The How and What of First Impressions - Short Attention Span Sales Tip

Bill Farquharson Presents this week’s Short Attention Span Sales Tip:

The How and What of First Impressions 

Today I’m going to cover to questions that come up frequently:

1. “What should the first step be in my prospecting process?” and
2. “What should that initial message or pitch be?”

Good questions, both! Let’s spend a couple minutes talking about some answers then go into a deeper dive...

As they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression so you’ll want to put your best foot forward. So, what impression do YOU want to make? Which one do you choose?

Consider your options:

• Introductory letter
• Phone call
• Email
• Face-to-face visit

Honestly, there is no wrong answer. I think it comes down to what you are comfortable doing. Personally, I tend to go in the direction that others aren’t. If everyone else is emailing, I’ll do something else. My preferred is to send an introductory letter. I think it’s a professional way of putting your best foot forward. Back in the old days, we would just stop by but that’s not an option anymore.

The other piece to this is actually more important. It’s the question of what to say or, in other words, how to approach the first time customer. My advice to my clients is to think about the kind of conversation that they want to get into and work backwards from there.

If it’s your goal to quote on a printed piece, use the approach “Can I speak to the person who buys your print?”

If, instead, you rather talk about something more meaningful, think about getting into a conversation where you’re talking about how the piece works instead of what it costs. Next, formulate your approach so that a better discussion ensues. What would that sound like? How about, “The purpose of my call to talk to you about how I can reduce the usage cost of your documents or increase their value.”

In the end, how you approach a prospect is personal and unique to you. What you say, however, isn’t. Regardless of what kind of first impression you choose, be sure to approach the owner of the document and not its buyer and say something pertaining to the problem you plan to solve and not the desire to provide a price.

Want more?

The YouTube video version of this Short Attention Span Sales Tip takes a deeper dive into the subject. Click on the video or here to watch.

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Bill Farquharson can be reached at (781) 934-7036 or bfarquharson@idealliance.org

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Bill Farquharson • Additional Sales Resources • (781) 934-7036

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