Sales & Marketing Authority, Bestselling Author & Business Motivational Speaker

Very rarely do people realize how much their body movements, also known as body language, reveal about what they’re thinking or feeling. As a successful sales professional, its important for you to be able to read the body language of your prospects in order to determine if they’re really happy or if they have unanswered questions or concerns.

The four main areas of body language are eye contact (including eye brow gestures), facial expressions, torso and arm behavior, and leg activity. Today we’ll explore the eyes.

The eyes and eyebrows tell amazing stories. You can usually determine right away if someone understands what you’re saying by studing this area of the face. You can read both positive and negative emotions in the eyebrows, as follows:

• Direct eye contact usually means your audience is interested in you or likes you.
• Eyes that appear to be smiling are comfortable in your presence.
• Eyebrows that appear relaxed are also comfortable in your presence.
• Someone who makes very little eye contact (or none at all) is either lying, uncomfortable, distracted, or simply uninterested in what you have to say. They may also feel nervous and confined.
• Tension in the eyebrow region usually means your prospect is confused, tense, or fearful.

Knowing what these signs means will make it easier for you to communicate with your prospects.

What would you do if, for example, you asked a prospect if he had any questions but he responded “no” while scrunching his eyebrows. This indicates that, despite his verbal answer, he still has some sort of reservation or concern. Your job is to figure out what that concern is and address it.

Try not to “misread” people, though. If a car outside the window honks his horn your prospect may divert his eyes to see what is going on. That shouldn’t be taken as a sign of disinterest, especially if he brings his attention back to you again.

We’re going to spend some time exploring body language and hopefully this has given you a good foundation to start from. Start watching people’s eyes as you speak to them. You’ll be surprised at the signals they’re really sending.

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

Are you feeling motivated this week? Are the members of your sales team feeling motivated? They (and you) may feel as though business is crawling to a crippling halt but in reality you just need to find the business. I know I’ve said that before but I’m going to continue saying it until you get it. The economy is NOT slowing you down. Your mindset is.

So what are some things you can do to motivate your team?

• Start each morning with a very brief sales meeting. Make the meeting encouraging and don’t let anyone dwell on anything negative. Have a set agenda (a list of things you want to say), set everyone’s goals for the day, and then send them off to work.
• Make sure you pay attention to your employees throughout the course of the day. Salesmen don’t deserve to feel as though they’re being ignored for hours on end and a word or two of positive encouragement will go a long way. Make sure you check in on each member of your sales team at least two times every day and let them know you appreciate the work they’re doing.
• Have another very short meeting at the end of the day and let each member of your team share his or her greatest accomplishment of the day. Again, don’t allow anyone to dwell on anything negative.
• Make sure that you, as the manager, are motivated as well. Make contact with prior customers, learn about the industry, and make your own cold calls. Share your results with your team as well.

You, as the sales manager, need to not only make your own sales but keep your team motivated. If you can’t remain motivated yourself you shouldn’t be in the position you are in. A negative attitude will only drag sales down even more.

What do you do to motivate your team daily? Please share…

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

I know that I tell you over and over again that you should be prepared for anything when you walk into a sales meeting but today I’m going to take part of that statement back.

When you go on a sales call you should NOT walk in prepared to negotiate on your price. Don’t even consider it before the meeting.

It is, of course, ok to consider it later on if it becomes absolutely necessary to making the sale but here’s the problem. The average salesman, upon deciding in advance to lower his price, will actually do so at some point during the meeting whether he is really pressed to do so or not. He already has the lower price in mind and he thinks it’ll drive the sale. Wrong.

The product you are offering is solid and valuable. Why do you need to discount it? No reason? I didn’t think so.

Besides, if you discount your products every time you make a sale you will end up taking away from your own commissions. Surprised by that? Don’t be. Did you really think your employer would want to give the discount out of his portion of the profit?

Negotiation is a great tool – when it’s appropriate. Be prepared to negotiate on other points (services, accomodations, etc) but don’t make a decreased price part of your thought process. Doing so will only hurt your bottom line.

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

If I were to walk up to you today and ask you about your sales numbers, what would you say?

“Well, the economy is a bit rough right now…”

“My sales seem to have declined but I think the economy will turn around soon…”

“Great! I haven’t really been impacted by the economy…”

I love the last answer and, honestly, it’s the response a true salesperson will give.

The truth? Those who are hurting now probably struggled to get sales before the economy shifted. Those who are successful now were probably successful before.

The difference between these two groups? One knows where to look for new customers, is effective at networking, and makes successful contact with new prospects. The other group is – well – not so skilled.

The point of this post is to remind you that the economy itself really has nothing to do with your success as a salesperson. Your mindset regarding sales and marketing plays a huge role in your ability to meet new people and find new opportunities. Trust me when I say the opportunities are out there. You merely have to hunt them down.

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker