A discussion about sales, sales tips and advice, and about those who land the deal

Seth Godin, one of the world's leading marketing gurus, has an insightful piece on his blog that I wanted to forward you because I think it has some great applications for you as a sales professional.

It has to do with "first impressions".  As sales people, you work hard to create good first impressions for your future customers (and even your current ones).  But in the long term, Seth asks, isn't it better to worry about the last impression you leave?  Here are his thoughts:

"Marketers (and high school kids) focus a lot on the first date. After all, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

I recently had some waterproofing done in the basement. The first date was great. The company was professional and had every single element down, from their AdWords to the web site to the way they interacted on the phone and in person.

I think that stuff is pretty important, but I'm way more interested in the last interaction than I am in the first (and if you care about word of mouth, you should be too).

After they finished the job, they left my basement a mess.

Forever, my only memory of the job is going to be...

...the mess. Forever, the only thing I'll talk about is the mess. The last interaction, in my experience, is responsible for virtually all of the word of mouth you're going to get, positive or negative.

That free muffin at the restaurant or the lollipop at the barber or the call from the Realtor a week after the house is sold and contracts are signed and the movers have left... believe it or not, it matters.

PS: The waterproofing guys took the time to call me before I did this post, and that call led to a new last interaction... my bad feelings are already fading, because they stepped up and took action. More proof that it matters."

So, how does this apply to you and selling?  Here's what I think:

• The first impression does matter.  Without a good first impression, you aren't going to get the chance to make a last impression (or maybe your bad first impression will be your last impression!)
• Being original in the way you present yourself to your prospect is vital in creating a good first impression.
• Your first attempt at making a good first impression should be short, it should create curiosity, and raise more questions in your prospect's mind than it answers.
• Jump to the end, and ask yourself: What is the last thing my prospects usually hear from me?  What is the last impression they have of me and my program?  If I were them, what would I be saying about me?

Why "last impressions" matter, from my part-time endeavor as an assistant high school football coach: A high school football player I coach committed to a Pac-10 school as a priority walk-on.  Since then, the last impression that the school has left was really lacking...it seems that the staff is of the mindset of "well, we got this kid wrapped up so lets move on".  What they don't know is that one of their rivals, who found out the kid is walking on, had jumped up and is now pursuing him heavily (unbeknownst to the first school).  He wouldn't be listening to the second school at all if the first school had left a good last impression.

The lesson that I want you to take from this is story is that by leaving a good last impression with ALL of your potential customers, you do two big things:  First, you secure the new customers that have verbally committed to you and keep him from having wandering eyes and taking a second look at your competition.  And secondly, good last impressions give you the opportunity to re-attract a lost prospect who is now being ignored by his first choice.