your legs just crossat the ankles.
And here are some don’ts
Don’t slouch.

Don’t look down at notes, out of the window, atthe ceiling.

Don’t doodle.

Don’t physically turn away.

Don’t fold your arms tightly across your body.

Don’t growl, frown, or use cynical expressions.

Don’t fidget, play with your hair, tap a pen or jiggleyour leg.
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EASY STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL SELLING
In summary
Body language can be used to create an impression.

You can read what the other person is thinking andfeeling through the use of their body language.

You need to be aware of your own body languageand be able to interpret the use of the prospect’sbody language.

You can also use body language to build rapport withthe prospect.

Personal distance varies from country to country.

If the prospect leans forward when you saysomething it shows interest in what you have justsaid. This is a buying signal - capitalise on it bystrengthening your benefit and asking openquestions of the prospect.

If the prospect sits back, folds their arms or rubstheir ear that means they don’t much like what youare saying.

Rubbing the eyes can mean that the person doesn’tlike what they see.

People who put their hand over their mouth whenspeaking are often said to be lying.
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I N SUMMARY

Rubbing the neck can often mean someone is tiredbut it can also mean the individual is embarrassedabout something.

You can also build rapport by mirroring theprospect’s body language.

Avoid defensive gestures i.e. closed body language.This means crossed legs, crossed arms and sittingwell back and stiffly in your seat.

You will find that hostile or defensive people willeither avoid eye contact with you or give you hardeye contact.

Maintain good eye contact with your prospectthroughout the sales interview.

Sit upright and forward to convey real interest.

If you need to take notes always ask permission first.

