The Top 10 Highly Profitable, Proven, Time-Tested Secrets to Create the Ultimate First and Last Impression with Your Cli by John Di Lemme - HTML preview

Secret #1

 

I: Introduce and Initiate

 

When someone is introduced to you and your business, what is that person’s first impression? The answer to that question is important. The answer will help you to be true to yourself. As a result, you’ll see how well you present yourself.

Contrary to popular belief, people do judge a book by its cover. The cover gives them an initial impression of the quality of the text. If the cover contains an unappealing photo or illustration, people won’t buy the book.

Your appearance is similar to a book cover. People will judge you by observing your physical appearance or by listening to the sound of your voice. If you look bad or sound unfriendly, no one will want to buy what you’re marketing.

And remember that, in business, you’re not just selling a product or service. You’re selling yourself. That fact makes it vital for you to present yourself and your office professionally.

Prepare to introduce yourself by making sure you’re dressed for success. Wear high-quality clothes that make you look better than your competitors. Your hair should look good, too. Get it cut and styled.

Next, keep your breath fresh. Stock your office with breath mints or mouthwash. There’s nothing worse than rancid-smelling breath. If you have to wonder if your breath smells bad, you’re already in trouble.

If you operate a business with employees, team members, or even subcontractors have them wear uniforms. Don’t make a potential client wonder who works for your company.

It’s also important not to assume that a client knows your name and business title. Wear a name tag that lists both. Your client will take comfort in having basic information about you.

You should also ensure that your office is clean and comfortable. Keep the temperature at the right level. The rooms shouldn’t be too hot or too cold. When it comes to clients, there should be no penny-pinching.

There should also be some music playing in your office. Music relaxes people and puts them in a relaxed mood. And when it’s time to initiate a conversation with a client, make eye contact and pay attention to what the person says. Don’t answer calls on your cell phone or send text messages while talking to your client. Pay attention!

Actively listen to your client. By listening, you’ll remember things that can help you
establish a long-term relationship with that person. In other words, your memory will help you build your business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Secret #2

M: Memory and Mindset

 

Having an excellent memory is an important part of succeeding in business. For example, you can use your memory to impress a client. How? Show that you remember something that’s important to your clients such as their birthday, anniversary, or wedding.

Follow up by sending them a card or free bonus product that shows that you remembered a special occasion in their life. Your gesture of kindness will impress them, and the bonus product will surprise them. That’s why I often refer to these bonus products as surprise bonuses.

Remembering things that are important to your client should become a habit. A
habit is automatic. It sets your mind on automatic pilot. For that reason, a habit can be thought of as a mindset.

The professionals who run the Ritz-Carlton Hotel have a certain mindset. They feel that their hotel guests should be treated to a luxurious experience. That experience is embodied by the finest service.

Amazing service starts right after you enter a Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

When you check in, the front-desk clerk will walk out from behind the counter, greet you, and give you your room key. The clerk is following predetermined standards of service. In fact, the Ritz-Carlton’s Website lists those standards as “a warm and sincere greeting…, anticipation and fulfillment of each guest’s needs, [and a] fond farewell.”

The employees at the hotel anticipate that guests will want a hassle-free check-in process. After all, if you’re on a business trip, traveling may already have been a hassle.

Very often, when you arrive at a hotel, all you’ll want is to get to your room, relax, unpack, and enjoy the resort. The Ritz-Carlton has worked very hard to ensure that guests experience an efficient check-in process and are shown to their luxurious rooms without an extensive wait. According to the hotel’s Website, the front-desk project team at the Ritz-Carlton in Osaka, Japan, reduced the check-in time by fifty percent. The staff fine-tuned the check-in process to give their guests an extraordinary first impression of the hotel. Fine-tuning this process is a consistent part of the staff’s mindset.

You must develop the same mindset. You must fine-tune your business processes to satisfy your clients. That should be your priority.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Secret #3

 

P: Priority, Participation, and
Presence

 

One of your major priorities in business should be to give top-notch customer service.  From the beginning to the end of your meeting with a client, give them an experience that they will remember.

One of the best ways to create that experience is to anticipate your client’s needs. If it’s hot outside, have cold and room temperature bottles of water available. If it’s raining outside, offer an umbrella. That way, they can walk to their car without getting wet. And don’t ask your client to return the umbrella later. It’s a special bonus that your client gets to keep. These extraordinary experiences will make an unbelievable impression on your clients, and they’ll become your biggest fans.

Why do entrepreneurs need fans? Because fans give referrals, and referrals guarantee a business’s growth.

Clients will become your fans when you actively participate in their lives. That
active participation stems from your anticipating and acting on their needs.

A client shouldn’t have to ask you for something. You should automatically provide it. Doing so is part of the mindset of successful entrepreneurs. Smart entrepreneurs make a great impression when doing business. Their ability to anticipate a person’s needs gives them a powerful presence.

People feel that way about me. They tell me: “John, when I’m around you, there’s just something different about you. I just feel a presence.”

