Decoding Body Language in Sales

Have you ever been with a prospect and just felt like you weren't connecting? Connecting with prospects and decoding body language is actually a really high level concept. In fact, most sales people are completely oblivious to this entire dimension of selling and human interaction.

So if you've ever noticed in the past that you weren't connecting with some prospects, this is actually a good thing because it means that you're at least aware. In this video, I'm going to show you how to decode body language in sales. Check it out.

Now, before I get into these ideas, I want to point out that the key to building any connection is going to require that you engage the prospect in actual conversation, one that they're at least equally participating in. So the ideas I'm going to share with you here are what you're going to look for to make sure that you really have them engaged and lastly, remember that no two people are exactly alike. So don't freak out if you notice some differences between different people.

Number one, eye contact. Strong eye contact versus wandering eyes. When someone is truly engaged in a conversation, they will be looking at you.

So what you want to avoid is their eyes wandering all over the room and this means that they're not engaged with what you're saying. As soon as you see this, you need to ask questions to pull them back into the conversation to get them emotionally involved and once you have that eye contact with them, you know you're back on track. Number two, leaning in or leaning out.

Now, when we're engaged in a conversation, we're naturally going to lean in to the other person. It doesn't have to be extreme. It can be really subtle but on the other hand, if a person is leaning out and is pulling back, it's a sign of discomfort in the conversation.

Now, in this case, what I want you to actually do if you see them leaning back is start by mirror, by also leaning back. Do the same thing and continue to engage them in the conversation through questions. Now, if they continue to lean back throughout the conversation, you're going to sense that you're in a little bit of trouble.

You need to get them eventually leaning forward. Again, doesn't have to be extreme but we don't want them leaning way back. Now, again, the easiest way to engage them is to suck them back into the conversation through questions.

Number three, arms crossed. Much like leaning back, arms crossed is a somewhat defensive posture. It shows hesitation and discomfort.

Now, like with any of these body language gestures, don't freak out. Instead, mirror them by also crossing your arms and getting them engaged in the conversation. Once you feel that they're engaged in the conversation, uncross your arms to see if they actually do the same.

What's amazing with human psychology is that when they're really connected to you, they're actually going to naturally start matching you. So by uncrossing your arms, they may also feel like, hm, okay, I'll uncross my arms. The goal is to get them to physically open up.

Number four, fidgeting. There is nothing more distracting and frustrating to me personally than talking to someone who's fidgeting and now, especially in the modern world, there are so many things to fidget with. It's not just pens and doodle pads just writing away random pictures nowadays.

Cellphones are the ultimate fidget tool for the hyperactive person. So if your prospect is really fidgeting, like always, don't freak out. Just work to engage them into the conversation.

Ask them those questions. You need to break their focus away from what they're fidgeting on and here's the key. If they start to get really bad like literally checking messages while you're talking, feel free to stop talking and ask if everything's okay.

You need to set your boundaries for what you'll accept and so this literally means calling people to task when they're physically on their phone and they're not paying attention. Get them focused back onto you. And by the way, if they say, oh, I actually have to go, you know you're in trouble anyways so you might as well make sure that they're back and focused on you.

So there is how to decode body language in sales. I wanna hear from you. Which of these ideas did you find most useful?

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Until next week.