How to make a good impression

Excerpt from an article published in Erhvervsbladet. By Annette Sand. Monday, April 21^st, 2008. Senior trainer Poul-Henrik Bergmann, LADEGAARD A/S, participates.

Smile – that’s all it takes. No, it takes a lot more if you want to be sure of making a good first impression when you meet new customers and partners. It takes preparation and research to find out who they really are, how they look and dress and how they feel. If you don’t, you run the risk of getting it completely wrong.

At the consultancy LADEGAARD, which helps companies coach their sales people, partner and senior trainer Poul-Henrik Bergmann points out that making a good first impression is about research in many areas.

“When we meet other people there are filters until the conversation warms up – and those are the filters you must break down. It’s about putting yourself in the customer’s shoes. Many people think that initial small talk should be about anything but the customer’s business, but they are mistaken. Never go to a meeting with a customer without reading the morning paper and checking if the company is mentioned,” is Poul-Henrik Bergmann’s advice. He adds that there are many ways to research the company so your small talk has more substance – and is not necessarily about the weather today or Friday’s X-Factor on TV.

“You may research on the Internet, on the company’s web site, in the media, and for instance on Facebook to get some personal details as a part of the task of getting to know the customer better before the first meeting. It is a question of showing that you are prepared and if you are able to ask a question about the company that the customer has never hear before, well it works,” Poul-Henrik Bergmann explains and emphasizes that it is also about being yourself and not just reeling off a memorized speech most of all giving the impression that you have just come from a sales course or that you say the same things to every customer.

Read the whole article here in Danish

Read more about Poul-Henrik Bergmann