The biggest negative body language mistake that business people often fall fowl of is so simple you’ll kick yourself for doing it.
Body language under stress
Most accomplished salespeople will deny they do it but the biggest body language blunder is bring our hands in front of our bodies.
You only get one chance to make a first impression and so it becomes even more important in your first few meetings.
Sound simple? It is.
Generally when we feel stressed we cross our arms or clasp them together in front of us.
Consciously your mind is on the tricky question the prospect has just raised.
Unconsciously we’re feeling stress, raising our arms and getting ready to fight or defend ourselves.
This demonstrates just how much faster society has progressed compared with the fundamentals of our brains patterns of thinking.
The prospects reaction
Again, unconsciously you’re signalling to your prospect that perhaps they should be raising their hands.
Perhaps someone’s going to club them over the head with a large stick and steal the berries they’ve been collecting for the past few hours.
50,000 years ago those berries were a very valuable resource!
Consciously they’re probably realising that you’re a little thrown by their question and they can sense that you’re under stress and being defensive.
The solution?
It’s as simple as the problem.
Take a deep breath, be concious that you’re in a little bit of uneven water but you’ll get out the other side just fine.
Smile more. Drop your arms down by your sides.
Your goal in any sales interaction or negotiation is to be the dude that cares least.
Counter-intuitive?
At first perhaps but think deeper.
If your product is so freaking marvellous then sure you’ll be excited to share it with a prospect. You’ve got the opportunity to really improve someone’s life here right?!
However you’re not desperate to sell it to them.
There is no stress in your body language, voice or communication because you know it’s that good that if they don’t want it someone else will .
If you can put this across you will find their guard drop immediately and they’ll be much easier to sell to.
The Expert
Dr. Nick Morgan is one of America’s top communication theorists and coaches. A passionate teacher, he is committed to helping people find clarity in their thinking and ideas – and then delivering them with panache.
He has been commissioned by Fortune 50 companies to write for many CEOs and presidents.
Learn more – Publicwords.com
For more expert sales training check out – SalesSchool.org
