A salesman wanted to ask his pretty waitress for a date but couldn't
get her attention. When he was able to catch her eye, she quickly
looked away. Finally he followed her into the kitchen and blurted out
his invitation. To his amazement she readily consented.
The salesman asked, "Why have you been avoiding me all this time? You wouldn't even make eye contact."
"Sorry," the waitress replied. "I thought you just wanted more coffee."
Moral of the story. True sales professionals know that in order to
succeed in sales you have to make direct eye contact and never be afraid
to ask closing questions. Direct eye contact lets others know that
you are confident and have nothing to hide. Having shifty eyes or not
looking directly at a prospect, can lead them to believe you cannot be
trusted. As for asking direct closing questions, just remember,
customers and prospects are not psychic! How else do you expect to
close a sale you never ask for?
"Sometimes you have to disconnect to stay connected. Remember the
old days when you had eye contact during a conversation? When everyone
wasn't looking down at a device in their hands? We've become so focused
on that tiny screen that we forget the big picture, the people right in
front of us." - Regina Brett
A salesman is dining in a fancy restaurant, a couple of days before
Christmas, and there is a gorgeous redhead sitting at the next table.
He had been checking her out since he sat down, but lacked the nerve to
talk with her.
Suddenly she sneezes and her glass eye comes flying out of its socket
towards the salesman. He reflectively reaches out, grabs it out of the
air, and hands it back to her. "Oh my, I am so sorry," the woman says
as she pops her eye back in place. "Let me buy you dessert to make it
up to you."
They enjoy a wonderful dessert together, and afterwards, the woman
invites him to the theatre followed by drinks. After paying for
everything, she asks the salesman if he would like to come back to her
place and stay for breakfast the next morning.
The following morning, she cooks him a gourmet meal with all the
trimmings. The salesman is amazed! Everything had been incredible!
"You know," said the salesman, "you are the perfect woman. Are you this nice to every guy you meet?"
"No," replied the woman, "you just happened to catch my eye."
Moral of the story. True sales professionals know that in order to
succeed at sales they need to fully understand the importance of
establishing and maintaining good eye contact with prospects and
clients. Good eye contact establishes credibility, indicates
confidence and goes a long way to closing the deal with customers.
Failure to make good eye contact often leads to a lack of trust and lost
sales.
"People simply don't make eye contact anymore." - Eric Kripke
