First Impressions

I was attending a networking event the week before Christmas when I started to chat to a lady that happened to be a Realtor. As is the custom she handed me her card as we started to talk and I did likewise. Like many people I tend to give cards a cursory glance and then place them in my jacket pocket for looking at later, but this one caught my eye. It was a white card with a black line across the middle. The line was applied by using a Sharpie or something similar and underneath it was the ladies name written by hand in ink. I grimaced and then realizing what I had done tried to hide it by taking a drink. I had failed miserably to disguise my look of distaste and the lady immediately asked me what was wrong. My mind was doing overtime thinking of something that I could say that wouldn’t be offensive or may even divert attention but to no avail.  I asked the lady what was the average value of house sale she dealt with. She looked proud when she told me it was about $500,000 and often she dealt with property over 1 million. Hmm, I thought, this could be tricky. I asked her if I could do a very quick role-play with her and she liked the idea of that. 

Ok, so I am a prospective buyer, I have a half a million in the bank and I am looking for a home for about $1m. This is probably going to be the biggest purchase to date in my life. I am excited about it, my wife is even more excited at the thought of getting that kitchen with granite work tops and a center console, and my kids are looking forward to finally having a home with a pool. This is a major decision and we have to get it right. We need a professional; we need somebody that knows their business and can demonstrate to us that they have our interests at heart. We need to be sure that they are successful at their job as this would demonstrate that they are competent at all the things that we need like the ability to negotiate, the ability to listen and the ability to command respect from all parties. I am at the stage where I am ready to make that move and I bump into you at a social event where you hand me your business card. What does it tell me about you? Should I invest my life savings with somebody that thinks a black mark across a business card is acceptable? Should I trust somebody that thinks saving a few bucks on presentation is an ok thing to do? Does it in anyway shape or form, give me confidence that I am dealing with a professional used to negotiating large contracts? I smiled at the lady and she obviously got my message by the sheepish look on her face.   

I have no idea if that lady rushed off to her designer to arrange for new cards but she should have done if she didn’t. Business is tough enough as it is and to try and win it by taping one arm behind your back before you start makes no sense to me. Take a look at your own business card and ask yourself what you would think if somebody else handed it to you. If the answer is anything other than, nice card or better, then I suggest you trash it and start again because you only have one chance to make that first impression. 

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