Core values are the principles that guide one’s beliefs and decisions, dictate behaviors, and that help differentiate right and wrong. There are several core values, just check out this list of 39  Psychology Today pushed out a few months ago. A handful of these stand out for individuals and businesses as most important and impactful both personally and professionally.  According to Forbes contributor Adam Stettner, there are three core values that essentially power successful businesses. They are passion, empathy and innovation. Keeping this type of success in mind, here are 4 reasons your core values will help you win more business.

They are a first step to building client relationships. When your personal and organizational core values align with those of your target audience, the door is already open to some great opportunities. A good working relationship can be a natural byproduct of these early synergies. Wise business owners choose who they want to do business with. Wise clients are even choosier about who they work with. Alignment of core values creates a WIN right away.

They make messaging simpler. Second only to the enmity created by being sold to is the confusion created when organizational core message isn’t consistent with core values. Formulating messages directly in line with core values keeps them at the center of the vision and mission of your business. For example, a business that claims to adopt fairness, respect and generosity as its core values won’t be positioned for success if managers or employees feel disrespected and devalued, or if the business has a reputation for being stingy with resources. Messaging that is concise and consistent with core values both internally and externally helps keep existing clients happy and opens the door for new business. 

They encourage personal and organizational growth. Simon Sinek said, ‘Corporate culture matters. How management chooses to treat its people impacts everything – for better or for worse.’ I could not agree more! Identifying core values and making them a part of daily business workings encourages growth. This also works personally because that which one believes drives the areas one develops. If client relationships and service happens to be that area, businesses reaps great rewards.

They aid the decision-making process. How many decisions do you make in a single day? Studies suggest that people make up to 35,000 decisions every day. That number is staggering to me, but it also supports the idea of decision fatigue. Decision-making takes time and effort and it can be mentally exhausting. Making important decisions when the mind is fatigued only leads to trouble. There are some helps available to fight decision fatigue. Deep Patel suggests 9 Ways to Combat Decision Fatigue. I would add one to this list. Base all decisions on your core values. Not only will this decrease the number of decisions you need to make in a day, it will also decrease the number of potentially bad decisions you’ll make.

Great client relationships, clear and consistent messaging, personal and organizational growth, and relief from decision fatigue are all elements that drive more business. When core values are well aligned, all your team members are better equipped and eager to take good care of customers, both internally and externally. Taking good care of customers is the key to winning even more of them.

What are your core values and how are they understood by your clients, your team, and your network? The team at Chemistry PR and Multimedia would like to know how you communicate core values through your organization and how they have contributed to your success. Please comment and let us know.

Kathy Barnes brings more than 15 years’ executive level administrative and marketing experience to the team. Her skills include project management, research, writing and editing, and client representation. Kathy has worked in marketing and administrative support roles for small companies and large corporations ranging from general and specialized construction to public safety communications and engineering. Follow her on Twitter, or connect with her on LinkedIn.