My 3 Tips to Rocking First Impressions with Potential Clients
First impressions can literally make you or break you. You never know when you may cross the path of a potential client. My 3 tips can help you rock first impressions anytime, anywhere.
As I was sitting in my office one Friday afternoon, I saw a woman walk past my window.
She was an attractive woman wearing a tank top, blue jeans and sandals. Her hair was in a girlish, messy ponytail.
My thought as she walked by was, “I wonder if she is a spouse I haven’t met yet (we have had several new people join our team recently).”
She walked into our reception area and left just a few minutes later. After she left, our receptionist brought me her card. Imagine my surprise when I saw she was the regional sales consultant for a local staffing company.
My first thought was, “if she can’t dress appropriately for a corporate sales call, can she find the caliber of people we require for our team?”
Being a woman in business is hard-especially when you work in a male dominated industry. I have been referred to as honey, baby and sweetie.
My ability to perform work on a job site has been questioned simply because I’m a woman.
I must hold myself to a higher standard to convey trust and confidence to our clients.
I have learned that these 3 tips, while they may seem simple and a matter of common sense, help put you in control of any situation.
#1 Dress Professionally
How do you feel when you lay around on the couch all day in your pajamas, hair in a messy ponytail and watch Netflix? You feel lazy. You definitely don’t feel ready to take on the world. What about when you are in your blue jeans and t-shirt on casual Fridays? Do you feel laid back and more relaxed than other days of the week? I do. So, what’s the difference? When you are not looking your best you do not have the same level of confidence.
I know, I know this seems like a tip that shouldn’t even need to be mentioned, but in my years as a business owner I have come across many situations where people dress inappropriately for the situation.
Appearance is a powerful communication tool-if you do not care enough to spend time making yourself presentable, why would I trust you to take care of my business?
The first step to building your know, like and trust factor begins the minute you walk in the door, by dressing professionally you immediately begin to convey the message that you have the skills necessary to handle whatever the day throws your way.
Dress for the job you want, the client you want, the contract you want to win. The amount of confidence that radiates from a well-dressed woman is immeasurable.
#2 Maintain eye contact
Conversations are two-way streets, they consist of two or more people speaking back and forth with each other. Think about the times you have been in conversation with someone and you saw their eyes dart to the clock…makes them seem too busy to be talking to you. Or what do you think of the person who is sitting across from you and is more interested in their fingernails than looking at you. People who will not meet your eye while you are speaking to them appear to be distracted, untrustworthy and most importantly…weak. Weakness is not an option when you are trying to win that contract or client. Look the person you are working with in the eye and let them see for themselves that you’ve got this-you have the strength and confidence necessary to get the job done.
#3 Have a firm handshake
As a woman in business I often get the barely there, limp fish handshakes from men and women alike……”Lawsy, don’t shake my hand to hard, I may have a fit of the vapors”….this is not the deep South in the 1800’s, for heaven’s sake just shake my hand! I am a woman, I will not break if my hand is shaken properly.
The proper way to shake a hand is to extend your right hand with the palm facing sideways, the webbing between your thumb and first finger touching the webbing of the other persons hand. Apply firm (but not too firm) pressure. If you turn your palm facing the ground or you squeeze to hard it appears you are trying to dominate. We are not trying to show dominance, just confidence.
First impressions in and out of the boardroom are important when meeting clients, networking and collaborating with team members.
To some these tips may appear to be common sense, but you would be surprised how many women are afraid, for one reason or another, to follow them.
You can do this! You can take control of the situation and win that client over.
Remember, you never have another chance to make a first impression.
