Oh My Gosh, Look at the Time !

There is a news commentator in the evening that periodically will have a body language expert on the show to interpret the body language of people in the news. While most of the time I agree with her assessments, frequently I would think that you really need to know or study this person to be sure what message is being sent by the body. Sure enough, one segment she said that - "I really don't know and haven't studied this person so I can't be sure but . . ."

As salespeople, we look for signs all the time. Is the buyer open? Is now the time to ask for the order? Is this the right person to talk to? etc. My contention is that we must be very careful doing this until several meetings have passed. Unless, of course, the body language is one of the universal signs that everybody does like glancing at the wristwatch or the clock on the wall. When that happens, either the customer wants to speak or you have over-stayed your welcome. In either case, stop talking, ask a pertinent question or invite yourself to leave.

As a psychology student, I had a professor who was a practicing psychologist. This guy was really into body language and even had his practice set up so that he could see the waiting room and the patient had to walk a long hallway also in his view, to get to him. He would make notes and then compare them after the session of questions with the patient. He claimed that he was right 90% of the time on his asssesment by body language but then again, professors always think they're right!

Do observe your customers closely and learn what some of their body language is saying. It may be the unspoken key to getting the business!