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Are you aware of how important an attractive presentation is to marketing success?

On the plane back from our vacation last week, my wife was reading People Magazine; it happened to be the "Best and Worst Dressed" issue.

Do you think famous people (mostly Hollywood stars) want to look bad? Of course not. Then why do so many of them dress so atrociously? It's because we tend to have very little perspective when it comes to how we appear to others.

We want to look good. We want to look attractive. We want to make a positive, professional impression. But too often we're doing just the opposite. Bad visual taste is pervasive.

Do you realize how much an unattractive presentation is impacting your marketing success?

Let's take your web site that's a little (or a lot) weak in the design department. It's not very attractive and has that "plain vanilla" look. You're actually very proud of it because you did the design. But, like the worst dressed Hollywood star, the overall impact is negative.

A potential client visits your web site, glances around for about ten or fifteen seconds, and then simply clicks off, NEVER to visit again. And you have no idea.

Yes, poor presentation really is that powerful.

The chances are good that your poorly designed web site is doing you more harm than if you didn't have a web site at all. In fact, you may decide that "Web sites just don't work to market my kind of business."

The point is, bad presentation is hurting you. And you aren't even aware of it. You're trying to persuade and you're doing just the opposite. You want to impress a potential client and, instead, they've written you off as an amateur.

Yeah, I know I'm being harsh. Reality is harsh. You are either persuading people to do business with you or you're pushing people away from doing business with you.

And an attractive presentation is only one element of persuasion. There are others that are just as important. How would you rate yourself (trying to be as objective as possible) on the following four key elements of persuasion?

Persuasion occurs when the following happen:

1. People feel they know you. This is accomplished by simple, consistent visibility. Whether this is a long-term presence at your chamber of commerce, a monthly newsletter or weekly eZine, you'll persuade more people if you're not a stranger.

2. People feel good about you. Appearance and presentation dominate here. If you and your marketing materials don't come across as professional, then people simply turn away. Perhaps it's time for a complete marketing makeover.

3. People understand you. All your business communications need to be clear and explain exactly what your prospects get from working with you. Review all your marketing materials and subject them to the "What's in it for me?" test.

4. People trust you. Trust is built on reputation and results. You need to leverage that reputation and results by providing proof - generally through third parties. Case studies and testimonials are a good start. Being a nice person isn't enough.

Well, how did you rate? Are you a master persuader who consistently draws potential clients closer to you or are you unintentionally pushing business away?

Master these four elements of persuasion and I promise that you'll have more business than you can handle. Neglect them and you'll keep struggling with your marketing. It's as simple (and as hard) as that.

Stick to the fundamentals of marketing persuasion: Familiarity, Attractiveness, Clear Benefits and Trustworthiness. You'll do a lot better than people who are betting on the latest marketing gimmick.