Smile, everyone!

I was reading a recent article on Yahoo by Jennifer Margulis about the impact a smile can have on people.

One of the pieces of information in the article that fascinated me was that “Smiles exert subliminal powers.” The article went on to say that in a study where people were shown an image of a smiling face for just four milliseconds, they experience an emotional high.  Four milliseconds are not even enough to register in the conscious minds of the test subjects! The article listed three results that were found in the study. “Compared with control groups, the smile-viewers perceive the world in a better light: To them, boring material is more interesting, neutral images look more positive, even bland drinks seem tastier”

I have been doing a lot of reading lately about the science of influence.  There are so many tried and true, ethical ways to influence consumers today.  Books are being written daily about just this subject. However this is super simple.  This is just a big smile, folks.  We’ve always known that smiles open doors, but in today’s competitive markets, looks like they also make sales.  There is a trick however (You knew it was coming, didn’t you?)  The trick is this; it has to be a genuine smile.  The fake ones that don’t reach your eyes don’t get the job done.  According to the article, there’s a muscle in the face that automatically is activated when we smile genuinely, and never when we fake smile.  Somehow people can pick up on that.  So next time you want to influence someone to your way of thinking, think happy thoughts, and smile big!

What does that mean to me as a salesperson?  It’s the difference between a customer that stays in our store and one who goes to the competition.  Since I read the article, if I’m helping a customer and I pass another who is “just looking” or even if someone comes in the door, I try to dazzle them with a smile, and at least a “How are you today?”  If four subconscious milliseconds have an influence on test subjects, then my one or two second smile should knock’em out!  Seriously though, I’m finding out that the science of influence is not rocket science- it’s actually social science.  You can start today to improve your influence by finding reasons to smile, genuinely smile, your way to better sales success.

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/what-the-size-of-your-smile-says-about-you-2528046/