Don’t take too many, as you will lose eye contactwith the prospect.
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11Selling to different personalitiesFinally then we return to the maxim ‘ People buy people.’I say finally, but this is by no means the least importantaspect in the selling process. It is in fact highly important.It follows that if someone likes you they are more inclinedto buy from you. However, everyone is different. You thinkyou’re normal but what is normal? How do you sell topeople who are not like you?To be a good sales person you need to have anunderstanding of people and that different things willmotivate different people. Remember our buyer behaviourin Chapter 2? In addition, remember the subjectivereasons for buying that we examined in Chapter 2.In order to provide you with a greater understanding ofthis, I am going to look at a fairly simple model of sellingto the different personality types. Obviously no-one fallsinto one particular ‘type’ and people are much morecomplex than I am illustrating, but this will at least giveyou some idea of how to motivate and sell to differentpeople.Alongside this model you should also take intoconsideration a person’s intellectual capacity and theirbehaviour,. Both of these will affect how they react andrelate to you and likewise you to them.
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D OMINANT I NDIVIDUALS
As you go through the models of personality traits see ifyou can spot where your main personality traits lie. If youhave ever undertaken a personality profile this will revealyour main characteristics both in normal circumstancesand how you respond under stress. Personality traits areinherited.There are four basic ‘types.’ I have called them:
DominantSocialMeasuredCompliant
Dominant IndividualsThese are people with a high degree of dominance in theirpersonality. As a result they can be authoritative and rathersuperior. They are often time driven and very timeconscious and therefore are intolerant of time wasters, orpeople they perceive as time wasters. If you hear someonesay that they don’t tolerate gladly, then this is a classicDominant statement. The superiority in their personalitymakes them less able to understand and relate to otherswho aren’t like them. Dominants are usually fairly quickindividuals both in speech and manner. Therefore, if theyare dealing with someone who is slower speaking or moremeasured in their approach, Dominants can becomeimpatient. Dominants can also be ambitious people so youcan often find them at the top of the hierarchy but notalways necessarily so. Dominants are not really teamplayers, even if they say they are; their team is often one –
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EASY STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL SELLING
themselves. They like being in control and will often takecharge if in a group situation. They usually have lots ofideas and like solving problems but they do not like a lotof detail. They prefer to leave this to others.How to recognise Dominant Individuals?You may already have a good idea of how to recognise aDominant. They will use dominant body language for astart. Their handshake will often be outstretched takingup more space than is normal and the grip will be veryfirm. In addition, those with very high Dominance in theirpersonality will often position their hand so that it is ontop of yours, or they will give you the double clutchhandshake, or touch the top of your arm when shakinghands. Sometimes they may hold onto your hand longerthan is usual, again a very dominant statement. Theirspeech will be direct. They will not take time for socialchitchat but will want to get right to the point. They willmake flat assertions like ‘You’re too expensive.’ Or ‘Comeon, then sell to me’ and will like putting you on the spot.They are quick decision makers and if you win one ofthese over you will close the sale there and then. Therewill be no pussy-footing about and mind changing.Selling to Dominant IndividualsDominants are motivated by status so it is likely they willalso have the status symbols like the big car, and the bigoffice and chair, or the expensive watch and designeraccessories. They do have an ego which - if you recall thepositive buying motivations mentioned in Chapter Three- you as the sales person will need to respond to. This– 104 –
S OCIAL I NDIVIDUALS
prospect is saying to you ‘I am even more important’, so ifyou miss out those situation questions then you’ve blownit. Make sure your questions are businesslike, relevant andto the point.In addition you will need to satisfy the subjective reasonsfor buying which might include: to satisfy and feed anego or to satisfy the need for power and recognition.When selling to Dominants don’t give them the detail.For example, don’t go through the proposal step by stepor they will quickly get bored and irritated and cut youshort. Tell them what you’re going to do for them andhow you’re going to save them time and make them moresuccessful, powerful, happy etc..Be clear, specific, brief and to the point. Use timeefficiently and stick to the business in hand. You need toshow that you are well prepared and that you know yourproduct/service thoroughly. Provide them with facts andfigures but don’t overburden them.
Social IndividualsSocials are individuals who like people and who like to beliked. Dominants don’t have such a high need to be liked.Socials are often good at selling because they are the mostnatural at mirroring people and at adapting a style thatwill suit the person opposite them. They are saying ‘I wantyou to like me.’
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EASY STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL SELLING
Socials are adaptable, flexible and participative. These arethe team players but being adaptable means they canchange their minds.Recognising a Social individualYou may still get the firm handshake but with lessdominant body language. The elbow will be tucked intothe waist and there won’t be such a firm attempt to placetheir hand over yours.Status is as important to Socials as it is to Dominants soyou could get the big car and the designer accessories.Where you will see the difference, and hear it, though isin the use of body language and the amount of socialchitchat this person has with you. Socials will be offeringyou a coffee, seeing that you are comfortable, asking howthe journey was, and so on. They will be putting you atyour ease.Look at the pictures on their walls. Socials will often havepictures of their families and achievements, much the sameas dominants will. However, when you ask a Social aboutthe picture he will start chatting to you about the familyor the golf day, whereas our Dominant individual isunlikely to talk about his family, will cut the social chitchatoff and focus on what you’ve gone there for.Selling to Social individualsThese people are motivated by ideals and visions. So youwill need to show them how your products/services cansupport those visions and ideals.– 106 –
M EASURED INDIVIDUALS
Leave plenty of time for socialising and relating to themand take time to socialise at the beginning of the interview.The Approach stage could take much longer because youmay end up talking about the family or the golf swingbefore getting down to the business. Again, Socials arenot great detail lovers so put anything technical, or all thedetails, in writing afterwards. Provide ideas for helpingthem. Pursue a supporting relationship and leave on afriendly social note. With regard to the subjective reasonsfor buying, you are satisfying the need for respect andapproval and the need to reinforce group identity.
Measured individualsMeasured individuals are more logical and analytical. Theyare steady and measured in their approach. They are oftensecurity minded and don’t like a lot of change. These typesmay be harder to sell to because they are usually scepticaland suspicious of new ideas but, once you have made thesale, they are often loyal.Measured individuals are consistent and patient. Theydon’t like taking risks and can be plodders. However, theycan also be very efficient.Many engineers fall into this category because they areattracted to that occupation by its analytical methodicalapproach. Lawyers, accountants and professional buyersmay also fall into this personality type.
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EASY STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL SELLING
Recognising measured individualsMeasured individuals can often be slower speaking andmore quietly spoken. There will be silences in theconversation which, if you have a lot of dominance in yourpersonality, can be difficult for you. You will need to curbyour desire to rush in and ask another question or finishtheir sentences for them.They are not motivated by status so the designeraccessories, big cars etc. will be missing. In addition therewill be no dominant body language; the handshake canbe firm or weaker. Their dead giveaway though, unlessthey are very skilled in hiding it, is their facial expressionand body language. Measured individuals will be lookingat you rather sceptically. They will sit well back in theirchair with their arms folded, not necessarily with hostility,but they will reserve judgment on you and what you aresaying until they have weighed you up have decidedwhether they like you or not.They will also procrastinate, which makes it a lot harderfor you to close the sale.Responding to measured individualsYou will need to take time to break the ice and makeyourself agreeable. Your open questions are vital here.These are the people who will simply give you a one-wordanswer if you ask a closed question. They won’t help youout like our Social individuals will.
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C OMPLIANT I NDIVIDUALS
You will need to be sincere and show a genuine interest inthe prospect as a person. Take time to find areas ofcommon ground. Be honest and open and patiently drawout the prospect’s goals in a non-threatening manner. Slowdown, move casually and informally. Provide lots ofassurances and give clear specific solutions with maximumguarantees. Give them the detail. If you don’t, they willask for it. These are also the people who will often knowmore about your product than you do - they’ve spentweeks or even months researching what boat or car tobuy. You can’t fob them off. When closing you will haveto direct them. You will need to help them make up theirmind but don’t rush them. If you do, you will lose thesale completely.
Compliant IndividualsCompliant individuals want to comply with the rules andregulations. This means they are usually very systematic,precise, hyper-efficient and bureaucratic. These peoplelove detail, the more the better.They can often be shy and self-effacing and will probablyneed a great deal of assurance. Their compliant naturemeans they can often be easily agreeing which makes itdifficult for the salesperson to know what they genuinelythink and feel.They are punctual and like punctuality in others. Coupledwith a high intellect, these people are attracted to jobs likesystems analysts, researchers, scientists, and so on.
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EASY STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL SELLING
Recognising Compliant individualsWith the compliant individual you may get lowered eyecontact and fidgeting mannerisms. There will be nodominant body language, in fact the body language ismuch more likely to be submissive. The handshake canbe perfunctory and not terribly firm. Compliantindividuals can often speak quietly and can be vague.Responding to Compliant individualsCompliant individuals need a great deal of detail. Theywill want a full explanation giving reasons. You will needto give them plenty of time to make up their mind butgently direct them towards the close.Be straightforward in your approach, stick to the businessin hand and build credibility by listing the pros and consto any suggestions you make. Reassure them that therewon’t be any surprises. Be realistic and accurate andprovide solid, tangible, practical evidence in the form oftestimonials. They need time to make a decision, just asour measured individuals do.
Men selling to women and womenselling to menMen and women have different styles of communication.You will need to recognise this and play to it in your salesinterview. Of course there are men with the female styleof communication and females who have adopted the male
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M EN SELLING TO WOMEN AND WOMEN SELLING TO MEN
style of communication but let’s take a look at thesedifferent styles.A woman’s style of communication is generally moresocial than the male of the species. By this I mean thatwomen need background information about one another.They will talk about their families, their houses, theirholidays, their jobs, their bosses, their colleagues and theirfeelings and thoughts. Men sometimes call this gossipingbut it isn’t, not to a woman anyway. It is the female styleof communication. Some men naturally have this style ofcommunication too and consequently are very good attalking to and selling to women.Generally though, the male style of communication is farmore direct. Men don’t need this social backgroundinformation. They don’t need to know about family andhome circumstances. They see it as unnecessary.The more Social type of Individual mentioned in theprevious section will, if it is a man, want the social chitchat;but this, man-to-man, will be based around four majorareas; cars, football or sport, women and work.If a female has more of the Dominant Personality thenshe will exhibit more of the male style of communicationand therefore be more direct in her communication style.Quite often women who work in male dominatedorganisations, and who have reached managementpositions, have adopted this male style of communicationeither accidentally or by design.
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EASY STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL SELLING
The salesmanThe salesman will need to ascertain whether or not thewoman prospect he is selling to is a dominant personality.If she is then he will respond accordingly, be direct, leavingout the social chitchat. If she isn’t then he would do wellto take time to socialise more, get to know the woman asa person, find out more about her backgroundcircumstances, her likes and dislikes etc.. Some men arevery wary of doing this, as they are afraid that it sounds asif they are ‘chatting up’ the woman. Those men with verystrong male styles of communication find this verydifficult. To them, women are often a foreign species. AllI can advise is that they should practice the OpenQuestions. This will help them sound more natural inthe socialising process. And remember, it is even morevital if selling to a measured or compliant female. It willtake longer and more open questions to break the ice.
The saleswomanIf the saleswoman is selling to a male prospect then unlesshe has the female style of communication (which shewon’t know until he starts asking her about her familybackground) she needs to avoid any attempt at the socialchitchat and talk business. Women need to be more directin their communication with men. They need to stick tothe business in hand. It will be pointless trying to relate tothe man by talking about cars or football because, even ifshe is the world’s expert on both these subjects, it isunlikely the man will respond. Football and cars are partof the male communication process and a woman talkingon these matters can often be viewed, mentally, as invadingmale territory.– 112 –
I N SUMMARY
In summary
To be a good salesperson you need to have anunderstanding of people.

