Career Kuel Thought Leader: Gayle Petrillo
When it comes to building trust and credibility, first impressions set the tone for every client interaction.
It is my hope that as you read this, you will be reminded of the importance of every first impression. The first impression you and your company make, no matter how you are seen.
How You Show Up Matters:
How do your clients, employees, etc. find you? Likely their first impression is on your website. What is your site telling visitors?
“The mistakes included typos and grammatical errors.”
Last week I ran into a former colleague. It’s been more than five years since we’ve seen each other. She has moved from the position she was in to having recently created her own consulting firm. I was so excited for her and so when she sent me an invitation to meet for coffee to catch up, along with her website link, I immediately went to it.
As I perused her site, I lost count of how many errors I found in the first few pages. I was appalled and embarrassed for her.
The mistakes included typos and grammatical errors. Examples include “weather” for “whether”; regulartly; availible; benifit; along with multiple redundancies and run-on sentences. It read like a third grader had written it. Additionally, the tense changed, as did references to “us, I, and you,” as well as formatting, such as spacing throughout.
I said to myself, if I were advised to check out her website as a potential client, I would not hire this firm. How can I trust these consultants to lead me and/or my clients if their website contained such obvious errors?
“When we write something, we are too close to it sometimes to see things others may notice.”
Why First Impressions Can Make Or Break Your Credibility, No Second Chances:
Moreover. my reason for sharing this is to point out the importance of first impressions. Whether in print, in resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn, Facebook or other social media, in person and on zoom, what your prospective clients see will have an impact on whether they hire you or not. That first impression makes such a significant impact that’s hard to counteract. We rarely get a second opportunity to come back from a negative first impression.
It can’t be overstated how important this is: even the best-designed site won’t impress if it’s slow or unreliable. If you don’t have strong internet service and solid hosting, you risk downtime right when people are trying to reach you. You can see who has the best internet availability by address,and sometimes paying a little extra for quality on the backend is what protects your business reputation upfront.
So, how do you eliminate, or at least reduce the likelihood of making such a faux pas? When we write something, we are too close to it sometimes to see things others may notice. We rely heavily on spelling check programs which will not catch words misused in context.
In conclusion. don’t be afraid to get a fresh set of eyes on any material in print. Ask a colleague, friend or family member to review before you commit to publishing. And, even if you have to pay a professional editor, the price will be worth it in the grand scheme of things when you consider potential business losses.
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About the Author:
Gayle Petrillo is President of First Impressions, Image Consulting. Gayle is an image consultant working with both businesses and individuals. Her services include: customer service training; team building skills; secret shopper services; gossip avoidance techniques; closet analysis; wardrobe transformations, personal shopping; employment coaching; and presentation skills.
