A Most Telling Sign
A Most Telling Sign
The Great American Business Gesture is the simple handshake. Almost every introduction starts with one and the variety of ways that people can shake hands is staggering. People can tell a lot about you simply by the way you shake hands. What does your handshake say about you?
A good handshake should be firm, without being a bone-crusher. Think about reaching out to pick up a kitten. You’ll have to have enough pressure to hold on but not so much that you hurt it. Too weak a handshake or the famous “limp rag” is just plain gross and may make your prospect recoil in disgust.
When reaching out to greet someone, extend your hand palm slightly up and, as you make contact, turn your hand so that it is straight up and down. You’ll be perceived neither as aggressive (like those who extend their hands back on top) or weak (as those who keep their hand palm up).
Make sure that your palm and the prospect’s palm come in full contact if possible and wrap your fingers around the other person’s hand. To do this you’ll have to connect all the way at the base of your thumbs which will prevent the icky fingertip handshake from happening. Palms touching with wrapped fingers will give you a warm, welcoming grip and will set the stage well for establishing a strong relationship.
Be careful if you are coming across a room to greet someone as often happens when meeting them from a waiting room. Don’t stride across the room with your arm extended, it looks too eager or aggressive, but rather come to a full stop and then extend your hand.
A good handshake should last only about three seconds, with a few gentle pumps up and down. Don’t hold on for dear life and please don’t add that second hand and smother the poor prospect. Likewise, too quick a handshake appears shifty and deceitful so stay connected for a few seconds.
One last note on handshakes - don’t obsess about your handshake with a new prospect. You’ll end up being too tense and probably negating all your best intentions. Like anything else you want to perfect, practice with some people you know. Get a group together in your office or in a group you belong to and critique each other’s styles. Be honest and be prepared to hear some honest feedback yourself. A few minutes practice will keep you from losing a sale in the first 30 seconds of meeting.
A Most Telling Sign - To learn more about this author, visit Laura Posey's Website.
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Body language is a hot topic these days with everyone wondering what a prospect means by every little gesture he makes. Yet many people turn off prospects with one little gesture in the first 30 seconds of the meeting. Do you know what it is?
The Great American Business Gesture is the simple handshake. Almost every introduction starts with one and the variety of ways that people can shake hands is staggering. People can tell a lot about you simply by the way you shake hands. What does your handshake say about you?
A good handshake should be firm, without being a bone-crusher. Think about reaching out to pick up a kitten. You’ll have to have enough pressure to hold on but not so much that you hurt it. Too weak a handshake or the famous “limp rag” is just plain gross and may make your prospect recoil in disgust.
When reaching out to greet someone, extend your hand palm slightly up and, as you make contact, turn your hand so that it is straight up and down. You’ll be perceived neither as aggressive (like those who extend their hands back on top) or weak (as those who keep their hand palm up).
Make sure that your palm and the prospect’s palm come in full contact if possible and wrap your fingers around the other person’s hand. To do this you’ll have to connect all the way at the base of your thumbs which will prevent the icky fingertip handshake from happening. Palms touching with wrapped fingers will give you a warm, welcoming grip and will set the stage well for establishing a strong relationship.
Be careful if you are coming across a room to greet someone as often happens when meeting them from a waiting room. Don’t stride across the room with your arm extended, it looks too eager or aggressive, but rather come to a full stop and then extend your hand.
A good handshake should last only about three seconds, with a few gentle pumps up and down. Don’t hold on for dear life and please don’t add that second hand and smother the poor prospect. Likewise, too quick a handshake appears shifty and deceitful so stay connected for a few seconds.
One last note on handshakes - don’t obsess about your handshake with a new prospect. You’ll end up being too tense and probably negating all your best intentions. Like anything else you want to perfect, practice with some people you know. Get a group together in your office or in a group you belong to and critique each other’s styles. Be honest and be prepared to hear some honest feedback yourself. A few minutes practice will keep you from losing a sale in the first 30 seconds of meeting.
A Most Telling Sign - To learn more about this author, visit Laura Posey's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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