Every day in this industry has its ups and downs. I talk to many different customers during my travels, and I run into a variety of personalities and moods. During the typical sales day, a salesperson can run into a variety of situations which can be very stressful. There is stress involved in simply getting to the sales call. Let’s call that PTA or “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.”
Getting to the airport on time, getting through security and then dealing with airline delays can be quite stressful. Now, I don’t travel much by train, but I do travel quite a bit by automobile, and this mode of transportation has its share of stress as well. Driving through bad storms can be very stressful, especially during peak tornado season, as well as dealing with snow in the winter months. Then there can be stress once you finally get to the sales call. Perhaps the customer has been experiencing delays in his orders or quality issues and he or she wants to vent.
But no matter how stressful the journey or the sales call agenda, I always check myself in the rear-view mirror or bathroom before heading in to see my customer, making sure that I am wearing the most important part of my wardrobe: my smile!
Now, when you walk in to see a customer, you never know how his or her day has been going. They can be feeling stressed due to a variety of reasons which could include stock outages, production delays or customer service issues. So, it is important to greet them in the most positive fashion possible. Even more important than the handshake is one’s smile. It sets the tone for the rest of the meeting. A smile exudes positivity and optimism. Conversely, a frown spells nervousness, pessimism and a lack of confidence.
Indeed, research shows that a smile is a very powerful sales tool. Smiling can refresh your mood; it relaxes you and makes you feel at ease. It has been scientifically proven that smiling makes you happy as opposed to your smile being a consequence of happiness. The brain responds to the movements in your facial muscles that are responsible for creating your smile and this triggers the release of neurotransmitters called endorphins. These endorphins create a feeling of happiness and wellbeing. Endorphins also inhibit the release of another chemical called cortisol, a chemical which makes you feel anxious. Those negative feelings caused by cortisol can easily be sensed by your customer, and they will surely detract from your meeting. On the contrary, a customer that comes out to greet a smiling salesperson will instantly be put at ease and feel relaxed as the meeting begins. So, your smile, or lack thereof, sets the tone for your meeting.
Make It Real
So, if you are having a bad day, should you force a smile? Well, it depends. Studies have shown that the person on the receiving end can tell if your smile is genuine or fake. A fake smile involves only the muscles surrounding the mouth. A genuine smile is called a “Duchenne” smile and is named after a French scientist who advanced the study of electro-physiology. A Duchenne smile involves not only the mouth muscles but also the muscles surrounding one’s eyes. This is thoroughly explained in an article “The Psychology of Smiling.” Now, faking a smile may backfire on you when your customer comes out to meet you. He or she may think you are acting phony or that perhaps you really need to use the bathroom! Either way, it’s not a good start to your sales call.
Even though forcing a smile may create a bad impression in the mind of your customer, if you are alone and experiencing a stressful event, smiling, even if forced, can help your own mood and recovery from a stressful event. This fascinating article, entitled “Grin and Bear It – Smiling Facilitates Stress Recovery,” published by the Association of Psychological Science, details a study showing that one’s brain cannot tell the difference between a forced smile versus one that is genuine. Participants in the study were instructed to bite on chopsticks in ways which duplicated the muscle movements in both fake and Duchenne smiles. The participants who were smiling, regardless of whether the smile was genuine or forced, showed lower levels of anxiety while undergoing stressful activities versus participants who did not smile. The brain released endorphins in either case due to feedback from the facial muscles to the part of the brain controlling stress.
So, when you engage stressful events, and they are plenty, just smile. Smile, even if you don’t feel like it. Smiling will help you weather the storm with lower levels of anxiety. When the stress subsides, you will be able to more easily refresh your mind. Then, your next smile will likely be a genuine one. Your customers and co-workers will sense this, and they in turn will do something positive: They will smile!