First impressions

First impressions

'First impressions count' is one of those old maxims drummed into you as a kid by your parents, your teachers, and probably your first boss. And it is never truer in this business.

How many fund managers have you taken an instant dislike to because they were pompous? How many salespeople have you met who reminded you of David Brent? And how many clients ask the most annoying first question (how much will it cost?) so you almost wish they would go elsewhere? I suspect we can all think of examples in all of these categories – but it does not happen anywhere near as often as it used to five, 10, or 20 years ago. This is because the industry is more professional and a lot of the dead wood has been found out for being just that, floating off to work as estate agents or...