You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Meeting

What’s true for impressions is true for meetings! If you’re a super busy professional, you’re keenly aware of 1st impressions when you’re meeting with someone new. You know that it is important to come off as clear, energetic, strong, confident, and really put your best foot forward.

Hopefully, you wouldn’t come off as tired (even though you are), weak, sloppy, or even disinterested to the new person you’re meeting! That person standing or sitting in front of you could easily be:

• a potential customer or client
• a strong referral
• a possible partner
• a future “raving fan”

As a CEO Catalyst & Executive Life Coach, I get the opportunity to meet with all sorts of wonderful and fascinating people, and I know that every meeting counts! Whether you met this person in a networking event, through a professional site (such as LinkedIn), a special event you hosted, or came to you from a referral - each new contact holds untold potential for you, personally and professionally.

So with this opportunity, people who are better prepared typically win over the less prepared! You might have all the proper attire on, have all the right words to say, and even have a snazzy business card – but one overlooked issue can turn the overall impression sour - fast.

Maybe you didn’t have all your facts straight about them or their company. It’s possible you left your sales collateral at the office, or maybe even called them by the wrong name. Sometimes, the attention of you or the other person speaking takes a backseat to all the busyness going on in a crowded and noisy location. If the meeting place itself is an unfamiliar location to you and causes you to be late - that can be a distraction to the person you’re meeting with, or worse yet, seen as a sign of being disrespectful to their time.

In the past, there were times I’ve been late to a one-on-one meeting because I couldn’t find that little coffee shop tucked away in that unfamiliar strip mall. When that happens, you’re apologetic, the meeting starts off on an awkward foot, and you have to compensate to regain the good first impression you were trying to make.

Many business professionals don’t give a second thought to the destination for this important meeting. Somehow, we’ve accepted that it’s respectful of both parties to duck into the nearest Starbucks, yell over the screeching espresso machine, talk through the crunching of the ice blender, and look past the screaming children and constant distractions of people walking past.

I’ll bet many of you can remember meetings in the past where this has been exactly the situation – and you probably don’t remember the conversation, but you remember the screeching of the espresso machine…

This aspect is all part of the overall impression, and the final reminder from that first meeting with a new contact. Taking careful attention to all the details of preparation for a one-on-one (or group) meeting, and having it in a distracting, noisy and unprofessional setting – is like dressing for success in an expensive, finely pressed 3-piece suit, but wearing flip flops instead of dress shoes. It kind of kills the whole overall impression, no matter how attune you were to all the other details.

Keep that in mind the next time you’re looking to sit with a new contact who might be a prospect, potential referral partner or someone coming into your network.

Choose a location that meets these criteria:

1. spacious enough for your needs
2. some amount of privacy
3. a heightened level of professionalism
4. easy to locate
5. minimal distractions
6. accessible to the Internet / presentation needs
7. and quiet – for undivided attentio

Just like you wouldn’t show up in a $3,000.00 suit with flip flops, don’t spoil your first impression by carelessly choosing a location that distracts (and detracts) from the short amount of time you have with this individual. Be respectful of them, and yourself!

You want to impress upon that person (or group) as many favorable feelings, thoughts and emotions about the “good first meeting” you had. Most often, this will make or break a decision about whether to give you their business, or go meet with your competition!