Essential Strategies for Sales and Marketing Executives

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Making a great first impression

There's a shampoo commercial out there that tells us that healthy, bouncy looking hair is vital in life because "you never get a second chance to make a first impression." There may be some wisdom to that adage, according to a couple of business authors. Lynda Goldman and Sandra Smythe say those first few minutes spent with any new associate, prospect or client will help shape how your relationship will unfold for the future, perhaps even for years to come.

The pair's new book How to Make a Million Dollar First Impression is a self-published work that helps readers take control of how others perceive them in those crucial opening minutes of any business relationship. The authors claim to be able to teach readers how to make a positive and powerful first impression within the first ten seconds of introduction. The book features 105 ideas that readers can use in their careers to help boost their image in the eyes of others in all sorts of social settings.

For example, do you know how to gracefully extract yourself from a conversation that's going nowhere? Or how about which style of suit jacket or blazer will make you more approachable and which will scream "stay away"? Do you know how to change your speaking habits to make yourself sound warmer and friendlier on the phone? Once you've read this book you'll wonder how you ever did without it.

• More on the book: How to Make a Million Dollar First Impression