Make a Good Impression

In a recent newsletter from the Printing Industries Association of Southern California, sales and marketing guru Leslie Groene offered some tips that might be useful for in-plant managers when they call on customers:

• Show you care about presentation. Make sure that every aspect of how you present yourself, from your business cards, to your website, to your social media profile, shows care and effort. Show that you care about your brand, your service and the people you deal with. This manifests itself in the smallest details.
• Make a special delivery. Many clients don't have time for lunch these days...so how about bringing in lunch that will result in a low key way to have an effective meeting? You will discover that folks will come out of their offices to enjoy the food you bring. One of my clients has a favorite gourmet sandwich shop that he told a client all about in advance of his scheduled group presentation. He ordered their sandwiches and then picked them up prior to the meeting. It was a big hit for them and the sales rep.
• Dress like a pro. This can be elaborated on in two ways. First, dressing like someone who is a professional in your industry in a way that you are comfortable, will make you begin to actually feel the part, and improve and strengthen your own brand in the process. Second, perhaps you want to present your brand in the way you dress and present yourself. Got a favorite color that you might want to wear consistently?
• Call early or late in the day. One of the ways I follow up with senior-level decision makers is to call either quite early in the morning (say around 7:30am) or late in the day (after 5pm), without leaving a message if I don't get a person. I've found that, by calling at these times, the decision makers are often alone in the office without a gatekeeper, and are therefore more likely to pick up the calls themselves.