You should take into consideration a person’spersonality, their intellectual capacity and theirbehaviour all of which will affect how they reactand relate to you and likewise you to them.

There are four basic ‘personality types.’DominantSocialMeasuredCompliant.

Recognising them and responding to them can helpdrive the sales process forward.

A woman’s communication style means she willgenerally need more background information aboutthe person she is doing business with than a manrequires.

The male style of communication is far more direct.Men don’t need the background information.

Men selling to women should therefore take moretime to find out about the woman as a person, whilstwomen selling to men should be more direct in theirapproach.
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EASY STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO SUCCESSFUL SELLING
ChecklistsMost common mistakes of sales people
Lack of preparation. This includes lack of product/service knowledge.

No knowledge and understanding of the featuresand benefits.

Misjudges the decision maker and ignorescompletely the other party in the sales process.

Poor grooming – sloppy and inappropriate for thetarget audience.

Likes to talk and usually about themselves and theirproducts/services.

Opens up the conversation with his spiel and sticksto it.

Doesn’t ask open questions.

Poor summarising skills – just carries on with hissales spiel.

Overuse of prospect’s name – insincere.

Doesn’t listen and can’t answer the questions theprospect is asking.
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C HECKLIST

Is patronising – misjudges the level ofcommunication.

Ignores the objections or treats them defensively.Then starts to preach to the prospect.

Won’t take no for an answer!
Checklist for the good salesperson
Is genuine and sincere.

Knows his products.

Is interested in people.

Listens and asks open questions.

Uses silences to good effect.

Treats objections sincerely and the prospect as anintelligent, interesting individual.

Helps people to buy by closing effectively.

Always leaves on a positive note.
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