Each impression you make will – temporarily, at least – be your last. Always make it strong. – Harry Beckwith author of Selling the Invisible
My Grandfather worked in timber. He “marked” trees for people and told them how much they most likely would get when they sold the timber at market.
He always wore a freshly pressed pair of khaki pants; a pressed white or blue work shirt, nicely maintained suspenders and even his work boots were cleaned and polished each day before calling on his customer.
I asked him one day why he went so such extremes to just go out into the woods.
He gave me this sage advice. Son always recognize that you make a first and last impression every time you meet with a client.
In repeated studies, according to Harry Beckwith, people shown a sequence of items – pictures of an apple, pear, peach, prune and pomegranate, for example – are most apt to remember the apple and the pomegranate. They easily remember the first thing shown to them and the last but most forgot what was in the middle.
Beckwith notes that the rule of last impressions is reflected in many ways. Consider apologies and forgiveness, as an example. The last impression a person makes, by apologizing for a mistake, often obscures the person’s memory of the event that led to the apology.
Make your last impression as strong as your first.
Until next time …
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