6 Inconsistent Behaviours That Will Affect Your Sales

There’s something we all know to be an important aspect of the sales process but it’s rarely talked about: Being Congruent
 
Congruent - the quality or state of agreeing, coinciding, or being congruent. 

The concept of the person who is selling being congruent in their actions is tremendously important in the sales process. We pick up on when a sales person is incongruent or they don’t walk the talk or do something that doesn’t add up. These events cause us to second guess what we are being told, create distrust, and negatively affect our buying decision. For the sales person, the scary thing about this concept is that the things that tip the buyer off that they are being inconsistent can be so small and inconsequential that they are easily not thought about as important. In and of themselves, any one of these following misdeeds may not sabotage a sale; but add two or three together and you’ve got trouble that will affect the number of sales you make.

 
1. Saying one thing, doing another. Nothing sets off the alarm bells for most customers more then not calling them back when you say you will, or showing up late for an appointment. Add to that mixed messages between what the marketing literature says they can expect, and what really happens and you’ve got problems.
 
2. Expressing the wrong emotion at the wrong time. Think about a sales person asking someone how they are doing at paying off their debt. The client confides that they are not doing well and the sales person responds, “Fantastic”. Why would they do that? Well, we know why they would: they’re happy because that means they have a viable candidate in front of them to sell to. However, that should be their “inside voice”. To stay congruent to the moment they need to empathize with the person they are speaking with. Their emotional response to the situation has to add up or they create uneasiness and distrust.
 
3. Talking poorly about others. Whether the sales person is talking about the competition or previous customers, any badmouthing creates a disconnect. They talk nicely to you before the sale but what if you, as a customer, do or say something they disagree with? Will they be talking about you the same way when you’re not there? 
 
4. Unorganized work place. Whether it’s a restaurant, the body shop where you take your car, or your financial planner, when a business area is dirty and/or unorganized it says something about the service and quality you can expect. Does it mean if your office is a mess that you don’t do a good job? No, of course not. But we are talking about little things that can add up in creating a disconnect between what the company says you are all about and an image that may say something different.
 
5. Dress/Attire. Similar to the above point but it deserves to be isolated. It’s no secret that the dress code for banking has relaxed over the past decade but if what a sales person is wearing falls too far outside of what most would consider professional, you raise a flag.

6. Body language. People believe what they see more than what they hear. You know that sixth sense most people refer to that tells them whether or not someone is sincere? Usually that is nothing more than us picking up on non-verbal cues. Inappropriate eye contact, fidgeting, or invasion of personal space all lead us to second guess the message being delivered.
 
Virtually every coach that has lead their team to a major championship have all said at one time or another that “success comes down to doing the little things right”. Making sure your actions are congruent with what your company says the client can expect is a little thing that can become a big thing in a heart beat without proper attention.