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Selling Through COVID-19 and Beyond: Using Body Language on Video

Written by ClientPoint | May 4, 2020 4:00:00 AM

A major part of being a successful remote seller is having great body language. Understanding what your body language conveys to your prospects will help you connect with them on a deeper level and establish a connection with them as a human being.

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BE AWARE OF WHERE YOUR HANDS ARE

When it comes to body language in video selling, one of the first things that you should be aware of, is where your hands are. Ideally, you want your hands to be visible if they can be. Now, depending on the positioning of your camera, your hands might not always visible, but it is much easier for people to listen to you if you have your hands out. Also, people will typically trust you more if you have your hands out versus if your hands are hidden. 

BE AWARE OF HOW YOU’RE SITTING

Next, you want to be aware of how you're sitting and use how you're sitting to emphasize where you are in the conversation. When you're asking questions, like on a discovery call, you want to be leaning in and taking notes. Those notes could be on your computer, or even better, using a pen and paper to take notes right next to you is very powerful. Lean in to let them know that you are really listening, and that you really care and are really engaged.

When they start to open up, sharing more in-depth, and sharing more of their feelings, you can put your pen down, lean out and just start to relax. This signals to that prospect that you're ready to take a break and just really listen and hear them out. What that's going to do body language wise is, it's going to invite that other person to keep sharing openly and you're letting them know that you have the time to really listen to them and really hear them.

Another great principle is that when you're feeling a little bit insecure yourself, you can lean back a little bit, and that'll help you reestablish a feeling of confidence. Then you can come back to strong body language once you've gathered yourself.

Schedule a Demo now to see how ClientPoint can help you when selling remotely.

BE AWARE OF HOW YOU’RE USING FACIAL EXPRESSIONSNext you want to be aware of how you're using facial expressions. When you are on video your charisma and who you are as a person doesn't always translate well. When you are in person, they get to see how you're moving, your body language, and how you carry yourself. There were a lot of things that we communicate in person that aren't being communicated when we're on a zoom call. One of the biggest things is your passion and your enthusiasm doesn't translate through.

You need to make sure that you're not just a robot standing completely still. We see this all the time; people get on camera on a sales call and they start to freeze, and they just sit there and have boring facial expressions. Then when they get on camera and they're talking to their family, they have lots of energy and are really express themselves.

Make sure that you're bringing that energy and you're bringing your facial expressions to the sales call. You need to remind yourself that, "Hey, I need to be expressing myself. I need to help people feel me. They can't feel me if I'm not using my body language and if I'm not using my face.”

BE OK WITH BREAKING EYE CONTACT

You need to be okay with and feel comfortable breaking eye contact with the screen. It's actually a compliment sometimes if somebody asks you a question or you're thinking about something to recommend and you start looking away and say, "That's a great question." In fact, it makes people feel more normal when you're selling to them and you're not just sitting there staring at their image the whole time.

When you pause and look away, they feel that you are seriously contemplating their question and giving them some breathing room. This gives them a moment of further connection with you and allows them to feel safe. Then they will be more prepared to hear the comment you make after taking that pause.

See how ClientPoint can help you build connection with your prospect, Schedule a Demo now

BE OK WITH LOOKING BORED

Next, you want to be okay with looking a little bored. This may sound like a contradiction to what was mentioned earlier about fully using your facial expressions when communicating and engaging with them, but when it comes to them sharing their situation, it's okay to look a little bored sometimes. You want to come off as a trusted advisor, it draws people in.

When you're talking to a doctor or a therapist, they're not going to be enthusiastic the entire time and they're not going to be aggressively leaning forward. A lot of times they're acting very relaxed and they can seem a little bit bored. The interesting thing that happens when you seem a little bored by someone's problem is, they automatically assume that if you're bored by their problem then you’re probably an expert at solving it.

Also, when you seem a little bored, then you’re not pouncing on every single point that they're making. They don’t feel like you’re using every point they make as ammo to set up for a pitch in 30 seconds. Instead, you’re just relaxing and when you start talking about how you can help them, you can start using more facial expressions again. You want them to feel that this is something you’re used to doing and that it isn’t new to you.

Remember, when it comes to remote selling, all they get to see of you as a person is the little video screen. They're not seeing anything else about you. You need to make sure that you're pushing as much of you as a person through that screen as possible. Through your body language, through your expressions, through everything that you are and how you're using your voice.

They need to truly feel you as a human being. Once they feel you as a human being and you really take their problems seriously, they're going to be so excited to continue working with you and hearing what you have to say to help them move forward in their life or their business. Make sure that as you're selling remotely, body language is number one on your mind second to the prospect.

ClientPoint's enterprise solution can help move your business forward while remote selling, Schedule a Demo now to see how.