When You’re in Sales Style Matters
People buy from people they like. Make no mistake about it! We’ve talked about buying criteria, who actually makes the decisions, etc. But the fact remains, when people LIKE you, and you have what they need at a fair price and perceived value, they’ll buy from you.
I’ve worked with sales professionals from every walk of life. You name it, I’ve either interviewed them for the position, taught them their position, coached them in their position or as a manager, tolerated their behavior more than I should have. I’ve met professionals from the most immature to most seasoned sales pro. Taking a step back, let’s little a little closer at some personality types.
The renegade: You were him/her once! You got your foot in the door by convincing your company that you were so smart you were going to change the way business is done just by all the brilliant things you said you could do. We’re not suggesting losing the belief that you will change the world, we’re simply recommending changing it one step at a time! I worked for a sales manager once that had the greatest credentials ever. He’d launched any number of start up companies, hired all the right people, went to all the right events to meet all the right people, the whole nine yards. Only problem was he vulgar in his speech, dressed like a slob, was loud and obnoxious and always took the credit for everyone else’s hard work. He needed to be the center of attention at every moment. He needed to prove himself to the world till everyone noticed him. So much so that he even put his fist through a wall in the office just because he thought it would be funny! He treated the men in the office like they were his buddies and the women in the office like they were “objects”. No one wanted to work FOR him much less WITH him. He insulted everyone on the sales floor right down to the financial support team! One evening, when I was working a little late, I heard the sound of boxes being packed coming from his office. I asked him what he was doing and he told me he was going on vacation. Odd to me that you’d take the entire contents of your office with you on vacation! This less than honest person was sneaking out when he thought no one was around and was never going to be seen or heard from again!
The next morning, all everyone could talk about was this person’s empty office. He didn’t even leave a paperclip behind! The office environment changed at that very moment and in short order we had a new director of sales that was much closer to being human and the entire sales team was a whole lot happier. The sales numbers went up because everyone was getting the training and coaching that they needed. The morale went up because everyone was being treated like professionals rather than a cattle herd. Our sales team rapidly grew into a happier, more productive and more profitable place.
The “wanna be liked” by everyone sales type: You know this person – He’s Good Time Charlie. He comes in to the organization, “buys” his way to everyone’s heart and he’s perceived as the ultimate motivator and the person who’s going to change the world. He’s the last one still standing at every company function, he’s the emcee at every fun event the company has. He’s the one everyone runs to greet first at a meeting. He’s the one that covers everyone else’s tracks so as to ensure that the person not doing their job doesn’t actually get caught. Next thing you know he’s gossiping and sharing stories that he gets it done because you can’t! He’ll be perceived as the Best Sales Person ever when the reality is he doesn’t have the slightest idea of what it takes to be a professional. In reality, he’s made no time to be a true and devoted sales professional and he’s NOT the one to emulate. The one to emulate is actually the person who IS going to change the world and IS liked by everyone and IS silent (at appropriate times) and IS the renegade and IS the professional!
The silent type: Every sales office knows this person. He sits seemingly silent. You never hear his voice and he seems to never be busy. Yet, somehow he makes his quota every quarter, he’s organized and sets his priorities. His reports are always up to date and he just appears to get it done no matter what.
The Pro: He’s the one we all want to be! The Sales Professional is one that’s organized, well mannered and well spoken. He’s the one that other people in the organization look to when a special project needs to be done. He’s the person that’s prospecting at every opportunity, has his reports done and turned in on time while making his quota and mentoring others. He’s the whole package and the one most likely to succeed. He’s also likely to be the one awarded for his successes (in terms of money and “spiffs”) and he’s the one that customers refer potential customers to. He’s earned his reputation and the trust of those around him. You’ll often notice that this person is also the one who surrounds himself by successful people and always has a mentor. He’s the one that’s always learning something new (like reading this book when he’s been at this game of sales for twenty years or going to seminars because he wants to support his own growth).
Now that we’re better different personality styles, let’s talk for a moment about presentation styles. We’ve all been to presentations where the presenter reads their slide deck to you as if you’re were in the first grade and never saw words before. The audience quickly becomes bored and often even falls asleep! No one wants to sit through this event! Thankfully we learned to read way back when and we don’t want to be subjected to this type of event.
The most favorable way to present is to INCLUDE your audience! Whether you’re talking to a potential customer on the phone or standing at the podium, your audience wants to feel that they’re part of the process. Sounds so logical, yet most presenters simply read their slides to us. Before you even start your presentation understand who your audience is! Ask them who they are. Are they technical? Are they the sales type? Are they new to the industry? Taylor your words to their needs. If you’re using acronyms, always define the acronym the first time you use it. If you talk about the speeds and feeds of a device when your audience is a group of sales people they’ll be so lost they won’t understand a word you’ve said. Give them an agenda and let them know up front what to expect as an outcome.
