This episode reveals 3 powerful tips to making a great first impression during a sales meeting. Establishing a strong first impression is one of, if not the most, important moment in sales. Why? Because from the moment you approach a client, everything you do, from your attitude, to your attire, shapes and molds the client's decision to buy. These tips are game changers.

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At SalesDrive, LLC, we help companies perfect the salesperson hiring process by offering a variety of tools, like a sales assessment and psychologically-based interview guides, that aid companies in never hiring a bad salesperson again. SalesDrive was founded in 2005 based on the single biggest frustration many companies face, selecting sales candidates who interviewed well, only to flame out when placed on the line. Dr. Croner reviewed more than 90 years of academic research as well as his own work in conducting intensive behavioral interviews and discovered that high-performance salespeople shared three innate personality traits. After identifying a gap in the marketplace, he went on to develop The DriveTest® sales assessment. The only sales assessment to measure the three non-teachable traits necessary for new business acquisition.
 
If you are hiring salespeople, request a free DriveTest® assessment today: https://salesdrive.info/free-trial-request
 
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[00:00]  Katherine Abraham: Hello and Welcome to the Sales Psyched podcast, where we discuss strategies for leveraging psychology within the world of sales. Each episode is hosted by Dr. Chris Croner, who has a PhD in clinical psychology and has spent his career helping companies around the world build stellar sales teams.

[00:20]  Let's get started.
 
[deep drum, marching intro music]

[00:30]  Chris Croner: Today, we're going to talk about how to make a great first impression during a sales meeting.

[00:35]  Here's a question for you. How long do you think it takes to make a first impression that, get this, lasts a lifetime? One minute, five minutes, one hour? That's right.

[00:50]  Due to what's known in psychology as, 'the anchoring principle,' we have around 30 seconds to make a good or a bad first impression that the other person will never forget.

[01:03]  Those are pretty high stakes for us as salespeople, but you'd be surprised how little people think about it or prepare for these seminal moments. So how can we increase our odds of making a great first impression?

[01:17]  Number one, obviously physical appearance is huge. I realize things have gotten pretty casual these days but there's no excuse for sloppiness. As a rule, I advise clients to dress one level up from the prospect out of respect. Trying to match them is risky. They may not be at their best that particular day, but you must be as you prepare to meet this V.I.P.

[01:44]  Number two, dropping a compliment can actually increase your odds of making a positive first impression, however, and this is subtle, I don't recommend a personal compliment this early. That's a little too intimate. Find something about their office or view or artwork or the friendly receptionist you can compliment. A tactical compliment about the environment is so powerful because you're honoring an element of the buyer's identity and it's so easy to achieve.

[02:16]  Number three, slow down. We tend to talk faster when we're nervous, relax a little. Your prospect will do the same.

[02:26]  First impressions can be incredibly powerful. See you next time.

[soft melody theme music]

[02:32]  Chris Croner: Thank you for listening to the sales psyched podcast. If you haven't already, please be sure to click the subscribe button and leave us a five star review. If you found this information helpful, please consider sharing it. We'd love your help in spreading the word until next time. Take care.