Back to the Basics: Making Great Impressions

Believe it or not, most sales are made within the first ten minutes of any conversation or sales meeting.  This being the case, the most important asset any independent business owner has is his/her ability to make GREAT impressions on their potential customers or clients.  The following are a few tips on how to optimize those first ten minutes so you can make sales conversions quicker!

1. Great Beginnings
Greet potential clients or members with a smile, firm handshake and make eye contact with them.

2. Professional Business Card
Card stock for business cards is one of the most overlooked features for a lot of business “newbies”.  The thickness of the card stock can say, “I am professional and I know what I am doing” or “I just started my business yesterday and whipped up some business cards at home.” The thicker the card stock, the better image you will present to your prospective customers.  We suggest 90 lb to 110 lb card stock.

Combine your new business cards with the eye-popping service vouchers, coupons, or other "push" marketing pieces, and you are on your way to making a great impression within the time it takes to handshake!  The first impression is a psychological response – take advantage of it and make every encounter memorable.

3.  Merging Simple Conversations into Business Conversations

You can turn EVERY social gathering into your own personal “business farming” arena.  What do I mean by “business farming”?  Business farming is the art of “qualifying” people whether at work or in social situations that need or want things that you can provide through your business.  A couple of things to keep in mind when business farming are:

• LISTEN
• LISTEN MORE
• ASK PROBING QUESTIONS
• MAKE MENTAL NOTES

Sound simple?  It is, once you have trained yourself to be a sales person FIRST and foremost.  When you LISTEN, you are able to hear what others want and need. When you ASK QUESTIONS, you can clarify exactly what they are looking for.  MAKING MENTAL NOTES is the key to the entire equation.  This is where you “connect the dots” between what your potential clients want and what you can tap them into via your business offerings.  Education, Products or Services are a simply breath away. 

Now you have a list of people, a list of their “wants”, and a list of education, products, or services that you can connect them with.  In essence, you are filling their perceived void and that makes you look like “the expert”.

“To become fascinating, you must first become fascinated.”

4.  Third Party Credibility

This is where the power of referral marketing comes into play.  You should set up your business to “piggy-back” on our credibility and experience and to help lead your clients to their “conversion moment”.

After you have made a great first impression and have explained what you do and how you do it, and have listened intently to your client’s needs and wants, you are now ready to connect them with the experience of YOUR business. There are not too many things more powerful than SOMEONE ELSE saying the exact same things that you are.  It solidifies your message in your client’s mind and they realize that this “idea” of yours is more than a fanciful notion.  They will thank you for sharing this your opportunities with them.

So make your first impression shine, engage people where they are at, provide them with what they want and what they need, and they will love you for it!

“The way to one’s mind is through one’s heart.”