Body Language Hacks: 8 Ways to Better Understand Your Client
You all know me by now – I talk a lot about language, phrasing, what to say and what not to say for a more effective sales conversation. One of the important elements of communication that often flies under the radar is how we use body language.
Mehrabian popularized the idea that 55% of our message actually comes from our body language, and not what we say or how we say it.
There are lots of other statistics floating out there – but they all concede that it’s our bodies that send the message first, and our voices and words come later.
Say you’re in a terrible mood, and you’re speaking with a client. You can say all the right things, you can even deal with all of the objections as though you are Tom Hopkins himself. And yet, if you’re doing so with a hunched over posture and your arms folded, you’re less likely to be successful.
Here are 8 things to observe and implement to better understand your client using body language. I should note that, of course, this is not an exact science – just as any science about human behaviour cannot be exact. If we had the ability to perfectly predict human behaviour, most of our jobs in the sales world wouldn’t exist. Humans are complex, so keep in mind that this is a general guide only.
1. Ensure you exhibit positive, confident body language
This first step is easy: Make sure that you’re standing up straight, with open body language (that is, have your torso free). Not only does this convey authority and confidence, but we can point here to Amy Cuddy’s famous TED Talk that tells us it actually makes you more likely to feel confident, too.
2. Observe body language from the start of the interaction
It’s hard to start observing body language only near the end of the interaction. We all have a different baseline, which is what we naturally do – how we stand, walk, if we’re a fidgety person or a more static one. You can only determine signs of discomfort if you know what this person looks like when they’re comfortable – and in a sales conversation they’re most likely to be completely comfortable at the beginning. So start with an idea of their baseline from the moment you meet.
3. Do they display open or closed body language?
As a general rule, the more open the body, the more open we tend to be to the person we’re speaking with. If someone shows closed body language, they might be uncomfortable or guarded. This can manifest in crossed arms, crossed legs, hidden hands or putting something in front of their torso (like a handbag). If we’re talking evolutionary psychology, this goes back to the idea that when we’re concerned for our physical safety we will try to protect ourselves by making ourselves smaller and protecting the important parts of our body by covering them.
4. Where is their torso facing?
It seems obvious, but the direction of the torso tends to indicate a person’s focus. If their torso is skewed to a diagonal or the side (in my experience, this occurs more in interactions where people are sitting), that person might no longer want to engage in the conversation.
5. Where are their feet pointing?
I love this one, and I can always tell the most engaged salespeople in a training session with this observation alone. Our feet reveal where we want to go next – if someone’s feet are pointed directly towards you, they’re probably pretty engaged with what you’re saying. If, however, they’re pointed elsewhere (usually it is literally towards the closest exit), they’re looking to go elsewhere!
6. How close are they to you?
Again, remember that everyone has their own sense of comfortable personal space. You’ll notice, though, that if someone is starting to disagree with you, their body is likely going to help them try and leave by physically creating more space between the two of you. If you end up at opposite ends of the room, things are not good.
Similarly, a lean in = I’m interested.
A lean back = Wait, what?
7. Are you mirroring each other?
You can see in one of my other articles on rapport building that I talk about mirroring your customer’s body language to help build physical rapport.
If you find the person is subconsciously mirroring your own movements (for example, leaning in when you lean in), that’s a great sign that there is good physical rapport and a level of trust in the interaction.
8. Are they pacifying?
When we talk pacifiers, they’re usually things we give to small humans to calm them down. Our bodies will naturally start pacifying when we’re in a state of discomfort – subconsciously trying to calm ourselves down, you might see someone start to rub their arm, their neck, or their leg. Best observed when paired with other discomfort factors like leaning back and crossing the arms, this one is a sign that things are perhaps not going the way they were expecting.
There are also obvious caveats to these points, like the fact that you might cross your arms because you’re cold, or rub your arm because you have a mosquito bite there. Body language needs to be looked at holistically – look at all the little things together, in context of the big picture, and it can give you tremendous insight into your client.
I must say, it’s impossible to give a comprehensive guide to body language in one article – the most important point is to be consciously aware of what your body language is projecting and what the body language of the other person is projecting.
We subconsciously observe body language all the time – by simply taking that to a more conscious level, you’ll be able to better connect with and understand your client.
Make Today the Day,
Sonia
This blog post was originally posted on my training website, Statusone.com.au, on Oct 21, 2017. I have since been moving some of my favourite blog posts from there over to here, as this is now my ‘content hub’ and I want you to have access to some of the cool stuff I’ve written about before. You can still check out the Status One site if you’re interested in corporate training if you want. Also, don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter below for updates and weekly exclusive content.