Creating A Strong First Impression On Potential Clients

We all know that first impressions are difficult but so so so important! When we have client discovery calls or meetings, often times we only get that first impression to really sell them on our services and ourselves. So, let's discuss how you can make the best first impression on your potential client.

Be the Guide

It's so important to remember that your clients are your customers and that means that you should be facilitating and guiding the relationship. Don't be afraid to make the first move! Most clients want to work with people that show interest in them and are actionable right from the beginning, so keep that in mind while you're building the first impression. Schedule that sales call to build on your first impression!

Be Prepared

You should come into a sales call having researched the client and their company. Plus, make sure you are prepared with a meeting agenda, partnership plan, and visual presentation.

Build Rapport

Break the ice! Just like a job interview, you should start off a call by building rapport. Go a little deeper than the typical, "Hi, how are you?" Take the time to build up the conversation and find connection points to make the call feel more personal. This is a great opportunity to get to know them and start forming your relationship, and it can help ease the nerves of the first impression for both parties!

Listen

Who doesn't like feeling heard? Even though you might naturally be doing most of the talking with trying to sell your expertise and services, remember to take the time to completely listen to their current issues, concerns, and questions. This should be a conversation, not a lesson or a one-way sales call. This is also where doing a formal presentation can help because you can schedule in ques for questions to allow the client to do some talking.

Show Your Expertise

We want to find a really healthy balance between sounding "braggy" but still coming off as knowledgeable. The last thing we want is our imposter syndrome popping in. Practice talking about yourself in a healthy way to build up your confidence and show your expertise. It's very easy to diminish your hard work in one phrase, and since discovery calls about building up trust and credibility, that's the last thing we want to do!

We hope these tips will help you with your next potential client call! Whether you are just starting out as a social media freelancer, or if you've been in the industry for a while now, there is always room to better yourself and continue to grow within this amazing industry. Connect with us and we can go on the crazy, fun SMM journey together!