Dress for Success

First impressions are formed in the first few seconds in a face-to-face meeting. All of us can get into bad habits, or just become plain lazy. Here are a few reminders that may help us differentiate ourselves in prospect meetings.

Most of us have heard that dressing appropriately and being well groomed is important in many business situations, but recent studies have shown that it means much more than that—it means the difference between sealing the deal or not differentiating yourself enough to make a difference.

For males, there are four basic levels of dress: Casual—jeans, casual shoes and shirt; Business Casual—Dockers/slacks, nice shoes and nice shirt; Enhanced Business Casual—same as Business Casual, but with a tie and/or sport coat; and Formal—suit and tie. Ladies follow similar levels, with Formal being a professional business suit or dress possibly with jacket, etc. Ladies have many more potential combinations, but it is safe to say that in most prospect or client meetings, Formal is the best choice.

The basic rule is to be at the prospect’s level or one above. They are making a decision, a very important and personal decision and they want to choose a winner, a professional, and expect no less than that in the services you will be providing.

It is also important to be cognizant of your posture. This gives a first impression too. Good posture has been validated by extensive research to identify you as someone who is credible, with something to say that is worth hearing. If you are asked to be seated, sit straight in the waiting room or lobby, face the door where you think your prospect will appear and avoid any appearance of slouching or excessive casualness. When you arise, stand straight and look directly into the prospect’s eyes for at least three seconds, no more than about five.

Research has found that these few elements are vital when a first impression is being formed.

All of us need reminders for working with prospects that we want to convert to customers. What is difficult at times, is taking control of the meeting and creating the opportunity to have your priorities rise to the top and not let the prospect steer the discussion. So how do you start? You should assume that you will be the first to speak, but you must make this meeting highly individualized so that you can really tune into the prospect’s needs.

Most of your competitors, no matter what the industry, but especially in professional services, can competently discuss their services and most prospects believe that they are all competent. No matter how well you discuss your firm and its services and the cost, you have done nothing to differentiate yourself.

There is only one way to accomplish this—by learning their motivations, wants, and needs. You need to ask the overview question, which will, in your own words ask where they are and where they are going. You want to know their wants so you can illustrate and make a personal connection. This will allow you to individualize your services and easily differentiate you from the competition.

Often we concentrate on our prospects as the main focus for generating new business—turning prospects into clients. I’m not suggesting that this should not be a priority. It is always a good thing to have a full “pipeline” of prospects to move through your sales process. A second source of new business can come from referrals from other professionals. This is a great way to obtain warm leads from those that trust you and know your business profile, and you get an introduction to a prospective client.

The prospects that we tend to forget about are right under our noses—our clients. We do the work, we provide good service, we meet deadlines…what we tend to forget is that our clients are a great source of referrals; they just won’t always be handed to us on a silver platter.

We need to know how we are doing with our clients and we need to have meetings and conversations with them outside of our client engagements. We need to ask them how things are going. Set up breakfast or lunch meetings with your best clients and review the client’s latest financials before the meeting. Begin by thanking them for their business and then ask, in effect, “So, how’s the business doing?” This opens up the discussion and raises questions that enable you to make suggestions about possible courses of action. It is important not to move into business development mood; keep it completely conversational and be sure to pick up the tab.

Let your clients know that you like to solve problems and help other firms with similar challenges. Ask questions, express a genuine interest in the client and make them feel appreciated, offer some casual advice and pick up the tab. You’ll be amazed at the results.

The unfortunate thing is….we often times try so hard to look for new clients and tend to forget that the source of our current success (existing client base) is a wealth of opportunity. Retaining clients and serving them well includes charging a resonable fee for services rendered, doing professional work, being timely, and maintaining the appropriate level of communication, which is often the hardest of the four. Communication above and beyond the engagement is not only a challenge because you are so busy, but also difficult because you don’t always know what is appropriate. What do you do? How much is enough? How much is too much? When can you make the time?  Here are some ideas to get you going:

• Lunch–for most of us, no matter how busy we are, we take time to eat. Look at your client list, contacts and other professionals and schedule your “A” level contacts to join you. Use your own judgement, but make it regular, possibly quarterly for your best clients and contacts. Not so frequent for others, but meet with them too in order to learn more about their business and uncover areas where you may assist them. Lunches and breakfast meetings can be the best way to show your clients that they are important to you and that you are interested and have time to continuously learn their business.
• Events–have a great client that loves golf, baseball, theater? Invite a client to join you. You will deepen the relationship and have fun too. Are they celebrating a milestone in their business? Send them something that is aligned with their business or personal interests.
• Tax Planning–waiting until tax time is not enough today. Clients want proactive consultation regarding their business and tax strategy planning throughout the year, giving them confidence that you are doing all you can to maximize their position in regard to tax issues.
• Personal Notes–send articles, thank you cards, etc., with a hand written note, not a form letter with a scanned signature. And be quick about it. Same day, if possible. When the client receives it the next day after seeing you, they will know how important they are to you.

Bottom line is always exceed expectations. We have incredible technology in place that enables us to respond quickly, professionally, in our office or in remote locations. When we engage with our clients on a regular basis the client relationship is strengthened. The results are a more open, honest relationship that often leads to referrals, our best and most reliable source of new business.