Pre-Impression

Pre Impression

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The Pre-Impression is the view that people form of you (and vice-versa) before you start talking. They are always watching you. You must be observant and aware of your surroundings to help you make sales. Your pre-impressions are made entirely with body language. Your appearance must be clean-cut and professional. Take out jewelry including necklaces, bracelets, earrings, excessive rings, or anything distracting. Tuck in your shirt. Remember the note on ‘staying in character’.

If doors close before you say a word, or you know someone sees you and he or she does not open the door, most of the time, your pre-impression is not effective. In the pre-impression, your body language needs to communicate, “I am not a salesman,” and to tell them you are here to help give them a much cheaper option for their power needs. Communicating “I am not a salesperson on your doorstep” can be simple if you know what your body language says to a customer.

It is imperative that while walking between doors, you remain off your cell phone. So many sales reps will stop between doors and scroll through social media, take non important phone calls, facetime friends, or simply find something to kill time with. Customers will notice and pay attention to all actions between doors. There have been customers in the past that have called the authorities because a sales rep sat on the curb for long periods of time scrolling on their phones. Stay moving and intentional while walking between doors. If you need to take an important call, try and keep it short and then get back on the doors. Definitely refrain from taking calls while at someone's doorsteps. 

These days, there are cameras everywhere. Make sure you NEVER look through homeowners windows or say things while at doorsteps that are inappropriate. It will always be caught on camera.

PROXEMICS

Proxemics is defined as the total space in which you communicate—such as a home, office, club, restaurant, etc. For our purposes, proxemics is defined as the doorstep or customer’s home. Proxemics is important because each place has its own characteristics that affect the way you communicate. For example, if you and a friend go to a restaurant, you will need to talk louder and sit closer in order to communicate effectively. However, you would not need to do this when the same friend comes to your office or home. In door-to-door sales, it is important to understand that the homeowner has an overwhelming advantage when you are trying to persuade them to buy your product. In sports, this is called “home field advantage”. You can reverse the effects of home field advantage with the “this is my office” attitude. YOUR OFFICE Convert every doorstep into your office. Your desk is your iPad, notebook or clipboard.

1. Organize your office by noting which way the door will open.
2. Do not block the customer’s view of the walkway to the door (this gives the customer a feeling of choice).
3. Position yourself in the personal zone, 3-4 feet from the door (Space Zones), on the side of the door that will open to you. Avoid the side of the door that will trap you behind the door, requiring you to move to meet the customer, thus, destroying the feeling of your office.
4. Now position yourself properly and use your desk as if you are busy pointing (writing phone numbers or names or you can just doodle—the point is to be busy). When the customer sees you busy (in your office), you communicate, “I am not a salesman, I’m a professional and I belong on your doorstep (my office).”

Now the advantage is yours. Proxemics is key to your pre-impression. With the attitude that “this is my office,” you will communicate confidence and establish control of the conversation. This advantage will continue in your initial approach.

THE CUSTOMER

As you walk up to the door of a customer, you should mentally review information that will help you understand what type of customer you will be selling to. This will help you identify the needs of the customer and thus tailor an effective initial approach (“Fitting In”). Ask yourself these questions as you approach the door: • What is the income level of the neighborhood? • Are the cars new or old? • What is the education level of the neighborhood? • What general ethnicity is the neighborhood? • How many other neighbors have solar panels? • Is the yard taken care of by a service or by themselves? • Is there evidence of children? Any questions that you can ask yourself to gather a pre-impression of the type of customer that you will be selling will help you tailor your initial approach.

Dressing the Part

Actors refer to dressing the part as “getting into character.” You dress the part to prepare you to use your body language effectively. This process starts before you ever leave your apartment or airbnb. What you wear, your haircut, what you carry, etc., communicates something. You need to assess what you want to tell a customer and then dress accordingly. Ask yourself this question, “What kind of solar representative am I?”

• The “neighborhood solar guy” here to help you and your friends.
  
• The “local solar expert” here to help the community
  
• The “Route Manager” here to maximize the route potential for your technicians and site surveyors who will be in the neighborhood the following weeks installing systems and doing site surveys.
  
  Choose your “part” and then determine the clothes your “part” will wear and what you will carry. For example, if you choose to be the Route Manager, what would a Route Manager look like? Would he/she carry a clipboard, or a notebook, and so on? Many accessories can help you feel and act your “part.”
  
  How you dress can indicate your social class, reveal your value, underscore your image, or make an artistic statement. Ideally, people should evaluate each other based on individual character, but the assumption of appearance not playing a part is naïve. In fact, it plays a HUGE part! Effective sales reps must cultivate good personalities. They must dress well, and appear professional, well groomed and in good physical shape. Details are important. All of a person’s actions and mannerisms add to his or her overall level of credibility. For a blunt application to sales: emo clothes, brand new flashy basketball shoes, face jewelry, pins on clothing and anything out of the ordinary for solar sales rep will distract customers and reduce your number of sales.
  

Space Zones:
Be aware of the space between you and your customer. You do not want to be too close and invade the customer’s privacy, yet you do not want to be so far that you cannot communicate effectively. Edward T Hall identified four main body-space dimensions or zones: Intimate, Personal, Social, and Public.

“By manipulating these distances, you can increase the speed with which warm, empathic bonds are formed and deepen the intensity of your relationship. Equally, it becomes possible to assert authority more easily, communicate status more swiftly, and impress your personality on others more effectively.”

Intimate Zone

Distance: 6-12 inches
This zone is reserved for relatives, a spouse, children, parents, and close friends.

If a customer opens their door and you start in this space, you will certainly be invad- ing. However, it can be very effective to use the intimate zone when you have gained the trust of the customer and you want to provoke a powerful increase in interest. Use the intimate zone sparingly and carefully. If used incorrectly, you will incite defensive behavior on the part of the customer.

Personal Zone

Distance: 18-48 inches

This is the hand-shaking zone and is reserved for casual friends, business acquaintances, neighbors, and colleagues. Literally, this zone is “arms length.”

On the doors, you want to be in the personal zone. Start out about 24-48 inches from a customer. This gives the customer, and you, enough space to read body language. If a customer backs away from you when they open the door, let them. They need space to observe you and your body language.

Social Zone

Distance: 4-12 feet

You may use this space if you run into a group of neighbors and give your initial approach to the group. However, for the most part, you will spend your selling time in the Personal Zone.

Public Zone

Distance: 12 feet +

This zone is mostly used for training or a speech. This zone is not useful on the doors, say “hello” in this zone when approaching someone who is in their front yard or garage so you don’t scare them.

Position

Where you stand in relation to a customer should never be left to chance. You should angle your body so that you are not standing square to the customer like a soldier at attention with your feet solidly planted; this is a confrontational position. Instead, turn your body to the side and put one foot behind the other in a relaxed manner. You can even turn your body completely to one side and look at them with your chin directly over your shoulder. This position will make it more natural for you to point at the other homes on the street that will be serviced. Stand, when possible, at an angle that will show the customers the logo on your shirt; this gives you a great deal of credibility. Scripting your position is very effective during your pre-impression. However, after you have started your initial approach feel free to move around. 

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