If you’re going to use slides, highlight ONLY A FEW (maximum of three) points per slide. Better yet, don’t make your slides so busy that your audience is actually trying to read the whole thing AND take notes as the same time. They’ll never hear a word you say! Stand to the left of your presentation (we read left to right – don’t be a physical distraction!). Keep your hands free of anything that’s going to make you fidget. I’ve known great presenters who actually hand the coins to their pockets to someone else while they’re presenting just to resist the temptation of playing with them during the presentation. Close out each slide by asking if there are any questions before you move on.
There are excellent books on the market today about presentation skills and body language. READ ONE! Better yet, attend a training session on the topic and you’ll be all the better for having done so. If someone should ask a question and you don’t know the answer, write down the question and tell them you’ll find out and get back to them. Get the answer and actually get back to them. Don’t just give any old answer for the sake of answering the question. Your audience will appreciate your honesty much more than they’ll appreciate incorrect information.
Be prepared for your presentation! Be dressed like the Professional you are. Get to the presentation room thirty minutes before start time. Test your equipment, lighting, etc. Have your thoughts and ideas written down and in front of you. Practice beforehand. In chapter three we talked about having your presentation written down on index cards. This is a great use of those cards.
After the presentation thank everyone for attending. Make sure that you have a list of attendees and follow up with them within two weeks of the event. Your potential customers will be shocked that you called them! Most people go to presentations and never expect to hear a peep from the presenter afterward. Fact is, most presenters don’t follow up. You’ve got a room full of prospects! Help them to help you be more successful by turning them from Prospects to Customers. Do it right, and they’ll be life long Customers.
The next component of style is your actual look, it does matter as much as society would like to think it doesn’t that said sales is not a beauty contest but a professional appearance is important. That appearance should take into consideration the audience. You always want to be on at least par with your listeners if not a little more dressed up.
Here a quick definition of office and event styles of dress. For all of these styles remember that it’s important that you’re neat, clean and pulled together. While we’re all taught to never judge a book by its cover, the way you dress defines who you are in the workplace. A sad but true fact. If you want to be taken seriously, look twice in the mirror before you head out for the day.
Casual – Don’t be fooled it does not mean jeans and your favorite sweat shirt in the office. Casual should translate to clean, neat and more comfortable than a business suit. It should never mean sloppy. Don’t look in a magic mirror and think that what you wear to take the trash out or wash the car in is acceptable as casual office wear. For women, it’s important to pay attention to casual attire as well. Being too casual often translates in ways you don’t want to be remembered! You’re not going to hang out with your friends for the evening, you’re off to work in a casual environment. Be sophisticated about casual wear. Ask yourself a few simple questions before you leave the house….Would I wear this out to dinner or would I wear this to a party? For outside the office events like company picnics don’t wear the torn jeans that you did your yard work in. Your casual appearance is just as important as your business appearance. Make no mistake about it, it counts. Big time.
Country Club Casual- this is a tough one but isn’t referring to the on course wear which most likely includes a collared shirt and “non denim” shorts but on occasion requires long pants in the clubhouse grill and occasionally on the course. It does refer to the restaurant and members lounge mainly in the evening hours. Long pants are a must. Jacket rules vary from club to club but blazers are not only acceptable but often the standard. Ties can be fun and playful if worn at all but don’t be alarmed by the dark suit types there, most clubs are a mixture.
Business Casual- does not mean wrinkled cotton pants and a faded seven year old polo shirt. It can be pressed cotton pants and a polo shirt but is now drifting back towards wool pants (year round wool is perfectly acceptable) and cotton dress shirts of collared sweaters. Make sure your clothes look crisp and clean everyday whether your outside calling on customers or setting up your next round of meetings. Look the part, it is rare that the slob in the office has great sales, it is most often the opposite
Resort Casual- This is one you see when doing business at conferences and events most often in Florida, California and the southwest. In Short what it means is Long pants after six, Collared shirts and if you’re wearing a t shirt make sure it is a high quality plain T or better yet silk. Linen pants are OK and ties are never expected, Camp Shirts can be worn untucked as long as the bottoms are boxed ( cut square and not tailed like a standard dress shirt. A light sweater is a good thing to have in tow because tropical evenings can get cool and the air conditioning is almost always too cold.
For the ladies pants, dresses and skirts are always fine. Capri’s or coolots can also be worn, dressy sandals (not the one you wore on the beach). A good rule of thumb is always remember you don’t want to the one that everyone else is talking about the next day in a negative way.
Resort casual should be relaxed and elegant, bright and spring like colors are as welcome as earth tones it becomes a matter of personal style
Vegas is excluded. There is a whole set of acceptable dress items there that we won’t cover here. As the saying goes, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas but the stories about your mismatched plaid pants and flowered shirt you were wearing while rolling into the meeting after being out all night won’t so use common sense.
