Reading Your Customers’ Body Language Cues

In these slow economic times for the RV business, salespeople are under constant pressure to find a competitive edge against the salesperson at the dealership down the street. Between learning ever-evolving product lines and their features, mastering the selling system their company has chosen to use and keeping up on the ever-changing mindset of customers who are hyperconscious of prices and interest rates, they are faced with constant challenges to sell product and enjoy commissions.

However, the top salespeople who consistently hit good numbers and make a solid income regardless of the product shortages and economic conditions that can affect all that, are doing one thing the others are not.

You may have heard the term that most successful salespeople are “canned,” meaning that through trial and error they have refined and crafted an approach that seems to work with their customers, and they roll that out in exactly the same way with each one of them.

However, the really great salespeople, those who are the best of the best, realize that every customer is different — and needs to be handled in a way that they prefer, not the way the salesperson prefers. We’ve all heard the saying “treat others the way you would want to be treated.” But there is a saying that’s been around for a while now that makes even more sense and resonates much better with today’s individualistic customers. It’s a saying that was promoted in Tony Alessandra’s book “The Platinum Rule”: “Treat others the way they want to be treated.”

In the critical first few minutes of the meet and greet with customers, the top salespeople tend to listen a lot more than they talk and combine that with sharp, perceptive skills to read and identify the “type” of customer standing in front of them for the expressed purpose of adjusting their communications and presentations to a way that their customer finds more receptive and pleasing.

Why is this important? Because customers, like most people, are attracted to people who are like them. They’re not interested in canned, robotic, rehearsed presentations. They prefer to buy from salespeople who are like them. A great start is to find ways to help your customer feel comfortable in the early stages of first meeting them, before any conversation about products or budgets, to discover what kind of person they really are.

Breaking Through Customer Anxiety

In addition, if you’re like most salespeople, you likely overlook the fact that most of the customers who walk into your dealership are very anxious about working with you. Some are actually scared. Most of us have had at least one awful encounter with a salesperson, regardless of business or industry, and not only does that tend to stay with us, it also affects our customer’s perception of the salesperson when they walk in. The customer’s prior discomfort with salespeople also causes a great deal of anxiety and stress that affects how much information they are willing to give you, how much of that will be honest and whether they will listen to anything you say.

So how do we break through all this customer stress? None of us are psychologists or mind readers, but there is a great way to get a better read on how your tight-lipped customer is feeling, and that’s by reading the nonverbal cues that are right in front of you. My observations have taught me that 90% of all salespeople overlook this with a new customer.

I would like to refer you to a great book by a University of California professor, Albert Mehrabian, called “Silent Messages: Implicit Communications of Emotions and Attitudes.” In this book, Mehrabian cites a few statistics that are notable and important to remember:

• Only 7% of the effectiveness of communications is based on the actual words we use.
• 38% is based on not what we say but the way we say our words.
• 55% of effective communication is based on nonverbal cues, such as facial expressions.

Customers might not tell you that they are uncomfortable or anxious. In fact, they will seldom do so. But the cues are there if you’re looking for them, and how they feel around you will directly affect their ability to be comfortable enough to trust you when making a purchase.

This reminds me of my wife, who after all these years still might not say exactly what she wants but will insinuate how she’s feeling with nonverbal cues and body language. It’s up to me to be aware of those cues to not miss the message that is right in front of me. Sound familiar?

In the early stages of meeting a customer, when they have not yet decided that they trust you, being more perceptive and able to read these nonverbal cues is something everyone can improve with focus and practice. In doing so, you will also increase your odds of determining the type of customer in front of you that can lead you to adjustments in your communication and presentation in a way that is more likeable and trustworthy to them.

At the very least, being more perceptive of your customer’s body language and nonverbal cues can help confirm that what you’re hearing verbally is a true reflection of how they feel. It’s important to keep in mind that an uncomfortable, untrusting customer will not be emotionally capable of buying three hours later, no matter how well your song and dance product presentation is.

Look for These Negative Cues

So what negative cues are we looking for? I go through them in detail in my book, but a few here to look for are:

• A lack of eye contact. The customer looks away from you or past you. They just won’t look you in the eye.
• Disinterested facial expressions. The facial expressions with some customers are a massive stop sign, and a cue to stop what you’re doing and find out why they are uncomfortable.
• Body positioning that points away from you. Customers will use their body as a system of defense.
• Unusual movements with hands and arms. Customers will do awkward things with hands and arms that aren’t typical of a normal stance.
• Reading a brochure or other material. Uncomfortable customers will overly focus on something other than the salesperson.

Once you sense those negative cues, pausing to address those with subtle and curious questioning is a must, because the customer might not give you another chance to help them feel comfortable, so you must grasp the opportunity to do so in those first few minutes.

What does this mean? It just means asking questions to confirm that they are feeling comfortable with what you’re doing, such as:

• How are we doing so far?
• Are you comfortable with our approach, or would you like to adjust?
• Does what we’re doing feel OK to you? Any adjustments you would like to make?

In order to ease tension and help your customer relax, I recommend “announcing” your planned next steps. Say something like, “In order to put you in front of a product that is perfect for you, I would like to ask you a few questions about where you plan to go and how you plan to use it. Does that sound OK?”

Customers love this, because it lets them know what is coming and eliminates the fear that you might be doing something sneaky or that might make them feel uncomfortable. Doing this is an upfront approach that all customers, especially the anxious ones, really appreciate and it can go a long way to increase the comfort that leads to them to trust you. It is important to remember that an untrusting customer will not be emotionally prepared to buy from you at any point.

In addition, understanding the type of customer in front of you can help you make adjustments to be more compatible with them. The analytical customer will want specific, detailed, fact-based answers that are backed up with written documentation, brochures or handouts. This customer prefers a professional, businesslike approach with just the facts. They are not interested in “yucking it up” for three hours just for the fun of it. On the other hand, the outgoing customer will want to have fun looking at product and will quickly get bored with an overly technical presentation.

Being a good listener, combined with being a perceptive reader of body language cues, will help clarify the type of customer standing in front of you, which can lead you to adjustments in your communications and/or presentations that will be more accepted by your customer. When this happens, a true comfort-based connection will be formed and bring the trust right along with it that must be present for the customer to be able to say “yes” to buying from you.