There’s a reason why people make that comment: I anticipate their needs and give them what they want before they know they want it. You can build a long-term relationship with someone by anticipating that person’s needs.

 

 

 

 

 

Secret #4

 

R: Relationships, Revival,
Restoration, and Responses

 

Business is all about relationships. One great way to build those relationships is to pick up the phone and call your clients. Talk to them. Ask them how they’re doing and tell them how you can assist them in solving a problem that they’re currently experiencing in business.

Letters are great, too. People like getting letters that are written to them personally. I’m not talking about form letters. I’m talking about letters that show you care. Those letters should mention specific things that you remember about your client.

In this day and age of e-mail and social networks, letter writing is practically a lost art. But you should revive the art of letter writing and use personal letters to build and deepen your business relationships.

When was the last time you received a heartfelt letter that was personally signed by someone? It’s probably been a long time. But, when you opened the envelope and read the message, didn’t the letter restore your faith and enhance your belief in that person or business?

When someone takes the time to send me a handwritten letter, it restores my faith in humanity. If the letter is from a business, it restores my faith in business. That’s important because we live in an era when frauds and scams are ruining people’s lives.

Nowadays, there’s an abundance of unethical businessmen. Bernie Madoff is a prime example. He ran a hedge fund that turned out to be a giant Ponzi scheme. He fleeced investors of their hard-earned money.

Due to people like Madoff, you must put in extra effort to show that you have
integrity. You must restore the faith of potential clients by building business relationships on a consistent, daily basis.

The act of restoring faith can also be physical. For example, you can update your office to change the experience your customers have when they arrive. Paint the walls if the paint is fading or chipping. Replace broken-down, dirty furniture. Make your place of business look fresh and inviting. That will make a great impression on people.

When my wife, Christie, and I invested in real estate in North Carolina and Florida, we invested money in restoration. We knew that in order to rent the properties to tenants, everything had to be clean, organized, and inviting. So, we installed upgrades such as high-end carpeting, ceiling fans, drapes, and other things that make a house into a home. We also repainted the walls with high-quality paint so that scuff marks could easily be removed.

As a result of our diligent restoration efforts, we’ve been able to successfully rent our properties. People love the interiors. Everything looks brand new. So, people have responded by renting from us. You can get the same positive response from clients by reviving the time-tested aspects of customer service.

My grandfather, Papa D, taught me the most important principles of customer service.

He ran the family art gallery business, and he told me: “You never ever let a woman, a mother, a wife carry a piece of art out of the gallery. You have her pull her car up in front, and you open the car door and you put the art in the car.”

Now, that’s extreme customer service!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Secret #5

 

E: Experience, Engage, and
Experiment

 

My grandfather’s type of customer service is an experience, the very experience that leaves a great last impression. The last impression is the very last thing a client remembers about you before departing from your place of business.

One of the keys to leaving a great last impression is to engage in a heartfelt conversation with your client. And one way to start that conversation is to wear a name tag that displays the name of your home town.

My home town is Yonkers, New York. So, when a client from New York meets me and sees that state listed on my name tag, he will respond positively. He’ll usually talk to me about all the great people and places from New York.

And we have such an awesome time talking to each other that I thank him profusely.

I say, “Thank you for coming to the Closing and Marketing University Boot Camp. Thank you for traveling from New York to see me. Have a safe trip home. I can’t wait to see you again soon.”

You see, when you develop great rapport with a client, you’ve successfully started the process of building a solid long-term business relationship. That type of relationship is the foundation of multi-billion dollar businesses like the Ritz-Carlton.

But you should experiment with different techniques for developing rapport. Find different things that you have in common with your clients. You’ll learn that when you use those commonalities as conversation starters, you’ll appreciate your clients. You’ll be grateful to be around such interesting people.

Find different ways to appreciate the fact that your clients enrich your life.

Tell yourself, “My clients are assisting me to live the life I want. They’re empowering me to live a lifestyle of freedom.”

I love my millionaire champion students. They’ve given me the perfect lifestyle. That’s one of the reasons why my business club is called the Lifestyle Freedom Club.

And I work very hard to show my appreciation to my students for the life they’ve helped me lead. I show my appreciation by giving them surprise bonuses as part of my company’s extreme customer service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Secret #6

 

S: Surprise Bonuses

 

Few things are more exciting than getting free bonus products, or surprise bonuses. People who receive them feel special.

I give away surprise bonuses regularly. After videotaping each monthly Lifestyle Freedom Club teaching, I send copies of the DVD to my students and I include a CD containing an audio recording of the DVD. The CD is an absolutely free surprise bonus.

It costs me more money to include the CD, but I don’t care about the cost. I am consistently focused on my millionaire champion students.

And you should care about your clients. When you’re good to them and show that you value them, they’ll do business with you for a lifetime. That’s the true meaning of the phrase, “lifetime value.”

Build your business to develop lifetime value, not for a quick buck. Don’t try to find a get-rich-quick scheme, and always remember that there’s nothing fast about building a sustainable business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Secret #7

 

S: Shocking, Solution, Secre