It is so critical for each one of us to align or be congruent with how people see and perceive us as a business person in our communities. Before there was an online aspect of doing business, all we had to do was be out in the community building valuable relationships and adding value wherever we could.  This got us referred. Our branding was all about who we were and what we did in person in the community. In the early 2000's, websites started becoming a prominent branding component for cleaning companies along with Google, Yahoo, and even (dare I say it) MySpace. Social media then erupted on the scene in the 2010's and now our online branding may be the most important side of our branding.  The reality is that for most cleaning companies, more and more people are finding us through our online branding first. I want to keep this episode short and sweet. There's two scenarios that can happen: 

1. Scenario 1: Great In-Person, Bad Online - Your in person branding is awesome. You can easily convert prospects into new clients and people want to be around you and refer you because of your overall level of service and excellence. But your online presence and branding is terrible or maybe just okay. I have a friend from my local networking group with this exact scenario. You'd meet him in person or at a networking group or see his work and think how amazing he is and how impressed you are. But then you search for him online and you're less than impressed. This is a huge opportunity for this business owner to get congruent and have their online align with their in-person brand. You have an online marketing issue. It's easily corrected with the right professional help.
2. Scenario 2: Great Online, Bad In-Person -  Your online branding is amazing. You are attracting a TON of interested prospect customers and employees. But your in-person branding is not. When these prospects meet you after seeing your website and online social media, they are less than impressed. You are not true to what people perceived of you online. Either your character is not good or your business savvy is not good in person. It's possible that you're just not good with people. Whatever it is, you do not align with your online brand. This is a bad scenario as you will lose almost most of the prospects that meet you. Eventually, your online brand will crumble as well. This is not a marketing issue. It's a character or personal growth issue. This is not easily corrected. You need a coach! If you're in this scenario right now, you have to make up the gap as fast as possible. You've got to be perceived online and in-person the same.

Let's all get brutally honest. Which scenario are you in right now? Do you need to increase your online or in-person impression? Decide and take action!

Check out my interview with the CBF Founder, entitled "A Buffalo Charges the Storm with Debbie Sardone". Debbie is offering free consultations to listeners of this show through the Smart Cleaning School Resources Page to see if CBF could be the right solution for you.