Beyond Fancy or Designer Clothing, Salespersons Should Wear a Smile

For businesses in many sectors, salespeople are the closest to customers. As a result, they are often charged with the responsibility of starting and maintaining strong customer relationship by being nice, courteous, resourceful and helpful.  Salespeople are also expected to look neat and attractive. This particular lesson is taught in almost every sales class. In fact, appearance has been emphasized to a point that many salespersons have been mentally conditioned to think that the most important expectation is to look smart and attractive. 

So, on a usual workday, you freshen up and concentrate all your efforts on finding the perfect outfit for the day. Your thoughts dwell on how you should be everything they have described a salesperson to physically be. You iron the carefully selected matching clothes, ensuring to get all the lines straightened and neat. Next is the perfect pair of shoes, the one you got at an outrageous price, you give it a nice polishing that leaves it shiny.  You trim and brush your hair and beard, keeping them super conditioned. And then you reach for that wonderful perfume bottle, the one that gets people asking you - “what brand is that?” Finally, you check out yourself in the mirror and confirm that everything is in place and then you step out in style.

You had hardly got to your office and assumed your position when a very enthusiastic and feisty customer approached you to ask for information on a product. And, you, in a long face, retorted with the response – "what do you want? Pick it from there and make the payment over there!"

You had forgotten one very important thing - as you wore those wicked Rihanna heels or those sleek Prada laced shoes; and that amazing Alexander McQueen high waist skirt with some off-the-planet Zara chiffon top or a classy Burberry suit, and Michael Korrs latest bag in your hand. You forgot one of the most important details - a SMILE. You forgot to wear a smile; instead, you went to work with a long face. Have you not heard that you are not fully dressed without a smile?

Some salespersons think that they have the option to smile or not to smile, but the truth is that once you assume the sales role, a SMILE is more than just a smile.  It is no longer that involuntary response to something that you find hilarious, but a mindful and intentional act that creates a friendly atmosphere. It is the positive feeling about your brand and the elevated mood that brings long-lasting memory and goodwill. Just as a fashion icon, Giorgio Armani puts it: "Elegance is not standing out, but being remembered."

 Indeed, a gracious smile can make all the difference! It helps make a good first impression and makes customers feel recognized, relevant, and important. As customers recall that experience that made them feel special, they keep coming back for more. Smiling helps you become all that you are physically and emotionally expected to be as a sales person - it is an essential part of being polite, courteous and kind at work, it provides a gateway to resourcefulness, lays the foundation for harmonious relationship, and increases your confidence in the sales role.  And what’s more? Your smile lights up your Zara top, Prada bag and all the popular (and unpopular) brand names you have put on. Yet, you can wear a smile for free.

So, if you do not smile as a salesperson, you lack what it takes to shoot a business to the best height. Smiling is one of the attitudes that can determine the altitude of the business you work for. Therefore, instead of focusing on your dressing alone, have a balance - dress to attract and smile to shoot. Great customer service begins with a smile. Smile is a component of your dressing that should never be forgotten.

About FeedbackHall

FeedbackHall Limited is a customer feedback service, registered in Nigeria. The Firm develops and markets the feedbackhall.com website and feedbackhall mobile apps available on play store and app store. The platforms are structured, convenient and affordable means for consumers and businesses to give and receive feedback on goods and services.

In addition, with a team of smart, passionate and well-trained professionals, FeedbackHall offers best-in-class, authentic and insightful research services. The firm leverages its fast-growing community which has active members across Nigeria and abroad to provide real time reliable and actionable, difficult-to-find customer intelligence at a speed that has never been imagined.

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