All this is NO GOOD if you don’t implement it…

Studies in Psychology tell us that the effect you have on others depends
on what you say from the mouth (7%), the manner in which you say it (38%), and
by your body language (55%). In addition, how you sound also imparts a
message, so 93% of emotion is also conveyed without saying the actual words.
This is also true in selling. In the real world, we sell tangible items and also
ideas. A concise way on how we can sell effectively is by simply using that old
but very powerful arsenal known as body language.
When you sell, you can use postures, facial expressions, gestures,
mannerisms, and your physical appearance to close the sale successfully. Most
customers tend to buy when triggered by their senses. The key here is to do
everything you can to positively affect their senses.
Most people believed the image projected by Saint Mother Theresa is a
positive image. She used her personality to convey a constant image of holiness
and sincerity. We bought the idea of her image.
Non-verbal communication also connotes that a man of few words is a
man of credibility. It’s often not what you say that influences others; it’s what you
don’t say. The signals that you impart using body movements suggest
comprehension, disposition, morality, and compassion.
In selling, the instant you meet a target client, he is already examining you
based on your image and perception in a span of ten seconds or less. This is a
crucial moment in selling, as his first impression of you will definitely make a
permanent mark.
Whether you make or break a sale can literally depend on the non-verbal
signals that you send during this crucial first contact. It’s a must for readers of
this book to understand the facets of body language especially in selling.
Americans, for example, are somewhat categorized as one of the best in reading
body language, because they espouse thousands of non-verbal signs. This
ability makes them formidable negotiators.
In addition, women are generally considered to be more adept to body
language than men because of their natural built-in instincts. Now you know the
secret why some women are more successful than men in the business or
professional field.
As a rule of thumb, body language is being used most of the time all over
the world. The most common example is a nodding head (meaning “yes”).
But it is not necessarily the case every time. For example, shaking legs
might connote that a person is nervous, while it may just be a person’s natural
behavior. A person’s eyes could evade you because he’s hiding something, or it
could also mean that he’s extremely shy.
Given these intricacies, what’s important is to analyze what the message
really is. You can do it by looking at patterns. Look out for groups of signals that
may have the same meaning in relation to the verbal expressions, and also in
cognizance to the circumstances.
Once you have traced the patterns, it is easier to understand body
language. It will therefore help you make a sale.
Written below are some body language techniques to help make your
sales sizzle:
1. You can immediately analyze a person’s personality by studying his
style in shaking hands. An assertive person holds your hand firmly
when you shake his hand. On the other hand, an individual with little or
no confidence often gives a frail handshake. A person who wants to
win your trust would usually shake your hand with his other hand
covering the shake or holding your elbow. Adopt a handshake that is
firm, yet not crushing. Convey confidence and professionalism, not
dominance.
2. Posture is another aspect of body language. A slouching shoulder with
your eyes looking on the ground can indicate lack of interest. Standing
straight with your weight balanced on each foot gives you a more
assured and relaxed look. Always maintain a straight body, whether
you’re standing or sitting.
3. Match the straight open posture with a genuine facial expression.
Dispose of the sunglasses. The client may think that you are hiding
something, as he can’t see through your eyes. When he looks straight
in your eyes, he can tell if you are lying, so be transparent. Lay down
your cards and throw the shades away. But be sure to avoid piercing
looks. The client might get intimidated.
4. When doing sales calls and presentations, be sure to use sincere and
open movements all the time. Do not cross your arms, as this can ruin
the trust of your potential customer. The outward and upward gestures
of your hands are recommendable. If you lean back on a
chair and place your hands at the back of your head, it may drive your
clients away as this is a sure sign of arrogance and a false sense of
confidence. Meanwhile, if you place your hands on your waists, you
are exuding positive confidence.
5. “Don’t point.” Pointing at a client is equivalent to death wish in selling. It
is as if you’re waving your sales opportunity goodbye. Pointing is an
aggressive act that can be interpreted as hostility, so throw this gesture
out the window if you really want to sell.
6. In sales, here are signs that you are open for negotiations and are
willing to compromise. Unbuttoning your jacket means you are ready to
talk and to listen to a counter offer. Removing your jacket or rolling
your sleeves up is a very good sign for the client, as this means you
are ready to decide or to give in to the final price.
You, as the seller, may also use body language as a tool to recognize and
counteract any potential objections by the client. The usual scenarios include the
following:
1. If the client’s arms are crossed, it means he is disinterested. Use
counter measures like positive movements to cause them to uncross
their arms, and for you to begin the sales approach. When his arms
and legs are uncrossed, and his hands are open, this is the best
scenario, as they are open to your ideas…and a sale is more likely to
happen.
2. Another good sales scenario is when the client mimics your gestures
like when you fix your hair and the client follows. It shows he is very
receptive to your ideas and open to buy your idea or product. If this is
the case, throw all your barrage of features and benefits, and close the
sale! This point is crucial as you can make or break the sale.
3. If the client covers his mouth, touches his nose, or the part near the
eye, there’s a probability that you are losing the sale. Something you
said or did might have discouraged him. But don’t despair. Do the
selling process again; but this time, do it differently. Reassure the client
that he is getting a great deal and encourage him to open up and share
ideas. Open your palms and unconsciously let him see you
occasionally putting your palm to your chest (this signifies honesty).
Then try to reach that positive sales atmosphere again and close the
sale.
4. Always be alert to the signs the client is exhibiting. If the client shows
interest through his body movements, give the final sales blow and
close the sale. The client’s body language may change from positive to
suspecting. In this case, take it easy, gather your wits, read your
client’s moods, and try to win him back. Always exhibit openness and
sincerity. When the client crosses his legs and arms, this is a warning
signal.
You must make every effort to earn the trust of the client, so that you
ultimately can close the deal.
5. In worse cases where you are unable to close the sale, try to be
professional and diplomatic at all times. Thank the client for listening
and shake his hand with sincerity. Sales cannot be achieved overnight
and you generally win some and lose some. Closing the presentation
on a positive note will leave a good impression of you. Who knows, he
might be your next positive client at some other time.
Use your body every way you can in the selling process. Always be
enthusiastic. If you truly believe in the high quality of your product or service,
other people will be positively affected by your enthusiasm. Body movements can
convince prospects to become believers in what you are offering.

