To be a strong business developer you don’t have to be a shark… but meek won’t do either! People hire those that are confident in what the do and know, and make no apologies for it. Inc. magazine’s staff writer, Abigail Tracy attended the National Association of Professional Women conference where the keynote speaker was Barbara Corcoran, entrepreneur, real estate mogul, ABC’s Shark Tank fame and as Tracy puts it, “a wildly successful and unapologetic businesswoman.”

Tracy passes on Ms. Corcoran’s wisdom…

The meek shall not inherit the earth. After entering the New York real estate business, Corcoran quickly realized that what her mother taught her and her siblings during their childhood didn’t necessarily hold true in the big city. ‘I found as a real estate broker that people really respond to how you look–especially in a town like New York,’ Corcoran said. ‘If you act and look successful, people will make the wrongful assumption that you are.’

That was a lesson, she said, that she stumbled upon by accident during the first real estate recession she experienced. On a whim, a desperate Corcoran totaled up all the sales that she made that year, found the average apartment price, typed up the results, labeled the document ‘The Corcoran Report,’ and mailed it to The New York Times.

‘I didn’t expect anything good. I didn’t expect anything bad. I was just trying everything,’ Corcoran said. Shortly after, she opened up the newspaper and saw that her off-the-cuff report made the front page of the real estate section. It was a turning point for The Corcoran Group and changed the way she did business.

‘If you want to be a somebody or you want to grab a market that you didn’t have before or you want to look bigger than you are–go brag about it before you have it,’ Corcoran said. ‘Its not illegal. I have used that technique again and again and again on anything I have wanted.’

It is important to remember that you must market for what you want… NOT for what you have. That creates a dilemma for some lawyers. True, you may not be an expert at this chosen practice. But, can you do it? Of course you can. That is all you have to state. Did Corcoran miss represent her sales? No, she just stated the facts in a bold way… ‘The Corcoran Report.’ With this approach, soon, like Corcoran you will be the expert. You have to feel successful in order to be successful. If YOU don’t believe it, you will never convince others.

If you would like a little help with this process, let’s talk! Shoot me an email today.