How to make a good first impression on a client

The first impression is one of the most important components of communication between people. It is the first impression at a meeting that determines how your relationship with your interlocutor will develop. If you create a negative impression, the client will instantly form an opinion about you, which will then be very difficult to change for the better. You need to immediately be able to present yourself from the “correct” side, so that a person will evaluate you positively and be imbued with sympathy for communication. It doesn't matter if you want to make useful contacts or win a big contract, you need to learn how to create and make a good first impression on people. We’ll talk about the components of a first impression and how to create it correctly in this article.

How to make a good first impression

From the first impression, a potential client understands how much they can trust you, your company, products or services. A positive first impression opens up great opportunities for cooperation, which is why you should pay special attention to this stage of the meeting. Indeed, in any area of life, communication between people and the ability to establish contact are extremely important skills in order to negotiate on any topic. Why you need to be able to create a good first impression:

establish communication
establish more loyal contact with a person
inspire confidence
arouse interest

How to make a good first impression on a client 4

Difference between positive and negative emotions

Positive emotions, such as joy, interest, and playfulness, differ from fear, anxiety, and sadness in only one way: Negative emotions are associated with survival and prevent us from thinking beyond the immediate situation, while positive emotions promote expansion and potential in our lives.

Positive emotions:

Help us cope with negative emotions and recover faster from negative situations.
Makes us more open to positive experiences in the future.
Helps you find meaning in negative experiences.

how to create a positive impression at a meeting with a client

The first impression can only be made once. How a person will appear in the eyes of a potential client is influenced by different channels of perception. There are important criteria for forming a first impression:

posture, facial expressions and gestures
look and facial expression
handshake and greeting
appearance and accessories
manner of communication and phrases
voice timbre and speech rate

Many people already understand that a person forms his impression immediately and in a short period of time. Here the opinions of experts differ, but not much. Some people think that 10 seconds is enough, while others say 2 minutes. Both are right, since a person evaluates his interlocutor comprehensively. Quite quickly an opinion and an image are created in his head. It happens that even talented people who do not know how to present themselves correctly cannot find a job, sell, interest and convince. Even if you are a “good” person, but the impression of you is negative, then do not be surprised if clients (guys, girls, partners, etc.) refuse you one after another.

Watch a detailed video tutorial on how to make a good first impression

My experience

About 15 years ago I was very shy and almost never made friends myself. It was difficult for me to approach a person or even just show attention to someone in a large company. Everything changed after I read Dale Carnegie’s book “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” Most of the above tips were listed there.

The following recommendations helped me leave a good impression:

frequently mention the name of the interlocutor in a conversation;
look into the eyes;
show sincere interest in what is being told to me;
give a person the opportunity to talk about himself.

When, at the second meeting, people saw that I remembered the details they had voiced from their lives, they were always pleasantly surprised.

The right image also helped me overcome shyness and be confident in myself. I still try to wear comfortable, appropriate clothes for the event. I realized that if something is pressing or pressing on me, I will not be able to become a full participant in the conversation. All my thoughts will be about inconvenience.

And most importantly, I try to always be myself. I am not afraid to express my opinion, participate in discussions, ask questions. If I don’t understand something, I won’t try to prove otherwise, but will ask about what interests me.

Channels of human perception

People, as mentioned above, have different channels for perceiving and reading information. Let's look at each in detail.

The visual channel is a very important channel. This is where the opinion about you begins to take shape. The first thing a meeting begins with is visual perception: the client sees you and evaluates your appearance. In order to make a positive visual impression, pay attention to several components:

Clothes and shoes. It is necessary to look appropriate for the place and situation. Often meetings take place not only in offices, but also in cafes, at conferences, in production, construction sites and even in the field (for example, when selling plant protection products, equipment).
An important component of the first impression are accessories. It is better to refuse “flashy” jewelry, an abundance of gold items, and fake watches of famous brands.
Clean and neat appearance. This concerns not only clothes, but also hair, hands, shoes.
Facial expression, posture and gaze. Many people make an important mistake without controlling themselves. A dissatisfied face can be as repulsive as a dirty and wrinkled suit.

