Small Business sales help Part 7 of 8

Part 7 of 8 growing your sales

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Dressing for success is required in sales
Today the old door to door salesperson is more of a thing of our youth than a reality of today. The Internet has added to the casual dress that we see from the upper management to the important person that sweeps the warehouse floor.

The old cliché is, you can never be overdressed
When a human selects to be a salesperson, they need to be aware that there is a lot that comes with the job, more then just the cloths they wear.

Salespersons overall appearance
To be a level three salesperson the requirements for personal appearance go far beyond the cloths you wear, we are going to look at your teeth, breath, voice, overall smell, skin, body movements, eye contact, physical fitness, hair and finally your power when entering a room.

11 successful traits of a Level 3 salespersons personal self

Dress code
Logic will not say that each outfit the salesperson wears needs to cost $2000.00 or more but what they should be is neutral colors complete with a tie not too flashy shoes that are clean not scuffed including the bottoms of you were to cross your legs which by the way is a defensive move in meetings. A watch time is important, time is money to you and the potential customer.
Jewelry including rings, watches, earrings and bracelets should be applied in light moderation. Never wear short socks and be sure they match at all times, for men, no one wants to see your legs. Women wear pantyhose they are professional if you are wearing a dress or skirt otheriiwse Logic preferres dress slackes they are far more professional overall.

Teeth
Hopefully the salesperson has all of their teeth to start with then they should be straight and today the level three salesperson would have had those teeth professionally whitened like even Logic has had done.

Breath
Sales can be and up and close relationship, though not to close we are selling products here not sex fulfillment, at least we hope that while the salesperson has a sexual appeal because sex sells we do not want to ever cross the sex line in business.
When the super salesperson has his teeth whitened they more then likely have a dental plan that affords them the ability to see a dentist three or more times a year, this is good for our health and it plays an amazing roll on our natural breath scent.
Breath mints are important but carry only those types that do not rattle like a set of keys in your purse or pocket.
When out on sales calls or at meetings it is important to steer clear of the known bad breath foods actually the professional salesperson will participate, like in consuming alcohol while with potential customers they eat lightly same as they drink showing reframe and calm conveys a great personal control, this is viewed upon as a salespersons strength. 

Voice
When it comes to our voices, one would think we are born with and while yes we are it can over time be refined to be A more assertive, B more caring, C hone the clarity of words educate yourself with precision words but not so over the top your prospective customer gets lost on the conversation.
If your number one language is not English you might think this is a disadvantage, actually having a foreign accent or tongue can play a roll in your conversation making the new set of ears hearing you for the very first time pay more attention to the conversation, it is up to you to hone your vocal skills and romanticize your accent to your favor, you can do this through practice. 

Overall smell
We really know the importance that ones body emits can enhance the closing of that big deal, too much perfume or cologne can be overwhelming, over controlling, like with the neutral suits colors, near natural scent from the body can work well to not outshine, or out smell the potential customer, remember the customer is the star here super salespersons. 

Skin
Regardless of our gender race or skin color it is best to have a healthy skin in appearance, clean skin is really important, it is also true that if a white skinned person is too pail from a lack of sunlight that they are likely to convey a non active look all through their skin color so if you are really just not an outdoor person then welcome yourself to the tanning salon again everything in moderation including makeup for the female salesperson. If your natural skin color is yellow then the white skin rules will fit you best. If you are black, or brown skinned then a reduction in the amount of sunlight exposure might make you a bit more neutral, especially with those professionally whitened teeth.

Body language
Logic hit on a little body language above when discussing the bottoms of our salesperson shoes, it is important at all times to sit up straight, never cross our legs or arms because these are defensive moves in a meeting. Utilizing your arms to express descriptions and show an appearance of your product is fine and encouraged.
After all you do not want to sit like you would in a church.

Eye contact
One if not the single most important things we can do is to concentrate never drift off during a conversation with a potential customer and there is a reason this eye contact explanation is right below the body language description they the body and the eyes are connected as body language however the eyes are the single most important function while listening to your prospect. The prospect is sharing important information with you, they might even test you by looking into your eyes to see if your ears are listening so focus on your potential customers make magnetic eye contact when appropriate.
Through your eyes you can share with these potential customers that you are generally concerned as to their needs and concerns about doing business with you or the company you work with or for.
Logic struggles in the eye to eye contact area, always floating off to never, never land, my point here, recognize your shortcomings and work at improving them everyday, over time.

Physical fitness
Read this one carefully, we are not thinking you need nor should you look like Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hunk) but being moderately fit and toned is a real on the ball look that will take you far in the salesperson position. One major benefit to looking in shape is that people potential customers will see you as a standup person an athletic competitive person, a winner at all endeavors. 

Hair
Ladies this one applies more to you then the men unless of course the man has a ponytail, a ponytail on a man is well out and for the women the Tammy Fe Baker hairdos are not really what we want a potential customer looking at when meeting with you.

Salespersons overall social skills
Next we are going to look into your attitude and personality to see if you posses the ability to say hold a conversation with a software developer, talk with a CEO or meet with people out in a bar where the temptations of overindulgence exist to see if you can handle the amount of diverse environments a super salesperson must endure through the life of their career.

Right now you are more then likely thinking this is an interview for a model more then an interview with a super salesperson, you could not be more wrong, here is why, sex sells and it sells very well in our modern culture.

While it might be ok for the owner of the founder to wear short pants, thongs and the latest coolness t-shirt which by the way is not representing good leadership as employees follow the leader so your employees are what your present personally founders and owners, just for the record, it is never ok for the frontline to dress down, not even this thing called casual Friday’s.

Size matters
The size of the salesperson is really scientifically proven to make a difference when he or she enters a room. We cannot control our size though Logic is 6 foot 3” tall and is a large framed human.

What makes a level three salesperson so super?
It goes beyond body size.

This occurs naturally for some like Logic.
When we enter the room at any event or meeting, we walk in as if we own the event, place and property where the event is being held.
This message is conveyed to others at the meeting and though this is a strength, it is important to not still the show you must not come into the room like an ego maniac this meeting is not about you it is about the potential customer but even the potential customer likes a person of sureness and of strength and power about one self.

Salesperson just as an example, regardless of how the people back at the company look the salesperson is the number one frontline person.
It is you, our salesperson that represents the company when you are out or traveling to functions and visiting potential or existing customers. What you say, what you do and how you behave is what others will see as to how the company is remembered by those the salesperson makes contact with both in person and via the telephone or Internet.

Coming up in Part 8 of 8
Welcome to our final part in this series about how to build the perfect salesperson and for those with the ability, how to become the top level 3 super salesperson.
We are going to share why being perfect in your appearance applies over the telephone and the Internet, we will talk lightly about the power of your “IT” the only difference between a level one or two and the top of the class, a level three salesperson.