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BODY LANGUAGE SELLS

© Barbara Massie

The holidays are over and crafters who take a hiatus over the holidays are now gearing up to start selling again. To start a new season, preparations are made by purchasing supplies and building inventory.

Take time for another type of preparation. To make sales, having a quality product is priority, but you must show a happy and helpful persona to the public. Read Double Your Sales to learn, not only more about yours, but about the customer's body language. Presenting the picture of "Happy Crafter" to the public is difficult at times.

• If it's a bad day, you need to act the part.
• If it's a good day, there are still many ways to present a friendlier image to customers.

The Career Guidance Bureau of APTech Limited states: "We communicate 65% of our ideas and feelings without words." Read EVERTHING ABOUT US SPEAKS.

I go to shows to talk to the crafters. It's interesting to hear the comments of crafters. Some positive statements are, "It's a great show," and "The people are buying instead of just looking." Then there are the negative statements, "My seat is sore from seating," or "My feet are killing me!"

Questions some crafters have asked:

Q. I hear about "body language" and how a customer didn't buy something because the crafter in a certain booth had bad body language. What is actually meant by that?

A. Body language is how a person sees you in a nonverbal attitude. Before you even speak a word.

If you sit in a chair munching on goodies, while reading a magazine, looking very bored with the whole day, people will be turned off by your appearance and generally walk past your booth. Send out friendly messages. Greet your customers with a positive "Hello!" but your nonverbal language can say the opposite.

Develop "open posture." This means your arms are not tightly closed and your hands are away from your face. Let's look at arms folded across the chest with hands tucked in. This posture gives the appearance that you're standing your ground, not willing to give. Soften your posture - lower your arms to just above the waist with one arm out of the fold and laying on top of the other arm, not tucked in.

WINNING THE BODY LANGUAGE GAME is for job hunters, but it is an information guide on how to be a winner.

When your left arm is across your waist with the right elbow resting in your left hand with your chin resting in your right hand, you appear to be concentrating or thinking. To most people, this means "Don't bother me, I'm deep in thought." Would you disturb a salesperson who looked so preoccupied!

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