Guy Reams (00:01.038)
Today is Day 175, the best time is spent on the front end.
So the power of first impressions is pretty significant. I don't think we realize just how ingrained our ability as humans to discern very quickly and make immediate decisions about whether something is good or bad for us. I mean, I don't know if we have control over this. This is probably millions of years of evolution where we're suddenly able to make very quick decisions because we've had to.
Our entire lives, the entire time the humans have been on this planet, we have had to survive. And so in order to do so, we've had to be very discerning very quickly. So we are really good at judging something rapidly to make a decision. I've noticed that most humans will make a decision pretty quickly in a process.
And then they will spend the rest of their time justifying their initial decision. This is a critical understanding of human nature. If you're ever trying to sell something to somebody or convince somebody to do something or trying to encourage somebody to partner with you or trying to convince somebody to hire you, it doesn't matter what it is. When you initially present that offer to them, they are going to make an instant decision. It doesn't matter.
how much they will pretend that they're going to go through a process or whatever. They will make a decision right away. And then the rest of your communication to them will be either to confirm or deny their initial decision. You absolutely want them to make the right decision initially right off the bat. Otherwise, you're fighting a giant uphill battle. This is why it's really important.
Guy Reams (02:01.198)
put most of your efforts on the front end of this process rather than the back end. A great book that I've been reading, that I've read a lot in my life, I go back to it frequently, is called Let's Get Real or Let's Not Play by Mahon Khalsa. It's a popular sales book. It's used as a training manual in the Stephen Covey leadership training series. But the book is, there's one chapter in the book that,
was probably the most impactful on me. And it was, I think, the last chapter. And it's funny because they spend the whole time in the book talking about how you can better sell value to a customer, but they don't ever talk about how to get said customer. And finally, at the very end of the book, they talk about their process of getting more customers to want to talk to you.
So in that section, they talk about this idea of preparation is worth far more than back end deliberation. So salespeople will oftentimes get an opportunity, and then they will spend all this time building the proposal. Well, the time on the proposal is time well worth spent, but the customer has probably already made their decision.
What you're doing now is simply justifying what decision the customer made. Better to have the customer already decided to go with you so that the work of building the proposal is so much easier. Because usually the customer is coaching you through the process. That thought from that book has always stuck with me. So every time I'm meeting with somebody or talking to somebody, I'm thinking in my mind they are making their decision right now. Is that a good decision or a bad decision?
It is best to be over prepared for that initial conversation so that you can increase the likelihood that they will make a decision that is in your favor.
Guy Reams (04:06.35)
So if it's whether it's working on a project or working on a sales process, it doesn't matter what it is. You want to spend as much time as you can, whether it be a new website, new campaign, new sales effort, new project, whatever it is, you want to spend as much time as you can upfront preparing to make sure that what you're doing fits the ideal customer. Now, you may notice this, that whenever you start a new project,
It's exciting at first, but then immediately it starts to slow down. And that can be a bit frustrating. But in reality, that slowdown is for a reason. Because you have to get the messaging right. It has to fit. And you know this instinctively. So when you start thinking in your mind's eye, OK, this project is now going to be presented to another person, you know that that person is going to judge that quickly. Because you would do the same thing. This is why it slows down.
because instinctively you know that you have to spend that extra time to get it right. So don't get frustrated. Don't rush that process. Preparing for that initial conversation is the most important thing you can do in the process. So I would not rush things. I would not push through that process. This is where you want to spend the most time. Overcoming somebody's first impression is usually an uphill battle if it's not in your favor.
So by focusing our preparation time, making sure we spend the right time and not chasing shortcuts can guarantee us greater success when we launch a new project, pitch a new campaign, or whatever it happens to be. And thank you.