We are all individuals, and we like to be thought of as individuals. Not numbers, not the guy from XYZ Co, not so-and-so’s husband, wife, brother, boss etc. Just us, as we are.

So why is it then that we so often hide that real us to project the ‘me’ we think we need to be?

When it comes to business and particularly in recruitment companiess, this is dramatically overplayed. For one reason or another we often melt ourselves into a one size fits all version for the world to see. We become what we think the world expects of us. Sure, there is good reason for some of this, but when it comes to working with clients isn’t it true that people buy people.

If you are keen to build a business based on a great referral network (and be honest, who isn’t) then projecting the real, authentic you is vital. Meeting the right people, building rapport and then trust is key.

In his book ‘The Referral Engine’ John Jantsch says that no body talks about boring businesses, and he is quite right. We talk about the different, the innovative, the impressive.

We don’t talk about boring businesses and we don’t talk about boring people either.

Scott Ginsberg is the guy who wears a nametag 24/7. Scott is the nametag guy. He has made a very successful business out of wearing his “My name is Scott” nametag and is now a leading expert on approachability. He has taken this to an amazing extreme, including having his nametag tattooed to his chest! Scott is an individual. Scott is Scott, and as he says “there are no cover bands in the rock and roll hall of fame”.

We could all take a leaf out of Scott’s book. We can all be something different. We all have something remarkable about us. Something interesting, something talk-about-able. So find out what that is about you, nurture it and make it resonate in all aspects of what you do.

You don’t have to wear a nametag for people to know you are.

Contact me

For more on developing yourself, your staff and improving the profitability of your business, please do get in touch. You can email me at james@jamesnathan.com, use the contact page on my website www.jamesnathan.com or call me on 07736 831151. Follow me on Twitter at @jamesnathanxp, connect to me on LinkedIn, or follow me on Facebook.

I look forward to being in touch.