1. Love Yourself:

This can take a bit of practice and looks really funny, but try it, it works. When you wake up, give yourself a great big hug. Do the same when it’s time for sleep.

You’ve heard this said a million times before: “How can you expect others to love you if you don’t love yourself?” It’s true. Practice the morning and evening hugs for 2 weeks, maybe 3 weeks if you’re the stubborn type, and you’ll see how well it works.

2. Look in the mirror:

Every time you pass a mirror, look into it and flash your biggest and best smile at yourself. It might feel strange at first, but eventually it’ll make you feel brilliant about yourself. Tell yourself “Looking good!” or “Wow, I love me!” or similar phrases often enough to actually start believing it.

3. Do things that make you feel good:

This can be anything from listening to music, trekking in the Andes, doing some volunteer work or even just taking a shower. Anything that gives you a positive feeling about yourself works for this one.

4. Listen to YOU:

Face it. Nobody knows you better than you know yourself, no matter how many people try to tell you differently. So if your body, mind or gut is telling you something, then take notice of it, and don’t worry about what other people may possibly have to say about it.

5. Talk to YOU:

In times of stress, take a time-out break. Wander into your own mind and have a conversation with yourself about anything at all. Tell yourself how lucky you are to be you, and praise yourself for every good and positive thing you can attribute to yourself.

6. Remove negatives:

If anything feels like it’s dragging you down, get rid of it. If it’s clutter, tidy up, if it’s a friend full of negativity explain nicely that you don’t really feel up to talking right now. If it’s your kids acting up, leave the room for a while and so on.

7. Surround with positives:

Surround yourself with things that bring out good feelings in you. Examples could be things such as happy, upbeat friends, a nice new picture, a new car, an old comfy blanket, candles, pictures of your family, your girlfriend, boyfriend, spouse etc.

8. Rumours Die:

Did you hear something about somebody who said something about somebody else? Drop it! Rumours are nasty, horrible things that will only bring you down. Best way to kill a rumour? Ignore it!

