If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. But some things can only be done once, like making a first impression. Watch this video for some first hand strategies to help you shine and get on a first name basis with success.
(Click here to watch on YouTube if you can’t see the embedded player. Or watch the video at http://bit.ly/tcdimpress.)
Transcript:
Hi. I’m Lorie Marrero, creator of the Clutter Diet book and on-line program, and today we’re going to talk about how organizing helps you make a better first impression.
So you might notice that I’m a little bit more dressed up today than I usually am for my videos, and that is because I have a business meeting today. I’m being introduced to someone who is a new author, and I am wanting to make a good first impression. So, I asked myself the question that I teach in my book, “The Home Office Handbook,” and that is, what you should ask yourself before you put anything on your calendar: “What can I do before, during, and after this appointment to improve it?” So prior to this appointment I have purchased this person’s book, and I have read it, and I have a working knowledge of what her story is. And it’s going to not only hopefully give her some appreciation for the fact that I went to that effort before meeting her, but also it will give me more ways to connect with her, because I understand her story.
Also, of course, I have put this appointment in my calendar with the address where I’m going. I’ve looked it up; I’ve seen how long it’s going to take me to drive there, and that’s helpful too. During this appointment, I’m going to be relying on the training I received from my friend Jan Goss; she is the founder of Civility Consulting, and I got all this great etiquette and protocol training from her, and that has been very helpful to me. And one of the things she teaches is about having a system for business cards, which is an organization system. So, you want to definitely have a way to both carry and collect business cards as you’re out networking. So I have a little business card holder here. If you have one with two sections, you can use one for yours and one for the ones that you collect. Or, you can just put yours in one pocket and the other people’s in another. But have an organized way of giving and receiving these cards so that you make a better first impression. After the appointment, of course, it’s important to follow-up with any business cards that you’ve received or any actions that you need to be taking. And that is where your task list comes into play. You definitely want to write things down on your “To Do” List as soon as you leave the meeting so that you can maximize the effect of that meeting in all ways.
Another book I want to recommend to you, by the way, is my friend Patti Denucci’s book. It’s called “The Intentional Networker.” It has all kinds of tips like this and much more about how to work and connect with people on a higher level. So, these have been some very good pieces of training for me, and I wanted to share that with you and just think about how organizing really does help you make a better first impression and get more done during your day so that you’re more effective with everyone around you.
If you need more help with this, you can check out my book, “The Home Office Handbook” where I have that question in there that you should ask before putting on your calendar. That is available at clutterdiet.com and you can check us out there anytime, with our Membership Program as well, we can help you with any kind of organizing problem and we are available seven days a week for about the price of a pizza.
See you next time, and may you always be happy and grateful for having more than enough.
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