50 Habits of Top Performing Sales People Habits 25 and 26 – Appearance and Demeanor

June 29, 2016 Selling Comments Off on 50 Habits of Top Performing Sales People Habits 25 and 26 – Appearance and Demeanor

The May newsletter completed “Part Two”, the twelve “Sales Skills”, and it is time to move to “Part Three”, “Interpersonal Skills”.

“Interpersonal Habits” are about how sales people relate to customers and prospects. Most sales seminars and sales skills books, pay very little attention to this area. Although most of this is common sense, there is a good deal of skill involved, and these skill sets must be learned.  Let’s look at Habits 26 and 27 – Appearance and Demeanor.

Habit 25: Your appearance is professional
Habit 26: Your demeanor is professional

My partner Lou spent a good deal of his career in sales and sales management and for all of that time he wore suits (not sport coats), ties and sometimes vests. He shined his shoes almost every day. I will have to agree it was a different time. I’m not sure that it was the worst time.

I’m not suggesting that everyone wear suits and ties today. But I am saying that people need to pay more attention to their appearance and the image that they project to customers and prospects. In today’s business world many people dress sloppily and portray an image that is therefore sloppy. I suggest that every professional salesperson pay particular attention to their appearance. Top performing salespeople look the part!

What do I mean by demeanor? When you think of demeanor, in a business context, you should be thinking about manners, conduct, behavior, character and deportment and how these can be related to your potential performance by your prospective prospects and customers. The way you conduct your business, the behavior that you display when conducting your business will lead to an opinion formed by your prospective prospect and customer as to what your performance will be when you do business with them. You want to make a good impression!

Appearance and demeanor count; they form an opinion as to how your customers and prospects feel about you and how much they can count on you.  Business is about relationships and if you make a bad first impression, there is no relationship and therefore, there is no business!

“A Habit” is not work, but just a thing that is done every day and paying attention to your appearance and demeanor is critical to your success in sales and can easily become a Habit.