9. Total Honesty:

Be totally honest with yourself at all times. If there’s something you don’t like, admit it. If there’s something you don’t want to do “right now” and it isn’t necessary for health and safety reasons then just don’t do it until you feel like it.

Same goes for the positive aspects. If there’s something you want to do, and it’s not hurting anybody, then go ahead and do it. If you start feeling great about yourself for no apparent reason admit it and enjoy the feeling.

10. Responsibility

Take full responsibility for your own actions. Don’t shove the blame for anything over onto someone or something else. We all make choices in our lives, and once we take responsibility for those choices we tend to choose better for ourselves.

Once we start to choose better, we feel better and things start falling into place. On the other hand, don’t take over someone else’s responsibilities just because you feel “you have to”.

11. Pretend:

If you feel unsafe, unsure or nervous then go inside yourself and pretend you’re a hot-shot lawyer, actor, actress, singer or whatever you need to be.
Make believe you’re presenting yourself as that person would until you feel better. Trust me, you WILL feel better, and eventually have no need to be anything but yourself.

12. Keep Trying:

If you’re trying to do something but don’t get it right first time round, then try again, and again, and again, constantly learning from your mistakes until you get it right. When you finally DO get it right, you’ll feel wonderful about it.

13. Credit where credit is due:

If you’ve done something really good, and people compliment you on it, accept the compliments with thanks! Understand that they’re complimenting because they really ARE impressed with what you’ve done.

Believe in you and give yourself a pat on the back. (Although physically it would probably be easier to just give yourself a round of applause).

14. Stand Tall:

Standing up straight will ALWAYS make you feel better about yourself than slouching does. Stand with your feet slightly apart, suck in your tummy and behind, broaden your shoulders and straighten your neck. It’s an amazingly quick confidence boost.

15. Say Hello:

Make it a rule to say hi to at least one person you don’t know EVERY day. Give them the smile you flash at yourself in the mirror, the biggest and best one you can find. They’ll smile back automatically, and they’ll walk away with a little extra confidence boost thanks to you.

People look their best when they smile, and they also feel better by smiling too! This ultimately means you get a confidence boost too, for making someone else feel good about themselves.

16. Never Say Never….Ever:

If you think something can’t be done, then you’ll end up proving yourself right eventually. So never say never, just keep plugging along until it works for you.
If other people are telling you it can’t be done, you’re going to feel such immense satisfaction at actually doing it that your confidence will soar.

17. Get Active:

Don’t sit around the house just doing nothing. Get up, go out, cycling, walking, exercising, anything that might invigorate your brain. A lively brain full of thoughts will help you gain confidence.

18. “Happy Foods”:

Happy foods, such as chocolate, strawberries, lemons, ice-cream etc will increase the serotonin levels in your brain, leading to an increased feeling of happiness.

Feeling happy is a natural confidence boost. So go on, enjoy your food! (in moderation, of course).

19. Face Your Fear:

Is there something you are afraid of? Face it full on. Doing something scary and overcoming the fear is a fantastic way to boost your confidence. So go on, jump out of that plane (with a parachute of course), drive that car, speak in front of a large crowd, ask for a promotion, or whatever it is that scares you. You’ll feel absolutely brilliant once it’s done.

20. Willpower:

Create a goal that you really want to reach. Possibly something like weight loss before a certain time, giving up smoking or having a certain amount of money in the bank within so many months etc. Take baby steps, and use your willpower until you succeed at reaching your goal.

It will be really hard, as will power can be very elusive at times, but keep going and don’t give up. Once you have reached that first goal by using your willpower you will have the confidence to create new goals AND reach them.

21. Ask questions:

Any time you find yourself worrying about something you haven’t done, or something you think you should have done, ask yourself positive questions. Instead of thinking “I’m terrible for missing my friend’s birthday” think “What can I do to make my friend feel special?”

Or, instead of “Why can’t I ever seem to do things on time?” change it to “What can I change to better manage my time” Creating positive questions will release the negative energies which have a tendency to pull down your self confidence.

22. Learn:

Accept that not everything works out the way we plan it. Decide to accept any mistakes and rejections as part of a learning curve that we all need to go through.

Without mistakes, you can’t learn from your own experiences. Remember, experience builds confidence, so always learn as much as you can.

