Making a great first impression will positively impact your sales effort and, more importantly, win over the loyalty of your customers. Let's address the all-important first meeting with a new customer.

Present a Professional Presence. Too many construction salespeople and estimators simply do not pay enough attention to their appearance. Keep an extra shirt, pants, and shoes at your office or in your vehicle for quick changes. If you are coming straight from a job to meet a new customer, a fresh set of clothes will not only make a more favorable impression on the customer, it will make you feel better as well. Keep extra deodorant and a bottle of mild cologne available, too. Your employees might tolerate how you smell but customers won't.

Drive a Clean Vehicle. It's amazing how dirty vehicles create a negative view of a contractor and his or her business practices. If a new customer sees that your vehicle is filthy he may have second thoughts about what your work crews might leave his property looking like.

A professional approach to sales and making a good first impression extends to even the look of your vehicle, so spend a few extra dollars every week to keep it clean.

Extend a Positive "Hand of Fellowship." Initiate a friendly outreach. Always introduce yourself first, reach out to shake hands with your customer - and don't forget to make eye contact! This is simply good manners and sends a positive signal to the customer that you're there to talk business. Shake the customer's hand firmly yet without squeezing the blood from it. Weak handshakes suggest personal weakness or insincerity. The crowning touch is to make eye contact. Eye contact seals a sincere greeting, so always look your customer in the eye when shaking hands. The handshake is perhaps one of the most important "getting to know you" things you can do yet it is often handled poorly. Don't underestimate the power of the "touch."