When you’re a professional, your reputation is absolutely everything. In order to make a livelihood, people must say good things about you. Word-of-mouth is the best way to get referrals, and nowadays word-of-mouth has evolved into online reviews. If you want to be successful as a professional AND have a good online reputation to show for it, you need many of the same qualities.
Here are six of the most important qualities for all professionals to have.
Honesty
One of the most important qualities to have for a positive reputation is honesty. There are lots of times when customers have complaints, but they don’t bother to write an online review. When the complaint is dishonesty, however, they seem much more likely to vent about it online. If you do not keep your business promises or mislead your customers, they will write about it. Whether you lied is not what matters, however, as much as if your customers think that you lied.
Timeliness
Customers don’t like to wait. Especially if you’re some type of contractor, timeliness is very important. If it takes a very long time to complete a project, or if it takes longer than it was expected, there is a good chance a customer will complain about it online. Try to make timeliness a top priority so that your customers stay happy enough to write positive reviews.
Professionalism
You’re a professional, so you absolutely must have professionalism. If you don’t act professionally during your interactions with your customers, they will notice and complain. Make sure you always act like a professional, and conduct yourself in a way that’s expected of businesspeople. Without professionalism, your credibility will be greatly damaged.
Friendliness
Being professional does not mean you can’t be friendly, you just have to be careful to stay on the right side of the fine line between professional and personal. You must be personable, but you should never take it too far. Sometimes being too friendly can be seen as inappropriate. If you’re too cold, however, customers may also complain about their inability to connect with you on a more human level. Always maintain a sense of humor and a smile, even in business.
Dedication
You must be dedicated to your customers, your business, and your job in order to have a positive online reputation. If you’re not dedicated enough, there are many ways your online reputation can be soured. For example, if a customer feels that you weren’t very attentive to their needs, they will say so in a review. Be dedicated to doing your best, and it will be noticed.
Skill
Another of the most important qualities to have as a professional is skill. If you don’t have skill, your business may crumble, and your online reputation definitely will. When you perform some type of labor, the quality of your work is everything. If your customers think you did a shoddy job, they will be sure to warn other people through their online review that your work wasn’t enough.