Don't be so serious.

Positive people are not afraid to laugh at themselves. Not being so serious about your own shortcomings and stupid mistakes is another trait to learn to make a positive impression. If something is wrong with your actions or you find yourself in a funny situation, don't think that people will judge you or make fun of you. It is much preferable for everyone to have a friend who has a good sense of humor and who understands friendly jokes. But not one who regards a simple chuckle as some kind of rude attack and who becomes angry about this fact.

Verbal channel of perception

We pay attention to what we say. You should think in advance about what wording to use during the meeting, what exactly to say to a potential client so that he begins to consider cooperation with your company, and the proposal interests him. To do this you need:

think through greeting phrases and presentations in advance so that you speak like an educated and smart person
know and use professional terms
your speech must be coherent (for this you need to rehearse and hone your oratory skills)

How to make a good first impression on a client 5

Keep calm.

The ability to give others peace of mind is another trait that will attract more people into your life. Learn how to help others, forget about your daily routine and problems, at least for a minute. Don't complain, don't force anyone to do what you want, and don't talk too much about yourself. If you like to be with people with whom you can have fun or relax, and you yourself want to become one of these people. Next time you meet someone you want to be friends with, stay calm and confident and help them feel the same way.

Auditory channel

In order for your meeting to be successful, you must monitor the pace of speech, timbre of voice and intonation. They say that women love with their ears, but this is not entirely true. Speech is important for both men and women. How the interlocutor's voice sounds is extremely important. Squeaky and unpleasant or low and velvety voice. You can work on improving your voice using the following criteria:

You need to speak clearly and clearly (practice tongue twisters)
It is better to choose a medium speech rate
to improve your skill, recite poems with expression or present your products

Benefits of Positive Emotions

Positive emotions lead to enhanced experiences and the creation of Taylor & Francis Online resources. Positive emotions broadens the scope of attention and thought-action repertoires – Published: 07/19/2002. Try to be aware of how you feel in each moment and your reactions. Make a plan on how to deal with negative emotions so that they don’t last long and switch to positive thinking. The following are believed to cause positive emotions:

Strengthens creativity - this will allow you to get out of survival mode and consider more possible options.
They allow you to see the “big picture” and soar above everything - this helps to maintain clarity of mind.
Increases psychological resilience - this provides more tools for managing negative emotions.
They allow you to thrive , not survive - that is, live the life of your dreams, and not the life of your nightmares.
Increase coping resources - this helps to create your own set of skills tools.
Putting negative emotions into a broader context helps you understand that your current situation is not your destiny and that things can change for the better in the future.
They are taught to see something good in any situation - this helps to notice changes and that you can always find something positive in a negative situation.
Increased sense of well-being – this improves the condition in a positive upward cycle.
They give life more meaning - to find “the good in the bad.”
Improves the ability to persevere in the face of obstacles - this provides tools for managing difficult situations.
They allow you to rely on wisdom and be guided by internal instructions - this allows you to not react so violently to negative emotions.
Improves social integration – this helps to achieve and maintain peaceful social relationships.
Increases tolerance to stress - this improves the ability to calmly respond to conflict or ambiguous situations.
What influences resistance to depression is the ability to manage your emotions and remain calm under pressure.
Improves emotional control – this helps cope with negative emotions.
Increase job satisfaction - this increases the expression of positive emotions from the work process. and increasing productivity by providing tools to improve your skills and overcome obstacles with clarity.

As you can see, positive emotions have many potential benefits. However, it is also important to understand the role of negative emotions and their relationship with positive emotions.

Nonverbal channel

Through this channel of perception, a person evaluates posture, gestures and facial expressions. Your posture and gestures primarily reveal your excitement, uncertainty, or, conversely, calmness. Facial expressions can immediately tell about your mood and interest in communication. There are people about whom they say that they have a “brick face” and it is difficult for them to win over or convince their interlocutor because they lack emotions. Important components for establishing communication:

open pose
straight back
look into the eyes
hands don't fidget
calm and moderate gestures

Live and smile.

