How To Make A Great First Impression

First impressions.  We hear about the importance of them all the time. Phrases like "you only get one chance to make a great first impression" immediately come to mind.

Carol Kinsey Goman, Contributor at Forbes.com, wrote an article recently "Seven Seconds to Make a First Impression" that talks about body language when you have initial face-to-face time with a new client, boss, coworker, etc.  I highly recommend you read her article and others that she writes about body language and non-verbal communications in business.

However, there are times when your marketing materials need to make that first impression for you. You simply cannot be everywhere at once, so you need to delegate that "first impression" to someone or something else.  Perhaps your business card or mailer is passed along from a satisfied client to a friend or coworker.  Or someone finds one or more of your social media web presences.

What kind of first impression is your marketing material making on your behalf?  Is it representing you in the same professional manner that you represent yourself?  Does it set the correct tone for what it will be like to meet you and work with you?

Why people avoid having a professional headshot
Here are a set of reasons that I hear most often.

• "I look great in person, but I don't look good on camera"
• "I hate having my picture taken"
• "I don't want to look posed"
• "I have to loose 10 pounds first"
• "It's too expensive"

As your professional photographer, it is my responsibility to address every single one of these reasons.  I will make you look great. I will not make you looked posed. I will take weight off you, and a few years too!. I will keep your headshots affordable.

There are other reasons why people don't have professional headshots. Even though you won't hear someone actually make these outlandish claims, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I can only imagine that the thought process goes something like these examples:

• "Last Friday night, some random creepy guy bought us drinks.  I just cropped him out of our selfy duck face since he's already out of the picture"
• "I look great in a tank top and daisy dukes. My professional business clients will understand"
• "We love going out to the desert and shooting up the 'no shooting' signs. So what if I took pictures when we did it. The sign already had a bunch of holes. NSA's not watching me."
• "Beer bottles, shmeer Bottles. Who cares. WooHoo."

I'm not even going to try to explain why every one of these profile pictures happen to be a bad idea. I can only hope and pray that they are self-explanatory.

Reasons You Need A Professional Headshot
To compete in this current market, you need to convey a warm and confident public facing image, yet it must also appear natural and honest. The best self-promotional tool available is a professional headshot.  It helps people recognize and remember you.

By using soft lighting techniques and professional posing, I create those polished images that only an experienced portrait photographer can offer.

How I can help
If you need a professional headshot that doesn't look posed, takes a few pounds and a few years off of you, is affordable, and puts you in your best light, call me at 855-650-3500 today.  I love helping sales professionals and local business owners make a great first impression.