In Sales it Starts With a Good Handshake

You have heard it many times, and I mean many times before, and that is, when you are greeting someone for the first time or someone you haven`t seen in a long time you should give a firm handshake.

This is very important when it comes to making face to face sales. It is important that you as the sales person have a firm handshake. We have all experienced bad handshakes. You know the ones where you shake someones hand and you feel as if you are shaking hands with a dead person, ok maybe not dead, but definitely someone who is in a deep sleep. You know what I am talking about. On the opposite end of that spectrum, I am sure we all have, or at least I know I have, experienced someone who seems like they want to squeeze the life out of you, by crushing your hand with their death grip.

You do not want either of those scenarios, especially in sales. Imagine you are a customer and you walk up to the sales person, they extend their hand to do a meet and greet, you do the same, and next thing you know you are grabbing your hand, screaming in pain. Now tell me, would you buy from that person? Probably not, and if you did you must be a glutton for punishment.

I remember one time when my wife and I went to look for a new car. We happened to stop for lunch before we arrived at the car dealership, so when I started browsing around for my new "hot" ride, I still had a drink in my hand. A sales person approached, reached out their hand to me, I reciprocated, and the the sales person began to shake my hand so fast, my entire body felt like it was going through a washing machine. Needless to say the drink went everywhere. Not a good start for that salesperson, and trust me, it did not end well for them either. I decided to buy elsewhere.

Lydia Ramsey of Across the Board says, "The business handshake is an essential selling technique to make a lasting impression. The first move you make when meeting your prospective client is to put out your hand. There isn`t a businessperson anywhere who can`t tell you that the good business handshake should be a firm one. Yet time and again people offer a limp hand to the client. To have a good business handshake, position your hand to make complete contact with the other person`s hand. Once you`ve connected, close your thumb over the back of the other person`s hand and give it a slight squeeze. You`ll have the beginning of a strong business relationship."

A firm handshake is a vital part of any and every sales person`s success. If you do a lot of face to face sales, then it is a skill that should you should master. A firm handshake lets a potential customer know that you are confident in what you are doing, yet at the same time not seem too overpowering nor too weak. Face to face sales begin with a good hand shake, just do not let your potential sales end because of a bad one.

By: Bruce A. Tucker

About the Author:

About the Author:
Bruce A. Tucker is the Associate Director of Indocquent.com, an online resource that allows businesses and individuals to post their products and services for sale in 20,000 cities throughout 200 countries around the world.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - In Sales it Starts With a Good Handshake

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