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How To Increase Sales Before You Ever Say A Word

Guest post by: Merit Gest

Article Overview: Increasing sales is something on every salesperson & sales manager's radar screen. This article is not about making one more call or practicing your script. It's the secret to doing all sales activities well... and it's in every one of us.

How To Increase Sales Before You Ever Say A Word

By now it's a safe bet that the New Year's resolutions have gone by the wayside and you are back into normal routines and comfort zones. This may seem an unlikely bit of advice from a sales and business consultant, but if you want to get your sales up, you might have to get your body up off the couch, or out from behind your desk. Of the fifteen emotional intelligence attributes we can assess self-regard is one of the most critical to being successful in a sales or sales management role. Self-regard is defined as your ability to recognize yourself as basically good. A high degree of self-regard allows you the opportunity to perform well in your role; while it is not a guarantee of top performance, it does give you much higher potential than a peer with lower self-regard.

Consider this scenario: two sales people representing two different companies call on the same prospect. Harry has high self-regard and Larry has lower self-regard. The prospect says, "I like what you've got but you are going to have to sharpen your pencil."

I should mention that both Harry & Larry have been through basic sales training 101 where they learned what to say to answer the prospect, but in the real world, Larry buckles. It's not that he doesn't know what to say, but low self-regard dictates his every move so out of his mouth comes, "I understand. I'll see what we can do." Kiss of death. The prospect will always know how to play Larry and it's not likely he'll get the business.

Harry, on the other hand, is able to execute what he's practiced in role plays and says, "are you asking about pricing or terms?" or "I can appreciate that, we are never the lowest price, but can we go back to what you told me about the costs involved if the equipment is down for a full day?"

High self-regard gives you access to what you learned in skills training.

Recently I was debriefing an emotional intelligence assessment with a client who was surprised that his self regard score was low. When I looked at how he answered specific questions that led to the self regard score, it was clear that this image of his physical presence was lowering the score.

When you are not comfortable or happy with your outside appearance it shows up on the inside as well.

A basic principle of human dynamics is that people do business with people they like and people like people who are like them. Who would you identify with, Harry or Larry? Your prospects consider themselves to be the "Harrys" of the world. They want to be around other Harrys. If you look like a Larry on the outside, it's highly unlikely you feel like a Harry on the inside.

So, what can you do if you think your outside is sabotaging how you feel on the inside?

• Get your body moving. Whatever type of physical exercise appeals to you - do it. Get the endorphins flowing through your body. Think of them as self regard energizers.

• Do your own closet audit and get rid of every piece of clothing that doesn't fit or that makes you feel anything less than fabulous. You may need to enlist a friend to help you or find a professional image consultant who can also teach you about color and body shape complimenting styles

• Set up your own make-over day. Do you need an updated haircut, whiter teeth, manicure (men too!), even a shoe shine can put some zip in your step.

Little things can make a big difference. Take care of yourself, and your heightened self regard will increase your sales and your sense of self-worth.

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Article Tags: emotional intelligence, increase sales, sales, selfregard
Referred by: http://www.salesleadershipdevelopment.com



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