Does lighting matter when a marketing consultant transacts business?

Research has shown that there are things a marketing consultant can do in a first face-to-face meeting that will make a great first impression and build rapport when transacting business. Knowing what to do and what not to do can prevent a sale from slipping away. Lighting is a very important factor.

This is why…
There are some things that work well and there are some strategies that are lucky, intuitive, or whatever.

First thing I would recommend: Anytime you are meeting people, especially in a restaurant, always come early and sit at the back of the restaurant, facing all the other human beings in the restaurant.

The person who will come to meet you will be forced to sit directly in front of you, and the only thing they will be able to see is you.

They may be able to hear things going on in the background, but can’t actually see anything; so you have 100% attention and essentially a perception that you are in full control of the environment.

The second thing is, if you have a choice of where to take people, there are some things that we know are more likely to sell.

If you take people to a restaurant that has dim lighting, the probability of getting a yes at the end of your proposal, presentation, whatever it is, is significantly higher than if you take the person to a restaurant that is well lit.

Why is that?

Because when the lighting is low, the pupils increase in size. So when you look at your prospect, you see pupils that are big and subconsciously, no one necessarily tells us this in school, we just know this from looking at babies that babies always have these big eyes, they’re happy.

We literally have all these wonderful, powerful associations with huge eyes.

When you look at a person in low light, their eyes are quite large. And there’s a feeling that people come in, a feeling that they’re comfortable, that things are okay, that this is okay, I like this person, they like me.

Speaking of tactics, that’s one of my favorite tactics of all time, it’s that combination of dim lighting and seating position in a restaurant. That’s worth $50 if people did that.

When choosing a venue to meet, inviting your client into a softly lit environment is your best bet for a fresh start. End of story.