When it comes to business, staying remembered with prospects and clients is the name of the game. But, how do you ensure that you stay top of mind after the initial meet and greet? By using an impression piece.

In this episode of Stay Paid, Josh and Luke discuss what an impression piece is, how you create one that sticks around, and why your business so desperately needs one.

Key Points

• An impression piece is an extension of your brand
• It has to produce a return on investment
• It’s the one thing that will separate your business from the competition

What is an impression piece?

It only takes seven seconds to form an opinion about someone. Meaning, you have to pull out all of the stops, and make a great impression mere seconds after meeting a prospect. Sure, a friendly smile and a firm handshake are good starts, but they only get you so far. Using an impression piece helps you to leave your mark on prospects well into the future.

Regardless of the industry, your brand is everything. It’s the only thing that separates you from your competition. But, your brand goes further than your logo or a piece of marketing that you create, it’s about how people perceive you and what your clients say about you. And believe it or not, your impression piece plays heavily into your brand. It’s an extension of the brand that you’re trying to portray. It’s that little something that’s going to help your brand remain sticky within someone’s mind once you’re out of sight.

How do you make your impression piece stand out?

For starters, a good impression piece must be relevant. Ask yourself who will be receiving it. It should be something that your clients or prospects will not only want, but also use in their everyday life. While a business card is practical, it’s often not something that someone wants to keep.

Next, it has to brand your business. When someone looks at your impression piece, they have to automatically think of you. And what’s the best way for this to happen? By ensuring that your impression piece contains your branded contact information. Whether it’s on the front or back, your logo, phone number, and email address should be in plain sight.

Quality matters, especially when it comes to your impression piece. Your impression piece is an extension of your brand. If you’re trying to brand yourself as a luxury real estate agent, for example, your impression piece should reflect that.

When you’re trying to stand out from the competition, you want to be anything but ordinary. Your impression piece should be unique. While gift baskets are practical, they’re not special. Try to tailor your impression piece to each recipient, the extra effort won’t go unnoticed.

Last but not least, it’s imperative that your impression piece produces a return on investment. To do such, you need to keep track of the people who have received it. When you gain a new customer, ask them to complete a survey so you can determine how they heard about your business. If they answer that they received your impression piece, you know that your efforts are paying off.

Why do you need one?

Ah, the important part. An impression piece adds a tangible aspect for your business. It’s the one thing that will separate your business from the rest. Without one, your business will be just another face in the crowd.

Just remember: a first impression is never impressive enough, you have to make a lasting impression.

Action Items

Following the podcast, our goal is to provide you with as many actionable tips as possible. This episode includes…

• Create an impression piece

As always, take action on these tips!