Today, the first interaction someone has with you is often downplayed and frankly not always taken seriously. When you meet with a big prospect face-to-face you wear your best suit and take the time to be totally prepared. You are establishing yourself for what we know as the first impression. But, today, this usually is not the first interaction they have with you. In fact, that first face-to-face meeting may never be possible unless the real first impression is impressive.

If a prospect is referred to you, the first real impression someone likely has is often your website or your LinkedIn profile. But the problem can begin if they can’t locate you online or if what they find is not up to date, clearly stated, or does not share the benefits of you and your firm.

Even worse, what if the information your interested prospect finds about you online doesn’t come close to matching the perception that they had in their mind of you after being referred? This disconnect between what they heard about you and what they see online could give them reason to pause. That pause can be the reason for not converting hard-earned referrals into appointments and sales. Ask yourself, does my online presence match who I really am?

Today, 9 out of 10 people will search for you online before coming in to visit with you. Why? Because they can (and should) conduct research and do some due diligence to find out about you and your firm before coming in to share their confidential personal financial information. Think about it – we go online if we are considering a new appliance, gadget, or new taco joint that opened down the road. If we are considering a financial professional, one whom we may invest our life savings with, we are even more likely to go online.

If you think you should be receiving more referrals based on the good job you are doing for your clients, look first to your first impression. Your clients are likely talking about you because you are doing the type of work they consider valuable. They are referring you to others. However, it is your website and overall online presence that may be the cause of unfortunate fumbles in the Red Zone – the very time that you are seconds away from converting those referrals into appointments and sales.