How to Make an Unforgettable First Impression

Your first meeting is really the only chance you’ve got to sell your brand, your product, and most importantly-yourself, to prospective clients, employers, and people. Are you making an unforgettable first impression?

Are you leading the pack on your own path, or are you making one of those “What was her name?” impressions? (It’s OK. We can fix that.) We love Danny Rubin’s advice for 11 quick ways to make a lasting impression. So just to make a lasting impression of our own, we thought to share.

11 Quick Ways to Make a Lasting Impression

1. Introduce yourself before someone else has to introduce you

Otherwise, a person has to say, “Oh, sorry. This is my friend Jenn. I should have introduced her already.”

Stick out your hand, say “Hi, I’m Jenn. Nice to meet you.” Then, you beam with confidence.

2. Ask a question based on your last conversation

When you run into someone you haven’t seen in a while, ask about something you recall from the last interaction.

“Hey, a few months ago you told me you were preparing for the big presentation at the national conference. How did it go?”

The person will feel like a million bucks. Maybe a billion.

3. Say “I agree” and not “I don’t disagree”

It’s OK to let other people be right.

4. State your full name and purpose when you make a business phone call

Too many people call a company and say something like, “Hi, is Steve there?”

Then the person needs to respond with, “Can I tell Steve who’s calling?”

Begin with something like, “Hi, I’m Jackie Reynolds, and I’m looking for Steve so we can follow up on the Anderson account.”

Prepare your intro before you dial the number. It’ll help.

5. Bring several (at least five) printed resumes to a job interview

Enough for the boss and anyone else you might meet. It looks impressive.

6. Pick a follow-up question rather than launch into a “me” answer

The person says, “We just finished with the Lambert account. Boy, that was a tough one.”

Then you say, “Why was it tough?” and not “Yea, that reminds me of my own clients…”

Keep the focus on other people. Again, it’s impressive.

7. Update people on the status of your project — even if they don’t expect an update

Give people peace of mind, and they will respect you for it.

8. In the job interview, be curious about the employer’s own career

Before you dive into what you’re all about and the job you want, pose a question that shows you thought hard about the other person’s background.

For example, “I read that you worked for 11 years in marketing for a minor league baseball team. What are some of the craziest promotions you ever staged?”

9. “I’ll do it.”

The one sentence that takes anyone from face in the crowd to bonafide leader.

10. When a person connects you to someone else via email, offer to drop them from the chain

After the introduction, the “connector” doesn’t need to hang around. So politely remove him/her.

It might seem like a minor courtesy, but the “connector” will remember it.

11. Treat every day like a “temp” situation

Prove yourself. Earn your place.

And tomorrow, do it all again.