Hello, and welcome to Part 9 of the Win Clients with Ease blog series: The Allure of Congruence and the Power of Credibility.
For those of you who run your own business, do client-facing work or generally work with people, then have a read of this article. It may raise your awareness to something you may or may not have considered.
What is congruence ?
Essentially the dictionary definition is ‘harmony, agreement and conformity’. In psychological terms, this can mean ‘harmony and agreement between what your body language is saying, the sound of your voice and the words you are using’.
Incongruence is the opposite. For example, if you are selling a product that you don’t believe in, that’s incongruence.
If someone is lying or don’t really believe in what they are saying, they are being incongruent. Their body language, voice tone and words won’t ‘match’.
It’s also important to practise what you preach. For example, if you are a personal trainer promoting your service but are struggling with your weight, diet and fitness, then you will be seen as incongruent.
If you are suggesting to others that you are extremely happy, yet your body language is closed and hunched up, your voice tails off and sounds depressive, that’s incongruence.
You get the idea.
Incongruence implies mismatch.
Incongruence is very subtle.
Usually communicated at the unconscious level through the mismatching of voice tone, mannerisms and the words being used.
These signals are communicated in a split second.
Congruence on the other hand, is an asset.
A congruent person will be seen as someone who practises what they preach, who is sincere in what they do and say, and comes from a place of authenticity. When you believe in yourself, your product and your service, and you are able to communicate that with confidence, charisma, clarity and conviction, this will give you greater congruence and it will create an air of credibility around you.
When you feel comfortable promoting yourself, you will come across as centred and therefore credible, confident and congruent.
Those are incredible selling points.
Congruence creates trust, rapport and increases your credibility.
Customers want to buy from somebody who believes in themselves and their product and service wholeheartedly.
Congruence and credibility nurture skills and abilities such as:
These skills and qualities will position you as an authority, an expert in your field and help you increase your sales from a mindset perspective.
Remember, your mindset is at the heart of your business; it is the engine that drives you. Your mindset nurtures relationships and the way you interact with others.
Of course, you need to learn marketing, sales and business skills – they are vital. However, it will be your mindset that will drive you to take certain decisions and embark on specific actions.
If you have the marketing, business and sales skills but don’t have a balanced and clear mindset, then that will hinder your progress.
Here are some tips to help boost your business credibility:
The next article will look at taking action towards increasing your sales. In the meantime if you’d like to find out more then have a look at the book below which covers these points in greater detail.
The book Win Clients with Ease: Discover the Powerful Mindset Behind the Scenes is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=win+clients+with+ease
“Win Clients With Ease: The Powerful Mindset Behind The Scenes, is an indispensable guide for solopreneurs and small business owners to gaining a deeper understanding of how your mindset affects your business to a greater degree than you may have previously been aware.
“In this book, Desi asks questions that examine your thoughts, beliefs and actions in order to help you determine how your behaviour affects your business results and to assist you to become aware of how you may subconsciously be sabotaging your own success without you even realising it. She also covers strong elements from business and ‘soft’ skills to enable you to take practical steps towards increasing your client base.”
“This book is written in a simple, conversational style and is mostly geared towards those thinking of starting a business, start-ups, solopreneurs and established small businesses.”
“A must-have if you want to learn more about how to tap into the power of the mind to positively affect your business success.”
*Credits: Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels