First Impressions Last Forever…
Are YOU dressing for success and making the best first impression with prospects?
I don’t just mean your clothes, either. If your car isn’t clean and detailed or has any door dings or dents, and your prospect sees you parking through the window, that’s a lousy first impression.
Personally, I dress casually for “normal” life - especially in Dallas heat!
When it comes to business, however, I don’t mess around. Here’s a photo of me, the way I dress for any kind of meeting, appointment, or networking event:
And by the way, I just bought these awesome new cuff links - perfect for me - let me know if you think so as well!
Oh, and you don't have to spend a fortune to look like that. The best quality and value suits I've found are the Saks black-label brand at their "Off 5th" outlet stores - at least once a month they have a 2-for-1 deal and you'll walk out with two high-end suits for around $350! And it sure doesn't hurt if you open your suit jacket to get a pen and your prospect gets a glimpse of the Saks 5th Avenue label - the look of prosperity always attracts favorable attention, with no exceptions whatsoever.
The way you act also makes a powerful first impression. Everything from the tone and projection of your voice (it’s been proven that lowering your voice to make it sound deeper closes more sales than not), along with the way you walk (do you walk confidently), how much stuff you’re carrying (it’s been shown that people who carry little or nothing appear more important and close more sales), and your body language is huge.
The numbers vary depending on the person or study stating them - I’ve heard everything from 65% to 93%. Either way, it’s more than 50% of how people see you, so it’s literally true that it’s not what you say, it’s HOW you say it!
Another big first impression variable is how and why you’re there in the first place.
Here’s why:
A sales appointment, in the big picture, is merely a negotiating session. You want to negotiate the prospect to buy, and the prospect is negotiating either the lowest possible price, or for an easy way to say “no” to you.
There’s another factor: The person who holds more power and controls the negotiation wins almost 100% of the time. If your prospect controls the meeting, you’re going to get shot down, or best case, sell at a lower price and receive a lower commission.
When YOU control the meeting, you’re not only going to get the sale, you’re likely to get it at your highest price, and even upsell your new customer to more products & services, for example, a maintenance plan.
So how do you get the power? Easy: The person who makes the approach doesn’t have the power. The one who didn’t make the approach has the power and will win.
Why does this matter?
Because any form of cold prospecting - and I mean any, since there are so many other methods with the internet other than a phone call or walking into a business.
When you make a cold contact, you’re making the initial approach, and you have no power - you automatically give it away to the prospect, leaving you with an uphill battle.
The fast and simple way to get prospects approaching you with a need, and with the virtually unlimited power of the internet and other forms of self-marketing, there’s no excuse not to.
If you're not up to speed on modern, Information Age lead-generation methods, learn how you can stop cold calling forever and become a sales rock star by downloading a 37-page PDF preview of the Never Cold Call Again System here.
New York Times best-selling author Frank Rumbauskas is the creator of the Never Cold Call Again® System and the LinkedIn® Selling System 2.0 and has won numerous accolades, such as Readers Choice for Business Book of the Year from 800-CEO-READ, and has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Influential People. To learn more, and to download a free 37-page PDF preview of his Never Cold Call Again lead-generation system, visit NeverColdCall.com
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