Smile Power (part 1)

I was reading a recent email from Art Sobczak and decided to make it a two-parter. Here's the first part:

This Week's Tip

Greetings!

I was in the Seattle airport, connecting to
my third flight of the day. To get to my tiny commuter
plane I had to take the airport train for what seemed
like a journey across the entire state of Washington.


It had been a long day already, with flight delays,
and of course, full body searches by airport security
personnel at every possible checkpoint.


As I stood leaning up against the pole in the seatless
subway-like train, I noticed a bouncy four-year old
boy with his father standing nearby. He looked at
me, then asked him, "Daddy, is that man sad?"


Wow!


It hit me like a baseball bat to the head.


Although I felt pretty good, apparently that wasn't
the message I was sending.


"No, I'm happy like you," I told him as I straightened up
and instantly changed my expression to a smile.


Then I thought about that small change, and the effect
it has on people.


So I tried a goofy experiment: I smiled at everyone I
made eye contact with, or interacted with the
remainder of the trip: the next security lady who
went through my briefcase...ticket agent...flight
attendants...rental car counter guy...
and random people walking down the terminal.


An interesting thing happened: Most of them smiled
back. (Except for the one woman who sped up as
she passed me. Not sure, but I think I heard her
say "creep.")


And it was fun!


So what's the point here?


Obviously this isn't deep intellectual sales
psychology.


It's just an elementary principle that works.


Your attitude--and the one you project with your
appearance, and consequently your voice--says a lot
about how others perceive you, and react to you.


Sadly, there are way too many people who act and sound
like it's a burden to speak with you. And I'm just talking
about the people who are paid to do so!


It probably hasn't been two days since you've
personally encountered someone who looked or sounded
like they just sucked on a lemon before waiting on you
in a store or restaurant, or spoke with you on the
phone.


I asked voice expert, Susan Berkley, author of "Voice
Shaping: How To Find Your Million Dollar Voice," to
share a few ideas about how to project the best image
on our sales calls.

Wednesday morning at 6am, check back for part two and Susan's advice.

Contact: Art Sobczak, President, Business By Phone Inc. 13254 Stevens St.,
Omaha, NE 68137, (402) 895-9399. Or, email:arts@businessbyphone.com

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