You may think you've done the hard work by securing an appointment to see a customer / prospect. However, the hard work has just started. First impressions are incredibly important in helping you build your business so its essential that you think about how you come across to your customer. Research has shown that it can take up to 15 subsequent meetings to repair the damage of a poor first impression. Furthermore, Harvard studies have shown that 93% of first impressions are based on non-verbal factors. It’s clearly an important area but it’s still something that is overlooked or not given due attention.
Here’s a few tips from us on making a good first impression with a customer:
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Look the part – it’s an obvious one but make sure you are dressed appropriately. If in any doubt always dress smarter than you need to. Society is less formal these days but you still need to ensure you look professional irrespective of whether you are wearing a suit.
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Do your research – the very least you should do is find the time to look at your customer’s website, conduct an internet search on their recent activity and check the name and role of the person you are meeting.
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Set your objective – make sure you have a clear objective for your visit and be realistic. For example, if it’s your first visit to a prospect don’t set yourself the objective of winning all his business. Do your fact finding first!
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Introduce yourself and check the name of the person you are meeting – make sure you use the person’s name to help you remember it.
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Swap business cards at the start of your meeting - make sure you have them to hand and they’re in good condition. Always take a few extra business cards with you in case there are extra people that you get to meet.
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Clarify how much time is available – this will show respect to your customer and ensure that you don’t run out of time, frustrate your customer or miss the opportunity to run through your key aim.
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Explain the reason for your visit – keep it brief and make sure there is a benefit to the customer.
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Fact find – before you start selling the benefits of your company check that there is a need. Ask open questions and closed questions where necessary to get the information you need. A customer’s favourite topic tends to be themselves and their business so it should be easy.
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Mirror your customer – most people will do this naturally but try to gauge your customer before you get too technical, too loud, too long-winded or too vague. If in doubt, always be yourself!
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Active listening – it’s obvious but it’s easy to forget to put maximum effort into listening. Keep eye contact, clarify the key points, take notes if relevant, take an interest in the topics etc.
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Take notes – or at least be ready to take them if it’s relevant. The customer will not want to repeat any of the information he gives you either later in the meeting or at subsequent meetings so check that he/she is happy for you to take notes. It doesn’t need to feel wooden and will always look professional.
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Summarise your findings – obvious and easy to do. It will demonstrate that you have listened and help clarify the customer’s needs.
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Summarise your company in a few sentences – you can obviously expand on this, particularly if you get questions, but you may lose your customer’s attention if waffle on for too long. Keep the summary relevant to your customer’s needs.
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Summarise the actions of the meeting - it's a chance to make sure you've covered everything and to cement any commitment offered by the customer.
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Arrange a follow up meeting - it's a lot easier to gain commitment for the next meeting when you are face to face rather than after the event.
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Thank your customer for their time – simple but effective and shows respect.
Try out these tips and let us know how you get on. You may well do them already in which case you're probably doing a good job!