Developing the ability to smile creates a permanent positive impression. You should also try to be polite as often as possible. If you want people to remember only good things about you, remain a smiling and polite person, no matter the situation. This will bring some changes to your life in general - a positive attitude is always good, after all.

When you spread positivity, you won't have to work hard to make a positive impression. Get rid of bad habits, develop a positive attitude and be kinder to others. This way, you can make more friends and inspire others to live a more positive life.

Kinesthetic channel

Greeting and farewell (kinesthetic channel) handshake and any touch. For men, the handshake should be:

confident and strong (without unnecessary pressure)
with a straight palm (no need to place your palm from below or above)
no need to clasp your interlocutor’s palm with both hands and shake
girls do not have to shake hands, and if they still decide, then they should do it in a businesslike manner without coquetry.
There is no need to shake or slap your interlocutor on the shoulder, even if you are good friends. This irritates many people, especially during a business conversation.

Important:
If a client touches your business card when meeting you, you must make sure that it is of decent quality and design.

Olfactory representational channel

Responsible for the sense of smell (smell). Many people use perfume uncontrollably or do not control odors from clothes, breath, etc. If a person smells bad, the interlocutor will be very annoyed and will strive to end the meeting as soon as possible. Why you need to monitor:

moderate use of fragrances (exclude “strong” smells)
the smell of sweat and dirty laundry is unacceptable
bad breath (maintain hygiene and better avoid spicy foods and smoking)

How to make a good first impression on a client 6

GuruTest

You don't have to be the most charismatic person in the world to be remembered by anyone. Simple natural charm and a little zest are enough. In words, everything looks simple, but in reality it is very difficult to achieve a good result on a first date, at a business interview or meeting.

The right attitude

The most important thing in making a good first impression on any person or group of people is your desire. It's important to understand one simple thing: if you don't like the person or don't have the motivation, it will be difficult to leave a good opinion of yourself. It's difficult to leave a good impression even if someone doesn't like you. If your dislike is mutual, then the complexity of the situation is raised to the hundredth power.

This leads to the first advice of all psychologists: set yourself up for the positive. This is very important because we often have to deceive ourselves when we communicate with a person who annoys us. If you don’t set yourself up positively, you won’t leave a positive impression. Some steps can be taken in this direction:

try to abstract yourself from the negative aspects of a person;
give yourself or the person a second chance in your head. Forgive a person for his mistakes;
remember that there are no ideal people - there are only those who only seem so.

The best advice from psychologists for a successful first impression

Smile. Even if a person is sad, he will be able to appreciate your moderate positive attitude. You shouldn’t smile all the time - you should do it correctly at the right moments:

right before meeting each other, when you shake hands;
when you say goodbye;
when you talk or listen to something interesting.

You need to smile correctly, that is, not feignedly, but truly sincerely. Learning this is not as easy as it seems. Practice in front of a mirror. Smile so that your eyes smile too. To do this, you need to use the facial muscles of the cheekbones. Q With the right, sincere smile, your eyes will squint and facial folds will appear in the corners of your eyes.

Learn to listen to your interlocutor . This is very important in love, but in business it will never be superfluous. You should always listen to the person and then not switch from his words to something else.

For example, you are on a first date. Your potential soulmate talks about how your vacation went. You listen to the story to the end, and then immediately start talking about your vacation, without saying anything about what you heard. For many people this is the norm, not to mention the fact that some people like to interrupt their interlocutor.

When you have finished listening to the story, no matter how boring it may be for you, you need to say a few words about what you think about it. Tell the person something approving or, conversely, something moderately condemning. The best option is what you heard. Ask something about what plane the person flew on to another country or what he used to get to the place where he vacationed. Ask anything to make the person understand that:

you were interested;
you listened to him carefully.

