Presentation matters a lot in business – both personal, and otherwise.

Many entrepreneurs – especially those who are working primarily online – enjoy the idea that they can completely ignore their presentation, or can at least treat it as a second-hand concern. In reality, though, paying proper attention to your presentation can often make all the difference regardless of the nature of your business.

Here are a few reasons why presentation matters, professionally.

Because Prospective Customers Are Always Looking for Visual Cues When Judging Whether Your Business Is Trustworthy

Prospective customers are always looking for ways to quickly assess the trustworthiness and value of the companies they are considering giving their money to.

Visual cues are some of the most fundamental ways in which prospective customers make these judgements. If someone walked into the lobby of a business and found that everything was a complete disorderly mess, you can be sure they would probably walk out again very quickly. If, on the other hand, that lobby was spotlessly clean, the effect would be the opposite. Click here for more on having a spotlessly clean office space.

The same principle applies with regards to things like your web presence, and your personal presentation, too. If you are a new digital entrepreneur, in particular, prospective customers are going to be looking at you very carefully for signs and signals that you’re not a scammer, and that you’re actually the real deal, before they carry things forward.

So, aim to look professional (especially if you are meeting with customers directly), have a professional looking website, and do your best to create the impression that you are a sincere and effective professional.

Because the Way You Present Yourself Has a Real Impact on What You Expect From Yourself and How You View Yourself

It would be a mistake to think of your personal presentation as something that only affects how your prospective customers view you. It also has a very significant effect on how you view yourself.

Just as prospective customers are always looking for signs that the companies they are doing business with are “the real deal,” so, too, do we subconsciously look for cues in our environment and our own behaviour, to establish and define our sense of self.

What this means, is that if you work from your messy bedroom, wearing your pyjamas all day, it’s going to be very difficult for you to take yourself seriously as a professional.

“Dress for the job you want, not the one you have” may be good advice here, in more ways than one.

Because in the Digital Age, Especially, Decisions Are Made Quickly and Attention Spans Are Short

Research has been done on the way people engage with the websites they land on – and, to cut a long story short, it seems that the majority of people decide in just a matter of seconds whether they are interested in staying on a site for any length of time or not.

In the digital age, we are all spoiled for choice, and it possible to browse an array of options from the comfort of our own homes. That means it’s important to make an impression as quickly as possible.

One of the most effective ways of making a first impression is by way of visual presentation – in terms of your own website, and many other things, too.