How to Leave a Positive
Impression in a Meeting: 4 Tips
Have
a media interview or important sales call you want to nail? A few simple
strategies can help you stand out from the crowd.
Whether
it's a sales call, a job or media interview, or any other work situation in
which you'd like to leave a positive impression, there are several things you
can do to stand out from the crowd. That's according to
Stephanie David, founder and CEO of the social good-shopping website PopNod.
Having worked for years in sales and business development for behemoths such as
Microsoft and Lockheed Martin, and now running her own company, David says the
following strategies work.
Start with a gripping question.
For
example, in a sales call you might start by
asking prospects about their biggest pain points or what keeps them awake at
night. "It helps me understand what are the things that really matter the
most," says David, "[and] gets into some of the personal motivations
of [an] audience."
Prepare three islands of safety.
Specifically,
David means stocking your mind with anecdotes, analogies, and statistics you
can pull out in the event you're asked a challenging question. It's important
to have several superb answers at the ready that can cover your bases.
"[It may be] bringing in concrete statistics and numbers about performance
and ratings from customers," she says, "or anecdotes on how [you've]
successfully implemented a specific solution."
Convey your ideas simply but with passion.
Authenticity is a character trait people
appreciate, so it's important to communicate your passion about a subject.
"I believe that the audience will see the sincerity and passion that you
emote and translate that to the spirit behind your business," she says.
"I found that even when I was working for large corporations, even if I
was one of many employees, I had to make sure that I was representing my
company in the best light by showing the passion I have for what we offer our
customers."
Paint a vivid picture of an improved reality.
Here's
where it helps to have already asked about a person's or team's biggest problems that need solving.
"If you are able to paint that vivid experience for them about the process
and the end state," David says, "that is something that will really
[speak] to the client's pain points."
Want more
advice on making great impressions? Check out First Impressions: 5 Things Not to
Screw Up, in
which I interview a longtime CEO who agrees with David that preparation and
passion are key, while offering three other bits of advice.
BY CHRISTINA DESMARAIS http://www.inc.com/christina-desmarais/how-to-leave-a-positive-impression-in-a-meeting-4-tips.html?cid=em01016week28b
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