SCOTTSDALE, Ariz — Carly Fiorina has Donald Trump to thank for an opening line that got a big crowd of Republican women roaring on Friday evening.

"Ladies, look at this face," Fiorina said to loud, knowing cheers from the audience of roughly 600 Republican women at the National Federation of Republican Women convention. "This is the face of a 61-year-old woman. I am proud of every year and every wrinkle."

The former Hewlett Packard executive, and the only woman running for the GOP nomination, came to the stage to a standing ovation and received a few more as she confidently wandered the stage, delivering a speech with the same vigor and precision that brought her great praise at the first Republican debate.

"And look at all of your faces — the faces of leadership," she continued. "The faces of leadership in our party, the party of women's suffrage. The face of leadership in your community, in your businesses, in your places of work and worship. Ladies, note to the Democrat party: We are not a special interest group; we are the majority of the nation."

Fiorina is on a hot streak. She's up in the polls and has made it to next Wednesday's primetime GOP debate, albeit with the help of CNN's last-minute change in rules.

Anticipation for Fiorina's appearance, which kicked off the convention, was high. Staff at her booth outside of the ballroom said they had quickly run out of Fiorina signs, buttons and literature and were swarmed after the speech.

But while she showed she was able to fire up an important and reliable base of support — Republican women — she didn't quite close the sale with many in the audience. That's been her problem for weeks: She's impressive in person, but not most GOP voters' first choice.

Fiorina gave a modified version of her stump speech, focusing on her experience as a businesswoman who climbed the corporate ladder all the way from the bottom rung, where along the way she was once called a "token bimbo" by a male superior and chose to attend a client meeting at a strip club. 

Though Hillary Clinton was the only candidate she mentioned by name, the aura of Trump hung heavy in the air.

"Leadership is not about position," she said at one point. "It is not about how big your office is or how big your plane, or your helicopter, or your ego is. Leadership is about service."

Some of Fiorina's biggest cheers came when she said that one of her first calls as president would be to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, or how she wouldn't replace the thousands of retiring federal government workers in order to decrease "the weight, the power the cost, the complexity, the ineptitude and the corruption of the government." Jokes about Clinton "wiping her server with a towel" or about how a "man's hormones" affect his judgment were also raucously received.

As Fiorina finished her speech, the song "Taking Care of Business" played, and dozens of women jammed the stage, including one dressed head to toe as the Statue of Liberty and another holding her 6-week-old baby. Multiple women filing out of the ballroom were heard exclaiming "she was so good," and "that was fantastic."

"She was absolutely positive and powerful and had the message that we need for today — to be a leader who's going to be effective. I have not made up my mind yet but that may have just swayed me the little bit I was needing," said Teri Smith, a realtor from Lake Tahoe, Calif., as she surveyed the crowd around Fiorina.

Many other women, though, said that it was too early to fully commit to a candidate, though they supported Fiorina's contribution to the race.

"I believe she's extremely qualified," said Kathleen Anderson, a stay-at-home mom from Bountiful, Utah. "It bothers us to hear her spoken of as a vice presidential candidate."

Standing with Anderson, Lori Brinkerhoff, also from Utah, said she was disgusted by Trump and how he has treated Fiorina.

"He's a misogynist, clearly he's a misogynist. He sees women as sex objects, let's face it," she said.

"I haven't had any candidate that I've liked," said Michelle Scharf, a VP of government relations for a technology company. "But today I feel like I have someone I can say, 'They're on my radar.'"