We have a question for you — Do looks matter? What do you think? Well, this is a controversial question between realists and idealists throughout the world belonging to different sections of society. However, there is one section where the answer is positive without much debate. That section is the world of sales and business.
Surveys indicate that people with attractive or decent appearances earn more money and derive better sales results as well. The basic explanation of this phenomenon is the natural human inclination. People judge and are influenced by looks subconsciously, without even knowing it.
This puts up the question of whether personal grooming is important for salespersons. The simple answer to this question is yes!
Personal grooming is essential in putting the right first impression in front of a client and converting more sales. Personal grooming impacts sales and, thus, indirectly, also the income of the salesperson.
In a survey, it is revealed that well-groomed and attractive people earn 3-4% more than a person not well-groomed. There are several reasons why this impacts sales. Well, in this article, we are going to discuss why personal grooming is important for salespersons and a few important tips of grooming for a professional!
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Importance Of Grooming Yourself
- One reason why personal grooming impacts sales is that it gives off the impression of professionalism in an individual. It inculcates trust and respect subconsciously in the minds of the clients and thus influences their choices and decisions.
- A casual or unclean appearance gives off the impression of thoughtless or irresponsible nature. This can again subconsciously impact the minds of the clients but in a negative way.
- Companies and sales firms tend to hire well-groomed salespersons or individuals and help their preexisting salespersons groom themselves better for an increase in their sales graph.
Sales earn a lot of benefits when details like grooming are taken care of! The effects are exactly the opposite when salespersons don't take care of their appearance and etiquette.
Appearances make a lot of impact on a person's image in the mind of a potential customer. Thus, personal grooming is an inevitable part of sales.
However, only dressing up for your next sales trip is not enough. Doing it the right way is essential in making the right impression and converting clients!
Simple Grooming Tips For Salespersons
Here are the top 9 grooming tips for professionals or salespersons in specific, that can impact their image and help convert clients:
1) Be Hygienic
The first rule of proper grooming is staying hygienic. A salesperson must always stay clean and hygienic while on a sales trip. This includes maintaining clean nails, hair, skin, teeth, and odor. Not keeping yourself hygienic can put a really bad first impression in the minds of your customers and ultimately impact your position. Salespersons' bad hygiene can distract potential clients and even drive them away.
2) Dress In An Appropriate Manner
A salesperson must dress according to the region he is stationed in. If formal dressing is the norm locally, then formal should opt. Some of the local clothing, like sarees and salwar suits for female salespersons, are also considered professional as well as help the clients feel more familiar and at ease with the salesperson. This fact should be taken advantage of by all salespersons to ingrain more trust in their clients.
However, just dressing up according to the situation is not enough. Dressing neatly is also very important when it comes to putting the right first impression. A salesperson needs to wear washed and ironed clothes at all times. This impacts not just the image of the salesperson but also of the brand they're representing. Thus, neat and tidy clothing is essential in the grooming technique of a salesperson.
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3) Wear The Right Attitude
Wearing the right clothes is only the first step. A salesman's real technique and skill are demonstrated by their attitude. The salesperson should at all times be confident about himself and the product he's selling. This impacts hugely on the reliability of the product you are selling. One must also be informative, polite, and patient at all times when it comes to dealing with a potential client to make the right impression.
4) Do Not Embrace Any Bad Habits
Habits like smoking, chewing tobacco, or chewing gum put a really negative image in the minds of customers. This is an unacceptable trait in a salesman and should be avoided at all costs while on a sales trip. A salesperson represents the brand and must always act according to the values of the said brand. Besides these, there are other habits that we feel every salesperson should incorporate into their routine such as being neatly dressed, punctual, sticking to the uniform if possible, and much more.
5) Don't Commit to Unreasonable Deadlines
A salesperson must not overpromise and underdeliver, and all the other company employees involved in executing the transaction can deliver. This can affect very badly on the image of the sales organization.
6) Be Courteous At All Times
Salespeople are bound to encounter rude or overly demanding customers. Good etiquette requires that the salesperson be patient and not get drawn into an unnecessary conflict, no matter how unpleasant the customer may be.
If the salesperson responds in an equally unpleasant manner, not only will the sale be lost, but the company's reputation might also get harmed.
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7) Improve Your Listening Skills
Sales etiquette requires that a salesperson not merely be an engaging talker or a powerful persuader, but also a good listener. The customer must be viewed as a unique individual with individual needs, not just a generic "prospect."
By developing listening skills, the salesperson can better find out what these specific needs are, so what he is doing is not so much selling as helping the customer buy. He succeeds not by convincing the customer to make a purchase, but by solving a problem, the customer has that the company's products can address.
8) Do Not Lie About Your Competitors
The pressure to beat out the competition can cause a salesperson to temporarily lose his/her moral compass. In extreme cases, he/she may say negative things about competitors' products that are untrue.
The customer may go back to the competitor and try to verify what the salesperson said. When the customer finds out he, in essence, was lied to, the salesperson -- and, more significantly, the company -- loses credibility. The competitor may respond in kind by saying untrue things about the salesperson’s company.
9) Try To Be A Team Player
One of the most significant findings highlighted that team-based cultures yield the very best sales teams. Rather than the mentality of having a select few top-performing sales reps to carry the team, high-performing organizations focus on the team as a whole.
In fact, high-performing sales teams were twice as likely to describe themselves as a “cohesive group of like-minded individuals” than people at average or underperforming organizations. Additionally, the top teams also viewed individual talent as less crucial to sales success but were less likely to have below-average salespeople – curating an all-star team.
Final Thoughts
The above are the ten essential grooming tips for a professional or techniques for salespersons that cannot be ignored in any situation. Salesmanship is a skill that has appeared, and etiquette is centered at the core of it. Personal grooming is an integral part of the right sales technique, and can't be avoided, and thus, your sales department must be hired or trained with these skills inculcated in them. Doing this will increase not only the profit margin but also the goodwill of your company. Well, what did you think of these above-mentioned tips for grooming for a professional? Do think about it!
