Monthly Archives: February 2011

Making a First Impression Pt 2 – contest summary

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So, I wanted to be even more clear about the contests I announced the other day on this blog under “Making a First Impression.”

Dell has asked me as a social media and small business person, as well as a long time networker, to help find some good answers regarding a project they’re doing, and also to promote their new Vostro V130 laptop.

Contest summary:

  1. Starting Thursday 2/24 at 8am and going until Friday 2/25 at 8PM I’m asking you to give your best tips on making a first impression via Twitter. One entry per person, please. Be sure to use the Hashtag #tradesecrets and to copy me, @HowardGr. It’s important you follow me on Twitter since if you’re picked as the winner, I’ll have to direct message you the details.
  2. Contest 2. A Real-time twitter chat on Monday 2/28 at 2pm. Same idea – I’ll be asking questions about first impressions and looking for your responses, also with the hashtag #tradesecrets. This doesn’t require one entry a person – I’m hoping for some good chat engagement.

See the rules in the previous post. I hope you will participate and get a chance to win this nice, light, hot red laptop that I’ve been enjoying over the past few days.

*As disclosed in the previous post, this is a compensated gig, and I get to keep the laptop for that compensation. My opinions about the product are my own and not those of the agency or Dell or anyone.

Making a First Impression

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This week I’ll be reviewing a Dell Vostro 130 (disclosure*), and asking that you participate with me via Twitter to share your wisdom about first impressions. We’ll be having 2 different Twitter contests, and I’ll be able to give away 2 Dells, one to a participant in each event. Read on (right after you follow me on Twitter.)

Update: A summary of just the contest info is here.

All my readers know I’m passionate about helping small businesses succeed. I write my Inc.com Start-up Toolkit blog to give startups better tools, and I work with Wicked Start and write posts there regarding the 10 steps to take to start a company. And one of the key steps in starting or running a small company is to make a good first impression. Think of that impression as one of your  trade secrets.

The other day, we visited a deli that my wife’s friend started. She came out from behind the counter, gave us a big Italian hug and kiss, and proceeded to make our lunches a little extra special (Chicken Parmesan hero, but on Garlic bread instead of regular bread, mmm.) Meanwhile, customers came in and she and her husband greeted them by name. The ones they didn’t know, they were still friendly to, and I would suspect they’ll know they’re names soon enough. That first impression of a friendly neighborhood place will stick with these customers. But that’s only one kind of first impression.

Sometimes, you want to “wow” someone. Come up with something unexpected.  I received the package from Dell, and my first take was – Wow, a red laptop. Continue reading →