EnTrends

Making a Great SECOND Impression

Michael Gifford

We've all heard how important it is to make a tremendous first impression. As the saying goes, "You never get a second
chance to make a good first impression." I'll not argue with that. What I will contend, however, is that making a good
second impression and then a third and fourth and so on is at least as vital.

Picture yourself in your living room talking with Joe from Joe's Landscaping Service. You want your yard beautified and
you feel that Joe might be just the one to do it. Joe wows you with his verbal paintings of luscious rose gardens and
breathtaking terrain. He impresses you with his knowledge of design. He has quite a winsome personality. You agree to
give the job to Joe. He made a powerful first impression. You both agree that he will start the work in three days.

Three days pass and Joe is nowhere to be found. You call, you page, you leave messages and still no Joe. Three more days
pass and Joe calls to apologize for not showing up but promises that he'll be there first thing in the morning. Two days later
you are again calling and paging Joe because he has yet to turn one spade of earth on your property. After two more weeks
of trying to get Joe to start the job (you're a very patient person!), you go on to another landscaper.

Maybe that scenario has never played itself out in your life. (Maybe I'm still bitter about the 3 times it happened to me a
couple of years ago.) I think, though, that most of us have experienced something like this. What looked so promising and
wonderful at the outset turned into a nightmare in subsequent dealings with the person or company. Consequently, we will
make certain that we never recommend that person to any of our friends and if anyone brings up their name in conversation,
we will be quick to warn them to not get involved.

Raise your hand if you've already made the application here. Making that great first impression is wonderful, but NEVER
forget how vital it is to continue to provide the service that your new client figured they would get from you when the two of
you agreed to do business together.

The best way to make a great second impression is to follow up immediately with a thank you card or phone call or even
personal visit to your new client. That is so rarely done nowadays that that one action will probably get you more referral
business than you'll know how to handle.

Another facet of making that great second impression is to be sure that you keep the promises you made in that first
meeting. Do you remember a television commercial from a few years ago in which a family purchased some major
appliances? As soon as the delivery people had closed the door to their house, the husband thought of a question he
needed to ask. He opened the door and all he saw was a desert, a barren wasteland. The point was that while many
companies make a sale and then disappear, this particular company that paid for the commercial would be there whenever
you needed them. You can promise the moon up front to a client just to get their money, but you'll have a short-lived
business and a lot of legal headaches if you don't make your promises realistic and then keep every one of them.

Finally, to make a lasting impression on your clients, be sure that you keep a detailed record of each of them. You can
purchase an organizer or you can purchase contact management software. You might already have it on your computer. I
use Microsoft Outlook which I bought as part of Microsoft Office and it helps me track birthdays, anniversaries, hobbies,
and any other pertinent matters regarding clients. I've also used Claris Organizer. The purpose for keeping this information
on file is not just to help you remind a client when their next service from you is due or just to remind you to try to sell them
something else. Why not make a practice of dropping a birthday card or card of congratulations when the situation presents
itself? This "extra mile" service will be way beyond what they expected and it will build a powerful business for you.

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Michael Gifford and his wife, Shannon have more than 30 years combined experience in operating successful home
businesses. They are the owners of NoBizLikeHomeBiz.Com, an unbiased and objective resource for home business. Visit
http://www.nobizlikehomebiz.com. Michael can be reached at expectgreatness@nobizlikehomebiz.com.