Standard Business Attire-Men Simple suit and tie blue and gray, solid or pin stripe are the classics but browns and olives are acceptable in a lot of professions the exception tends to be financial services and banking where blue and gray still rule the world. Depending on the seriousness of the meeting choose your tie appropriately, don’t show up asking for the order in a Tabasco, hula girl, or martini tie, wear stripes, solids plaids if you wouldn’t want your banker or lawyer wearing that tie to you most important meeting don’t wear it.
For women, classic business attire today still means a suit. While the styles are more relaxed today it’s again important to remember that you don’t want to be the person that everyone else is talking about tomorrow, in a negative way. Keep your colors and styles more toward the “classics” and you’ll be fine. You can add your own signature to any business suit by adding some simple accessories. Go easy on the “bling”. You’d never want a potential client to think that you’ve arrived at a meeting with a body guard to protect your diamonds or emeralds. More importantly, when traveling, bling only adds to safety concerns so pay attention to your surroundings as well.
Black Tie/Formal- Men Black tux and a basic black bow tie. IF you don’t wear black tie multiple times a year rent, in addition to the retail chain rental stores in the malls most cities have privately owned rental shops that cater to corporate clients for events and even some men’s apparel stores have very reasonable priced rentals. The best part is you can slightly alter the style and look as trends change but stay classic. Also you never need to worry about the dry cleaning. If you are want to buy a classic look typically a single breasted notched collar, Jos. A Banks, the men’s warehouse are good sources for reasonably priced Tuxedo’s, they have great sale’s so keep your eyes open
Men’s tips
Grooming Men can be hairy beasts so keep it in check, trim back overly bush chest hair that would protrude from a buttoned shirt. In short sleeves make sure your under arms are trimmed, if it’s the morning don’t have 2 days of growth on your face save the scruff for weekends. Nails need to be clean and trimmed., Eyebrows make sure you have two of them and pluck (I did say pluck) or trim back long out of place hairs. While we’re on the topic of eyebrows if you have them done at a salon make sure that they are cleaned up and separated but not shaped. If you cosmetologist doesn’t have a large clientele tell her you want a natural brow line the key is to have them under control without anyone ever knowing they were done.
Ladies, we all know that we’re ahead of the game in terms of grooming. Who doesn’t spend half of their weekend at the salon! But remember, in business, there’s not a lot of room for finger nails so long that you can’t function or colors so bright that sunglasses are required.
Shirt Colors- The days of the solid white or blue dress shirt being the only acceptable office attire are long gone but keep it PG and on the conservative side unless you’re an entertainer or professional athlete. All kidding aside stripes and colors are fine as long as they are tasteful, in a business setting watch the buttons and collar types again classic is better unless you’re in the habit of changing your wardrobe with the times.
French Cuffs- Boston and Atlanta in my travels have long been the spiritual home of the French cuff but they are always in style in certain parts of every city. That said French cuff are becoming more common in department store and men’s stores. This is the one place other than a time piece and tie that you can impart a personal sense of style. Use color and shape but if you are buying invest in quality just like you would a suit, sterling silver at a minimum unless they are a true novelty cuff. I have a few novelty pairs for evening wear but would no more wear them to a business meeting than I would a Speedo.
Special events-
Ball games – Who doesn’t want to wear their favorite team jersey or t shirt while at the stadium. Be mindful however of the city you’re in! Some cities are huge rivals in terms of their sporting teams with other cities.
Golf outing- Carry a few extra towels in you bag and a rain jacket (or pullover) nothing can be more fun and memorable than the rained out golf event and nothing can be worse than riding in the rain soaking wet and cold for more than four hours. On the other front chap stick for windy days and sunscreen for a variety of reasons should be part of the golf bag.
Charity Events – depending on the day part that the event is taking place and the nature of the event. In many cases black tie rules apply. During the day, business attire is acceptable
Networking Events – Business attire is the best bet at all networking events.
In every case your attire should be in good taste, with no visible body piercing other than pierced ears. Perfumes and colognes should always be kept to a minimum as well. Quite often, companies have dress codes. Find out if your company has one. Read it. Know it. Adhere to it. And above all, don’t push the envelope. Attire is not the place to be the company renegade.
All the ingredients – knowledge, preparation, and appearance – are necessary to make a good impression. And usually a lasting one as well.
Now that we understand a little about sales styles and personal style let’s talk about your company’s style. Sales people have reputations as whiners, and prima Donna’s much of it is well deserved but R&D, Product development and Marketing well much of the time don’t spend enough time understanding what a customer wants it is your responsibility to gather that information and feed it back to them in a non emotional productive way.
Does you marketing material say what it needs to or is it crap? Fluff even well dressed fluff is just that fluff. No one reads it, it might as well still be a tree in the forest. Before we go and sack marketing have you told them what you need.
