parties, then their perception becomes important too.

The art of being able to articulate your message and what you stand for requires social intelligence. This is also important for leaders at all levels and for professionals who want to get ahead in their careers.

 

Are you sending out the right message at work or to clients?

 

If not, I invite you to check out a resource and work on your Executive Presence in a low-risk low-cost activity with high value.

This is a special offer for my Executive Presence Workbook.to help you raise your visibility at work and demonstrate your leadership skills.

 

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The Power Coaching Session is different from my signature coaching package. It’s ideal if you need a shot in the arm to take the next steps to raising your profile at work.

The full details are available by clicking here

 

 

6 Responses to “Perception Management: 1 Skill You Need To Convince Stakeholders”

  1. Suzie Cheel says:

    The facebook police seem to have several people i know in jail. You linkedin experience is disappointing, Permission marketing!! I believe attraction marketing is the new way to go I think you quotes says it all thanks xxoo

  2. Great piece of advise! Often we think that we are projecting certain energy or image to our friends, family, clients, loved ones.. which does not resonate with what/how actually perceive them. In my work with women, some very famous ones it was surprising for me to find out how under-confident they felt but it was never portrayed to me or other clients. On the contrary I have also experienced some leaders’ actions totally contradictory to their teachings. For me personally, being open to feedback helped me to understand my perception on others. 😉

  3. Nathalie says:

    I agree with your observation in both cases. Too many people call themselves “and don’t necessarily reflect that title in their actions. Like you I don’t judge and I commend them for taking a stand and becoming an entrepreneur and wanting to lead others. I just know social media is overcrowded and overused. Too many people give themselves permission to message others without having some type of connection first. Great reminder about the Facebook police…lol For sharing.

    • Karmic Ally says:

      One never knows what will trigger off the Facebook Police, Nathakie, so its good to err on the side of caution. 🙂 I’m a fan of this lady and have known her for a long time via Facebook so her sharing what has happened made her rise even further in my eyes but there are others who might not know her so well and that is where Perception Management becomes important. One can always turn mishaps into teaching opportunities and I hope that will be the case here.

  4. Reba Linker says:

    Oh my goodness, what a timely post, Vatsala. Perhaps a special category that deserves your attention is the field I find myself – the personal growth/healing online community. I think special issues arrive because of the ‘soft boundaries’ that permeate this particular world. For example, sharing vulnerability without being seen as weak, or sharing excitement and enthusiasm over another’s work, without being seen as lesser-than. These are issues I’ve been observing, both as regards myself, and others’ presentations as well. Fascinating topic. I think I may just have to explore your very generous offer!

    • Karmic Ally says:

      Boundaries in the personal development/healing industry tend to be softer than in the corporate world, Reba, and self-regulation is required. It’s easier to do damage control in the offline world where the audience is smaller but the online world – a whole different ball game. Thank you for signing up for my Executive Presence Workbook. I’m looking forward to our feedback session.

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