Watch your appearance. You may not follow fashion, may not be in trend, as they say, but you must always look well-groomed and tidy. This is something worth spending your free time on in the evening. Don't go to bed until you're sure you have something to wear to work, a business meeting, or a romantic meeting tomorrow.

Many psychologists note the special importance of perfume. Use unobtrusive perfume or eau de toilette. This will help you leave a memory of you in the person's mind. According to scientists, a person remembers smells best, that is, memory is best associated with smell, which is why the first impression is often associated with your smell.

Always keep an eye on:

the condition of your teeth and the freshness of your breath;
posture;
hair;
condition of the nails.

Be sincere. Sincerity and straightforwardness are not the same thing. Sincerity is the expression of the emotions that you experience, but you express it diplomatically and carefully. People really appreciate it when an interlocutor says something about himself that is worth being ashamed of:

admit to something shameful (but not particularly important) or humiliating you if you feel superior to the person;
Don't praise yourself by talking about your successes until others ask you to.

It is worth adding your thoughts about other people to this point. Never, under any circumstances, spread rumors about other people. On a first date or at an important meeting, you should speak well of everyone. If you don’t like a person, say so as diplomatically as possible, or better yet, remain silent at all.

Don't be led in dialogue . Conduct a dialogue yourself - ask questions, joke. A sense of humor should be highlighted as a separate item, but we will only note that jokes should always be appropriate, especially at business meetings or interviews. When you feel that all the attention is on you, you can dilute the dialogue with a joke and lead the discussion in the direction you want. If you are on a date, then you need to do this so as not to stagnate on the same topic. At a business meeting, you can try to do without jokes altogether, but there should still be positive notes. It is important to never lose control of the situation:

if you are praised, then immediately notice the successes of other people;
if you were insulted or your dignity was hurt, then you should firmly but diplomatically explain to the person that he is wrong, without focusing your attention on this later.

Correct gestures. Don't cross your arms or put them in your pockets. This is a subtle psychological move that is important for everyone to use. Hold your hands in front of you, showing your palms to the other person. This way he, they or she will feel safer. This is especially true for men of large build.

Make eye contact, but not all the time. 70-80 percent of the time on a date or 40-50 percent of the time at a business meeting is enough. Eye contact is very important for making the right first impression.

Punctuality. Always be on time. This is especially important for business meetings, when people are not ready to spend extra minutes on those who do not know how to manage their own time. This is not just a rule of good manners, but a mandatory rule for any person. After all, there is nothing worse than disrespect, which is fully manifested when you let a person down even before you meet.

The first impression cannot be made at the second meeting. The way you appear to people in the first seconds of meeting you remains forever in their memory. Think about whether you remember what impression your close friends or significant other made on you. Most people remember that very first minute of acquaintance, when the impression might not be entirely correct, but incredibly memorable. Use psychological tricks to make people think about you even when you are not around.

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06.06.2018 00:34

how to make a good first impression on a client

At a business meeting with a client, in addition to the main factors in forming the first impression, the interlocutor forms not only his opinion about you as a person, but also as a specialist and also evaluates your company. Let's figure out what criteria the client uses to form an impression of the company:

logos, graphics, design
advertising brochure
Product Catalog
souvenir products
product samples (if available)

To make a competent impression on a person, you need to maintain a balance according to different criteria. Remember that customers evaluate the seller holistically. At the same time, one negative element can scare away the client and create a negative attitude. Before appearing “in front of” your interlocutor, check your condition:

look at yourself in the mirror
drink some water
freshen your breath
check your emotional state
smile

Good luck with your work with clients!

Be open

Candid, personal stories about yourself will help win over a person and gain trust. This method helps you quickly get closer to your interlocutor. But it is important not to overdo it and pour out your whole soul at once; do it gradually. Perhaps the person will also want to share something personal in response and thereby support you.

Use simple ways to make a good impression on strangers and expand your social circle. You will find even more useful and exciting information on the website. The platform hosts more than 100 online courses and webinars, a catalog of current professions and various tests, competitions and events. You will definitely find useful tools for yourself.