We’ve all done it — we judge someone by first impressions, by the clothes they’re wearing, by the way we’ve seen them act, or by the way they react to something.

Have you ever attended a networking event where everyone has sat down to eat, and in a rush someone walks in — over an hour late — flustered, rumpled and loud?  What was your first thought?  Maybe it was, “Wow. Wonder if she’s late for client appointments?” or “Is she easily overwhelmed and flustered?”  And in the same scenario — someone comes in an hour late, calm and apologetic — what do you think?

Let’s say you’re a business coach and you have some clients who are always missing their calls or always calling late. Do you wonder how they are with their own clients?  Would you refer someone to them?  And it doesn’t matter what type of business they are in.  It could be another coach, a virtual assistant or a chiropractor.  If they are always late or missing appointments with you, how are they treating their clients?

I was recently talking with a coaching client of mine who had scheduled some complimentary calls after three live events she had attended.  The calls were meant to find out more about the other person’s business, and they were mostly coaches and virtual assistants.  About 10 percent of the people who scheduled never called, didn’t answer the phone when she called, and never responded to any communication.  You might be thinking, “Maybe they forgot?”  However, they received plenty of reminder emails through the appointment system, and my client called them and left a message when they never called.  No response.  

Now, let’s say my client knew someone who needed their services.  Is she going to refer any of those people who didn’t show up?  Of course not!!

In April I attended Be the Change.  Some guest presenters were giving away free CDs (or whatever the prize) to the first 60 people who stopped by their booth.  Before the session was even over, people were jumping up and running out to be one of the first in line.  Then people in line were just being rude about “well, I’m not going to get the free CD.”  When I see and hear adults acting like children, I wonder how they are in their business, and I definitely would not want to work with them, either as a client or as their Online Business Manager!  And this reminds me of something at InfusionCon.  After one of the breakout sessions, the presenter was giving away something to the first 50 who came by the booth.  I headed that way — not running to beat everybody else and not leaving the session early.  I kept up with the crowd.  When I got to the booth, it was obvious I wasn’t one of the first 50.  I decided that if it was really that important to my business, I could spend the $50 (or whatever it was) to purchase the product.

Suzanne Evans said several times during the Be the Change event, “How you do anything is how you do everything.”  Think about it.  It’s true.  Do you show up professional and organized (at least appearing organized!) or are you showing up rumpled and flustered, rude and impatient?  It’s about taking personal responsibility for you and how you behave.

This doesn’t mean you have to be perfect.  You can make mistakes, but authentically acknowledge those mistakes.  

Do you have areas of your business and personal life you could improve on?