First Impressions? A deal breaker!?

As we all know, or have been told "they" say the most important thing in either a business or a personal relationship is the first impression that a person or company can make. It does make sense if you think of it, regardless of it being personal or business, the first impression can dictate the future of this relationship if any!

There are a few suggestions out there that say the first impression can be made in a tenth of a second all the way up to 7 seconds. However, I have a different theory and this comes off the back of data from, believe it or not...website stats! It's true! I'll quote the stats to you and where you can check these stats so it's not just some random made up fact. My theory can be used regardless of if it's you making the first impression, your website or your social media profile!

Online Impression

As soon as someone see's your website it will take them (according to sweor.com) milliseconds to make the decision if they like it or not. From having built numerous websites and tracked stats, I can attest to this. It's exactly the same when you meet a person for the first time. Instantly, your gut feeling will tell you whether you like this person or not! Is what they are wearing suitable, do they smell nice, are they well spoken, is their body language appealing and welcoming? It's exactly the same with a website, and your LinkedIn, Facebook or other social profile, well, apart from the smell part! Is the profile well written, is their picture suitable for business, is the information good enough to keep me on the profile?

There are so many people that get this part wrong and think that it actually doesn't matter! Why would you use a profile picture of you at a party or on a night out when it's for business use? The common sense approach is always the best one to use in these circumstances. Ask yourself the question "Is that good enough" and if you have to think about it too long then the answer is ultimately no!

As people, we can be fickle, the first impression is crucial when it comes to business especially! You will form an idea of the person in front of you either in person or on a screen within the blink of an eye, and if that's what you do, then by rights it's what other people will do to you.

First Impression Disaster

I'll give you a real life example of a terrible first impression that you can NEVER take back or do-over. I was in our office in Wolverhampton City centre and I'd been passed a message from our reception after i had come out of a meeting. The message read can you please call Jane Smith (names have been changed) on xyz, she said you will know what it's about. Thinking about it, I couldn't remember who Jane Smith was, maybe I had forgotten, maybe it was important, was it a client perhaps? I called Jane back and immediately after who I said I was she started to go into a sales pitch! I couldn't believe it! I stopped her immediately and asked, her message said that I knew what it was going to be about? I told her I had no idea what it was about so could she explain why I would know? She then said her colleague had sent an email to me and it was about that!? I asked which colleague, when was the email sent and what was it about? She proceeded to say it was to introduce her company to us!

I stopped her right then and said, i'd not received an email! I also said that I didn't appreciate her lying to my reception to try and get past the gatekeeper. I said that there was no way we would even consider entering into any sort of relationship with their company because of the underhanded techniques they had used. She then started to continue to say her colleague was in the area on a particular date and she would like to arrange a meeting with me! Seriously! I said no and goodbye. She then even sent me a diary appointment through gsuite which I immediately rejected!

About 3 weeks later, I get a call from this same person! I pick up the call and she says her colleague is on the way! I have to remind her of our initial conversation and ask her not to call us ever again! Now that is a first and second impression they will never be able to fix.

Another message came through to us shortly after this asking us to call Amy Smith from xyz, the message was that they wanted to use our services and wanted a new website. I returned the call and she started into a sales pitch, at which point I then interjected and asked what their budget for a new website was? She replied and said they don't need a website! I asked why would she tell my gatekeeper that they wanted a new website? She replied saying that the person must have got confused! I did ask if she would like me to replay the call? She immediately hung up the phone. Yet again, lying! All in aid of getting past the gatekeeper and destroying any chance of making a good first impression.

Would you dream of moving straight into a sales pitch with someone you have just met in person? Well, the correct answer is no! Nobody like to be sold at! Human nature is to run! Just think about what you do when you go into a shop and a sales person starts walking towards you! The only real place you can go full on sales pitch is your website! It is totally acceptable there, people who want your services expect there to be sales techniques used! This is where you absolutely need to make a great first impression. This is where you need to engage with people and give them a reason to stay on your website. The longer you keep them on your website the greater the chance is you will convert the visitor into a prospect...and it all starts with the first impression!

The Reasons Why It's Important

Did you know that 88% of visitors are less likely to come back to your website if they have had a bad experience? 39% of users will leave your site if images won't load or it takes too long to load! 75% of consumers say they judge a business based on the design of a company's website! There are so many more things that go towards making a great first impression on your website, you just need to make sure you consider them once in a while. With a website the timeline is 50 milliseconds to decide if they like your site or not, then it's the 3 second rule, you have 3 seconds to capture their attention. After this, it's then up to 7 seconds, you need to be able to convey a whole lot of information that keeps them on the site like, who are you, what is the site about, is it interesting, what are they meant to do and is the site worthy of sharing.

I wonder what the stats above would be for a face to face first impression! How likely is the person to come back to talk to you? How many will leave after judging your appearance? How many would engage with your further based on what you first say? Are your words engaging? Are you pleasant or are you just having a bad day?

There are so many things to consider in making a first impression, just don't fall into the trap and think that these things don't apply to you. Consider them carefully and make your business life easier.