There have been millions of poems and other wise words written over the eons about smiles. Far too many salespeople have never read any of them.
I walked up to a foreman on a jobsite today and the first thing he said was something about me smiling every single time I walk up to him.
Why wouldn’t I smile ? I’m outside, the sun’s shining, there’s material I sold all over that construction site and that contractor always pays his bills.
I even met a new subcontractor on that jobsite today. I walked up to him, with a smile, and said,
” You know, he’s right (referring to the foreman), you ARE bigger AND uglier than I am ! “
Now, if you can walk up to a rather large, rather ugly masonry contractor ( bricklayer ) and say that as the first words he ever hears you speak and not get hit, you know a smile must be powerful.
In fact, it made him smile rather broadly.
Here’s the best part – I wanted him to switch his favorite brand of mortar to one that I needed to push a little of and he agreed instantly, because of that smile.
The man uses one brand of mortar every day of his life and instantly agrees to switch, just to help a guy who walked up and insulted him … with a smile.
‘Nuff said.
Now go sell something with a smile 
PS – Where’d the $40,000,000 in the title come from ? That’s how much product I can prove I’ve sold since ’94. I don’t have records before that.
PS X 2 – I noticed the Related Posts have a couple of references to the worth of this blog. I went to that little generators homepage and I’m now worth over $50K … up over $40K in a year. I’ll take it in cash or PayPal.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Great post, Mike. Along those same lines is the humor you used. Humor is another powerful tool. Joking with a cashier that’s having a cruddy day, gets you remembered next time. Same goes for dealing with customers.
I once made a bet with a guy that I could get an account with just a cheerful demeanor and a sense of humor. Granted, what I was selling was a good service (my own in fact), but his cold salesman approach failed consistently. I got it with one try – with humor and a smile.
Smiles, humor, kindness, etc are such a valuable commodity tody.
Most people are way too self-important and self-obsessed to use them.
Most people feel like they are God’s gift to the world.
This’ a good post. A smile always makes things bright.
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Thanks Seth. Now go easy with the links or we’ll think you’re just commenting to leave ‘em behind.
I’m still reading the blog for your unique contents as well. But aite Mike, keep it goin.
Thanks Seth. Just add to the conversation and you’ll always be welcome … anywhere.