When prospects meet with you for the first time, they usually already feel positive, negative or neutral about doing business with you. And how they feel when they come to you will likely be a critically important factor determining whether they will eventually do business with you or not.

Our predispositions often play out the way we thought they would. It’s not really a mystery, just human nature and psychology. If people come to the table wanting to work with you, they will find reasons to support their initial thoughts – even if you don’t have a perfect presentation. If they come to the table NOT really wanting to work with you, only willing to hear what you have to say – they will be consciously or subconsciously looking for reasons to be right and not choose you. It is true in politics, in business, in dating, and in life. We want to be “right,” and often, that need overshadows many other factors.

If I come to the table wanting to like you and do business with you, I will likely find a reason to do so. Have you given people a reason to come to the table wanting? That’s what marketing is supposed to do – but is it working?

Instead of having to put on the hard sell at the end of your seminar, what if attendees came to their own conclusions that they would like to work with you? What if your website made people feel they have arrived at the right place, and your firm could truly serve them? What if your clients were powerful advocates promoting your positives and generating referrals? It’s possible, of course. But can we make it happen more?

I believe the goal of your marketing is to share what you do, focused on creating a positive aura around your business. Give your prospects a reason to say, “I knew it!” or “I told you so!” …in a positive way, of course!