Body language has become an accepted part of sales training, but it needs to be on the agenda for all individuals, whatever their role in the business.

Estimates of how much communication is conveyed by body language rather than verbal communication vary considerably. In a short survey of writing on the subject, the estimates, all stated authoritatively, ranged from 55% to 98%. Whatever the correct figure, we can safely say that at least half of all communication is body language.

The fact is that reading and understanding body language is vital to all interactions. However, let’s look at the heightened situation of a sales pitch for basic examples.

If you are pitching to somebody who has folded arms, this is a bad sign. They are either feeling defensive, or may be strongly disagreeing with you. Stop, and without challenging them try to find out what the problem is.

If people are touching their face, perhaps rubbing their forehead, it’s usually because they are puzzled or doubtful about what you are saying.

If they keep looking away and can’t maintain eye contact, they are probably bored or otherwise distracted.

The aim should be to get the prospective customer to physically open up, face you and give you good eye contact.

It is all very well selling a product’s features. However sales training should provide individuals with the ability to emphasise the benefits of those features. Potential customers need to understand the benefits of what is being sold to them rather than just the technical specification.

There are many occasions when you will sell something to someone. It is not just the obvious sales situations. For example, a manager may be trying to get staff to work in a new way, or you may be trying to sell yourself to a prospective employer. It is just as important in these situations to demonstrate benefits to the other side.

The benefits alone are not enough in most selling situations. It is also important to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. This allows you to understand likely objections and how you can counter these, or, at least, minimise their impact.

Indeed, one of the cleverest ways to ensure you win the argument is to put forward the other side’s arguments at the outset and then knock those arguments down. This is doubly effective as it not only disposes of the opposition but also increases your own credibility as it suggests that you see all sides.

You should, of course, always prepare thoroughly for any sales presentation. If sales training only taught you one thing, that should be it. However, with the best will in the world there will occasionally be times when the preparation doesn’t get done. These are the times when you will need the last minute guide to preparing that follows.

The first thing is that you need to know your objectives. What do you want to get out of the meeting? If you can’t get a sale, what essential fact finding do you need to undertake? The clearer your objective, the more focused you will be and thus, more successful.

There are certain questions which are always a useful starting point. Ask about current suppliers and what problems, if any, your prospective client has had in the past.

Make sure you find out what the customer needs before you start spouting features and benefits.

Think about the objections that are likely to be raised and have your answers ready. Make sure you are clear on your policy regarding discounts. If they ask for them, do you have any room for negotiation?
Remember, however rushed you are, don’t let that communicate itself to the prospect.

There are certain major areas which should always be covered in sales training. These tend to be those things which customers value from a sales person.

The first area is that of client knowledge. Before going to see a new sales lead, the sales person should carry out research about the prospective customer. What does the sales person know about that company’s management structure? Who are their main customers? Have they landed any large new orders? By knowing about a business, the sales person is demonstrating that they have taken an interest.

Sales people also need to have knowledge of the industry that their prospective customer is involved in. Whilst you can’t expect sales people to have a comprehensive knowledge of every industry they might come across, it is worth their while researching an industry so that they have some level of understanding of what the company they’re selling to has to deal with day to day.

Obviously, product knowledge and the ability to link features to benefits and show favourable comparisons with rival products is essential.

Finally, sales people need to have good selling skills, or to be more specific the ability to listen, empathise and persuade clients into purchasing.

Sales people usually have the gift of being able to talk in any situation and can put a positive spin on most things. In other words, they usually have an excuse ready when you feel the need to criticise their behaviour at work. This does not alter the fact that sales people sometimes get into bad habits. There are certain issues which arise again and again and when these are noticed you need to take immediate action to remedy them. Often, the shortcomings demonstrate a lack of sales training and can be remedied by arranging that training. Sometimes, closer supervision or mentoring is more appropriate.

Here are some of those common symptoms to keep an eye out for.

The first one is timekeeping. This actually applies to all staff in any business situation but can be really damaging to a company’s bottom line when it involves sales people being late for appointments with customers. There is no worse first impression than turning up for a meeting late. Similarly presentations should always be of the highest quality.

Sales people often get into a habit of thinking they know what a customer really wants or values. They should never stop listening to the client and ensure that they fully understand what the customer wants.

Exhibitions can often seem like a very expensive outlay with no real return. Sometimes, the attitude of a company seems to be that they need to have a presence but don’t really expect to generate any new business. It’s seen as a way of meeting a number of existing clients under the same roof and an excuse to run up the expense account.

However, this does not make sense. Firstly, financially it can be a waste of money, particularly if it involves paying travel and subsistence to staff staying away from home. Secondly, it is a lost opportunity. Most visitors go to exhibitions because they are considering spending money. Why shouldn’t that money go in your company’s coffers?

Every time someone approaches your stand they should be spoken to. The aim should be to initiate a conversation which will allow a sales pitch to be made without it being obvious that that is what is being done. You can begin by mentioning a unique selling point which will hopefully lead to the visitor asking a question and thus initiating the pitch. Better still; an open ended question can quickly establish whether the person concerned has a genuine interest in your products.

Sales training should be given to all staff attending conferences.