Things I've learned about selling: #2 of many:

#2 Make THEM Smile.

In my previous post I wrote about the importance of smiling when you engage a prospective buyer. 

• Smiling makes you happier.
• Smiling at someone may likely evoke a smile in response.
• Smiling will make that person happier.
• A person who smiles will have a more positive impression of what follows than one who doesn't smile.
• Therefore: If you make them smile you will have more sales success.

This is not a theory. This is a fact. I did not make this up. Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize winning psychologist, wrote Thinking, Fast and Slow, which every professional salesperson should read. Strike that... EVERYONE who has an interest in how and why we make decisions and how we are influenced should read this book.*

• Want to make someone smile? Ask them to put a pencil in her/his mouth, between their teeth. It causes the “smiling” muscles to trigger, forcing someone to smile for real, even if they don’t want to. The physical act of smiling positively affects levels of dopamine, endorphins and serotonin... making you feel better.

I'm not suggesting you hand your buyer a pencil and ask them to stick it in their mouth. Nor would I recommending you tell an off-color, inappropriate, insensitive or politically charged joke. The skill of getting prospect to smile while maintaining your stature as a credible, informed and trustworthy professional is incredibly valuable and shouldn't be underestimated.  

"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy." ~Thich Nhat Hanh

*and this book by Malcolm Gladwell: Blink.