23. List:

Write a list of every single thing you’re good at, anything from clipping the dog’s toenails to putting up a shelf. Take the time to sit and actually think about what you ARE good at and add them all to the list. You’ll be surprised at how many things you end up jotting down, no matter how minor or trivial they may seem at the time.

Whenever you have a spare 5 minutes, or if you’re feeling a little low, take the list out of your pocket and read it. This is a great little way to give yourself a nice confidence boost.

24: Help out:

There are lots of ways to help others, and feeling useful and helpful are great ways of building your confidence. Just make sure you do things because you WANT to do them. You could call a good friend who may be down at the moment-even take them out for coffee, you will brighten both your days, or you could possibly help out at an old folks home or similar. Knowing that people appreciate your help will boost your confidence for sure.

25: Show the way:

Think of the one thing you do best of all. Think long and hard about this one. Thought of something? Now, find a discussion group or similar related to that topic and spread your wisdom by answering questions, offering advice or help to anybody needing it. If you can’t find a group, you could even start one yourself.

People will look up to you and that will give you all the more reason to feel confident about yourself.

Please share this with a friend or family member.

What you give you get to keep!

Here’s a really simple way… of looking at your failures.  You simply talked yourself out of success. You were not willing to pay the price upfront.  When you bargain with the price of success you ultimately lose. Your tendency of bargaining with the price is because of “Excusitis”.

Many people talk themselves into success.  But even more people talk themselves out of success.  They begin to have conversations about why they should not achieve.  Why they do not deserve what they want.  They have all the reasons to why they can’t do something.  And the moment they do that, they have no idea where to look for resources.  This may or may not be you, but if you know someone who would benefit from this article then perhaps you should forward this to them.

This article would help them to cure Excusitis.

Step Number 1:

The first way is to be held accountable to a mentor or a good friend for your goal.

By being held accountable, you would activate the resources in your mind to go about solving a problem.  The reason why goals are hard to hit is because of problems. When you commit to your friend or mentor, you would stop making excuses to yourself on not even trying.

This is a great way to break the cycle of making excuses.  Even before stepping out to attempt the goal.

Stop talking yourself out of success.  Prevent all negative mind chatter by being held accountable.

Step Number 2:

Tell your mentor or friend if you had done what you resolved to do or not.

This is highly effective in curing excusitis.  When you tell someone whom you respect that you are going to do something, you would more or less find a way to do it.  You would feel really bad if you had to go to a friend and tell them excuses about why you did not resolve to do what you said you would do.

Step Number 3:

To prevent yourself from using excuses too easily, you may want to use the power of visualization.

Visualize how silly and how weak you look when you are telling your mentor friend that you did not do what you said you would do.

Amplify that the feeling, intensify that picture by making it bigger and brighter.  Feel how you would feel when you’re totally belittled and weakened.  How would you sit?  How would you speak?  How embarrassed would you be in front of them?

Then change the picture.  Visualize yourself in the state of success.  Imagine yourself telling them how triumphant you were in accomplishing the goal.  Feel the feeling of total competence and confidence that you can accomplish almost anything you set out to do.  Amplify that feeling by 10 times, 20 times.  Close your eyes and at the peak of that feeling, clench your fist tightly. See what you would say to yourself when you’re feeling that joy of accomplishment.

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Excusitis is definitely curable.  This disease if left untreated, would definitely kill all your success cells.  The cure for it is a daily dosage of accountability to yourself and people around you who wants you to succeed.  It really isn’t too difficult to cure Excusitis.  The only difficulty is in the courage of stepping out and attempting to achieve what you want to achieve.  When a sense of what you want is overwhelmingly greater than your sense of fear, success inevitably follows.

Not only would you be able to cure Excusitis easily, you would begin to feel that it is easy for you to help others cure it.  It is definitely a wonderful feeling to support others in their pursuit of their goals.  But before we can do that wholeheartedly, we must be able to cure any weaknesses we have.  Is Excusitis holding you back?  If it is, now you have the answer.  You are reading this.  It definitely means that you have the resources and wherewithal to overcome any challenges.  Even Excusitis.

Call Me…I want to hear from you…!