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by Nan Hruby
What Makes Some Sales Professionals more Successful Than Others?
Many years ago, before the internet, television, radio, and phones the world communicated through the use of stories. Stories were told around the campfire, and people were amazed. Some are so powerful we still tell them today.
Fast forward to the age of technology. We now have the average attention span of 8 seconds and will spend hours daily on devices that flood the mind with images and information. Some people consume the equivalent of 1.5 books per day in the form of different types of media.
The Ted Talk series have enjoyed huge popularity. A study was done by Author: Carmine Gall, who wrote the book,” Storyteller’s Secret: From Ted Speakers to Business Legends,Why Some Ideas catch on, and others don’t”.The study included 150 hours of Ted Talks, with over 500 of the most popular Ted talks studied to determine what made their content go viral. The study found the most popular speakers used story telling to relay the information. The stats are 65% stories, 25% facts and figures, and 10% information to support speakers credibility. Another study performed by “The Science of People” Human Behavior Lab found there were five behaviors that increased the popularity of a speaker. The study shows in the first few seconds of interaction, the viewer had already established an opinion based upon the style and physical appearance of the most popular Ted Talk speakers. The following is a list of those behaviors.
Professional Attire The speakers who dressed in darker colors, and wore business casual attire were found more popular than those who dressed in lighter colors.
Body Language The more hand gestures, the better for providing emphasis in the speech. Smiling was also shown to increase credibility.
Non Verbals “how you say it” Non verbals matter.” How you say it,” may be as important as “what you say” according to this study.
Knowing your Subject Matter Ted talks that appeared to be unscripted, did much better at connecting and engaging the audience.
Good Content, Great Story Telling Relevant Information presented in a compelling story format. The use of these techniques will engage the viewer and increase credibility. A good opening increased the viewers likability. Several openings included a short story, a joke, or a question.
Now lets examine how closely these behaviors align with good sales. A positive introduction, opening questions, positive body language, and relevant content through compelling storytelling are used by successful sales professionals to instill credibility, trust and likability in the prospects view. All necessary in gaining the trust to close a sale.
They are also all taught in my class at HNH Sales Conference and Workshops.
About the author