Take a good, objective look at your firm’s sales staff. Now, take that same objective look at the majority of customers that walk thru your doorway. Do they look very similar? They should.
Remember that an estimated 80% of communication is non-verbal. Our potential customers are sizing your staff up from the moment that they lay eyes on them. Admit it – you do it too when you are the customer. You take everything from gender to grooming to posture to dress into account. You then tend to proceed to make an initial judgment as to whether this is a person that you could potentially trust and enjoy working with.
If the feeling is positive, you will begin to open up and discuss your wishes and intentions. If not, you will likely mutter “I’m just looking” and scramble toward an exit.
I feel that diversity of all types among your staff is more important today than ever. When making hiring decisions, ask yourself if this prospect would likely be a good fit with your customer base. One of the biggest mistakes that a store manager can make is to hire in his or her own image. If you hire only people that you like and can relate to, you are failing your organization many times over. Who does your staff resemble?
Tom Jennings
