I'm reading Anthony Parinello's new book "5 Minutes with VITO" (VITO stands for Very Important Top Officer). He talks in the book about how when dealing with VITO you have 8 seconds to make an impression! Or rather, VITO forms his/her impression of you, ...and if they are likely to do business with you, in those 8 seconds.
That sounds like a lot of pressure in 8 seconds, but the advantage of selling to VITO is that he doesn't have to go to anyone else to approve his decision. He generally moves fast and wants things done fast once he decides on something. VITO is the person you want most to be dealing with.
We're all a lot like VITO in our own circles, we make snap decisions or judgements about people within those same 8 seconds. The key when interacting with others is to know what their concerns are and how you can help them. Some ideas I try to keep in mind when meeting with someone:
That sounds like a lot of pressure in 8 seconds, but the advantage of selling to VITO is that he doesn't have to go to anyone else to approve his decision. He generally moves fast and wants things done fast once he decides on something. VITO is the person you want most to be dealing with.
We're all a lot like VITO in our own circles, we make snap decisions or judgements about people within those same 8 seconds. The key when interacting with others is to know what their concerns are and how you can help them. Some ideas I try to keep in mind when meeting with someone:
- What is my goal or objective when meeting with someone, and order, another meeting, learning about what they need? Setting your goal gives direction to your meeting.
- How will they expect me to be dressed. For some appointments I'll wear a shirt and tie, some more casual, sometimes a suit. I try to know my environment (and it's always better to go in overdressed than under dressed...in my opinion).
- Know about the person and company you are meeting with BEFORE the appointment, look at their website, google for news. Don't go in and ask stupid questions about their business that you should already know.
- Don't spill your guts and tell everything about your company, your prospect only cares about the things that directly affect them...otherwise your wasting their time.
It's also interesting to note that the same principles apply to your printed marketing pieces. When they show up in your prospects mailbox you only have 1-2 seconds to make an impression before your targets puts you in the "read" pile or the garbage can. It is important to note that in the same way talking with your customer about what they are interested in works for your printed pieces too. Now days you can customize the content of each piece based on what you know about the prospect. Is it a map in their area? An offer that they specifically qualify for? A stage of their life that they are in? All should be taken into account when approaching your prospect whether in person or another media.
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