Lighten Up To Boost Your Sales.
By Chris Croner, PhD, Psychology

Article Date: June 5, 2006

As a salesperson, you are always looking for things that will help you stand out from the competition. In this week's column, I'm going to give you more than that. I'm going to show you how to beat your competitors, make more money, and improve your quality of life. Here's the secret: lighten up and have more fun!

You heard me -- start enjoying yourself. Research by psychology professor Sonja Lyubomirsky at the University of California, Riverside, shows that happy people are more likely to succeed at work, make more money, and get higher performance ratings than their mopey peers.

The reason happy salespeople do so well is simple: they make other people feel good. Customers, coworkers, and bosses actually catch the positive vibes of fun-loving salespeople. Customers are more likely to bond with a salesperson who makes them feel good. Assuming the product and service is the same, they will be more likely to buy from the salesperson with an infectious positive attitude.

Another advantage of positive, energetic people is that they are rare commodities. If you don't believe me, walk out into the hall or down the street. Get a good look at the serious or sour expressions on most people's faces. These are the people your customer is interacting with all day long. So, this is a major opportunity for you to stand out. I'm not suggesting you should be "over the top" -- that's just irritating. Keep showing your sharpness and expertise as always -- just lighten it up.

Here are three ways for you to lighten the mood:

1. Find an energetic, charismatic role model. If you are not a happy person, there are plenty of people to watch for lessons. You might think of John Stewart, Jay Leno, or Paul McCartney. Watch them carefully. Notice how they light up the room when they enter. Notice what they do that projects their positive energy. Now become that type of entertaining person with your customers. After some practice, you will notice you no longer have to work at it -- it becomes part of your repertoire.

2. Ask yourself: How can this help me? When the inevitable slings and arrows of everyday life hit you, don't let them spooil your mood. That's what the typical person (a.k.a. your competition) does. Instead, look for ways to turn each challenge you face into a benefit. For example, on a cold call, if a prospect tells you to get lost, think about this: You just learned something important about the prospect's personal style. You can now decide whether to keep him on your list. You would not have gotten that information if you did not make the call. You can also use that information to sharpen your next call. Furthermore, you have gotten yelled at for no reason and survived. That gives you an even thicker skin, which is essential for most cold callers. You have every reason to be proud. Keep this attitude and you'll be smiling while your competition is hanging its head in shame.

3. Build your comedic muscles. You can build your ability to lighten up and laugh in severals ways. The easiest way is by controlling what you put in your head. Simply put, the things you watch, read, or listen to can have a tremendous impact on your mood. Someone who spends their free time watching crime documentaries and reading the obituaries is probably not going to be much fun. Take time to watch Comedy Central, or movies like Caddyshack or Wedding Crashers. You will start to develop a stronger sense of what is funny and entertaining. Then, bring a little of that magic to your customer meetings.

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