Successful Small Business Tips # 19: Be natural

When speaking to potential clients, it's important to be professional, but it's also important to be natural. If you're going to ask how someone's day is going, be sure that you're asking just as you would ask a friend, rather than with a tone that implies that you're asking out of habit. Also it's OK to talk about other things outside of the business, for example, if you're in someone's office and they have a certain sports team's memorabilia up, if you're a fan of the same team, you can bring it up, even if you're not a fan of that team, and say you're a fan of the team's rivals, you can mention that, it'll mean more than lying to get the sale. People in general can tell when someone is genuine or not, there are exceptions, there are people who have practiced their sales craft so much that they're able to persuade a lot of people so that they can close sales. Most of us do not have the gift that some sales people have, so it's important to stay genuine when talking to potential clients, they'll appreciate it.