What are the advantages of knowing how our expressions, gestures and movements affect the closing of sales? Many, many, many.
To begin with, just tell you that if we know the dimensions and effects of these aspects on both ourselves and our clients, we will know how to use them and positively influence a negotiation. We will also have the ability to decode the true message that the client is transmitting to us with their movements and may not be saying in words, which is a very powerful tool when selling.
Our body language can bring us closer to or further away from a closing sale. This is a fact although it seems impossible since more than 90% of communication between people is transmitted with what is not said. That is, it is transmitted with our non-verbal language or body language.
Two-way communication
If, on the one hand, we develop the ability to modulate our body language to convey the true message that we want the client to know and, on the other, we apply these same client skills to ourselves, we will be able to know what is important to them, how they want it and in what way. introduce you to our product or service. In other words, we will be much more effective to interact with him. The most surprising thing about this is that he will be sending us all the information we need to know without realizing it, because body language is subconscious.
Knowing how to read body language is essential to know a large part of what is the mechanism that another person uses when communicating and in sales this information is pure gold.
Non-verbal communication is governed by non-verbal language, taking place at two levels: Body language and facial expressions.
Body language
It includes body positions, supporting or denying a verbal message. For example, drooping shoulders can mean discouragement, holding your head can mean despair, or the shrug can communicate insecurity about not knowing something, raising your arms can mean victory or happiness, etc.
The closeness between two people is also an indication of something, that is, when there is affection in a conversation or the person wants to express affection, they approach or approach. However, in situations such as in work environments, the separation indicates respect and cordiality.
Facial expressions
These are part of body language and constitute the most expressive messages. In this case, it is necessary to point out the eye movements, which are the most expressive of the facial gestures. These gestures can be widening the eyes, narrowing them, blinking faster or slower, rolling the eyes, etc.
Other facial expressions can be eyebrow movements, forehead movement, etc. For example, frowning can indicate anger, or raising the forehead can communicate surprise. Thus, smiling communicates happiness or joy and crying can most of the time indicate sadness.
In the case of the eyebrows, some authors have identified the cultural differences that exist with this gesture and found that it seems that raising and lowering the eyebrows quickly is usually observed in a friendly greeting, agreement, flirtation, approval, etc.
Another aspect of eyebrow movements is that when they are accompanied by other movements such as lowering the eyelids or staring they can indicate negative signals.
Types of non-verbal communication
Following the guidelines of non-verbal language, in a communication relationship between people there can be different types of non-verbal communication, which are:
Kinesic
It refers to any type of body movement, that is, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, posture, etc.
In this category you can also include your own personal characteristics, as well as body shape, posture, body odor, weight, height, hair and skin color, etc.
Paralinguistics
It refers to behaviors related to vocal aspects that do not have a linguistic component, as well as intonation, voice quality, silences, verbal fluency, pronunciation, errors in speech, etc.
Proxemic
It refers to the behaviors that are associated with personal space, as well as interpersonal distance, the way of sitting, etc.
Physical environment
It refers to the design of the place where the communication takes place, taking into account the furniture, decoration, cleanliness, lighting of the place, noise, etc.
Weather
It refers to whether you are on time or late, if you keep others waiting, if there are cultural differences in the perception of time, etc.
Eye movements
As stated above, eye movements are the most expressive of facial expressions. Thanks to such movements, different behaviors of the person with whom we maintain communication can be glimpsed.
The most common eye patterns are usually looking to the right and left and down or up. As an example, this can be tested by asking a person what they did the day before; As it is a lived information and has to remember it, it will tend to look to the right, whereas if asked what it would like to do in the future, it will tend to look to the left, since it is visual constructed images, happening in a similar way with sounds.
In addition to these movements, there are others that must be taken into account, such as blinking. All people blink, since it is an automatic and involuntary movement, however, it has been discovered in certain people that blinking a lot can mean that they are thinking.
On the other hand, another important aspect in eye movements is eye contact. When interested in a conversation or in an act of communication, the person maintains eye contact with the interlocutor, either to express respect, empathy or a desire to listen.
In the event that eye contact is not maintained, it may indicate the existence of anxiety, the existence of a defensive attitude or lack of communication between the people involved.
The next step
The concept and making of a successful sales professional is far from the commercial who usually sells based on characteristics and their verb. That is, for a long time there has been the idea or belief that to sell one had to be very outgoing, friendly and talk up a storm.
The truth is that customers recognize this profile for leagues and even flee from it because they know that they are going to sell something no matter what. On the other hand, if you develop your skills to become a first-level communicator and know how to use non-verbal language to your advantage and this is complemented with an effective sales model, the sales closing is guaranteed.
