Sales Strategy
Body Language And Sales | October 11, 2016 (0 comments)
Merrick, NY—As the 2016 election season progresses, so do many media articles about body language. Political candidates have individual distinct body language, and so do the personnel on your sales floor. And your customers!
According to this Forbes’ article, How The Best Sales People Read Body Language, this skill is important: ‘When you are interacting with a prospective client, you are both communicating on two levels – one verbal, one nonverbal. And while the verbal interchange is obviously important, it may not be the most important when negotiations get tricky or subtle personality complications arise.’
Clearly reading body language can make or break a sale. Many experts believe that the great majority of communicating we do is through body language. Let’s take a look at a few things you need to know about the body language of your customers.
1. ‘Watch the eyes: Having presented your prospect with two written options, you observe that his gaze lingers longer on one than on the other. If, in addition, you see his eyes open wide or his pupils dilate, you know for certain that he has a much greater interest in this option.’ Source: How The Best Sales People Read Body Language
2. The ‘keeping’ gesture. Anytime a customer picks up a piece of jewelry (or takes it from you) and continues to hang onto it instead of returning it immediately, you know you have great initial interest.
3. Wondering if your customer is really that into you? ‘Cock your head to the side when hearing a friend’s sob story. This movement indicates that you’re interested and listening. On a more literal level, you’re revealing and angling your ear to her, physically showing that you want to hear every detail,’ says this article from Real Simple.
4. ‘Crossed arms and legs signal resistance to your ideas. Crossed arms and legs are physical barriers that suggest the other person is not open to what you’re saying. Even if they’re smiling and engaged in a pleasant conversation, their body language tells the story. Gerard I. Nierenberg and Henry H. Calero videotaped more than 2,000 negotiations for a book they wrote on reading body language, and not a single one ended in an agreement when one of the parties had their legs crossed while negotiating. Psychologically, crossed legs or arms signal that a person is mentally, emotionally, and physically blocked off from what’s in front of them. It’s not intentional, which is why it’s so revealing.’ From Entrepreneur.
5. ‘Real smiles crinkle the eyes. When it comes to smiling, the mouth can lie but the eyes can’t. Genuine smiles reach the eyes, crinkling the skin to create crow’s feet around them. People often smile to hide what they’re really thinking and feeling, so the next time you want to know if someone’s smile is genuine, look for crinkles at the corners of their eyes. If they aren’t there, that smile is hiding something.’ From Entrepreneur.
Top image: LinkedIn.com