33: How to read lips to avoid problems

Never felt that someone is not being quite upfront with you, but you're not really sure. Joe Navarro gives us a tip on reading some nonverbal signs.

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welcome to the bite size sales podcast where we believe that sales is the most important team and a B2B company that the sales team deserves great sales skills training but usually doesn't get it and that taking bite-size steps each day to get better at your craft is the best way to improve results. I am your host, Andrew Monahan , and I'm using my experiences in B2B sales to bring you simple actionable ideas every day to help you get better.

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welcome to episode 33 of the bite-size sales podcast, and if you were on Thanksgiving break, welcome back, ready to go for the push to the end of the quarter, end of the year. Now , no, duh . Most of us listening have heard of the researcher run the different types of communication. You know, the, the nonverbals, the, the tone of voice and what you say. And you know, I think all the research kind of points towards over half of what you acumen communicate comes from your body language or nonverbal things. And you know, I often thought about this and think that those who do all their selling on the phone, you know, I have the utmost respect for what they do cause they just don't get the chance to , to sit there in front of someone, read what they're doing, you know, display their own body language and then build rapport that way. And we do ask a lot of, of inside sales organizations to make up in volume without having the ability to execute perfectly because if they're hamper a little bit because they don't get to read the body language , um , we tend to put our most expensive people on the bigger deals and that is usually face to face. And they're definitely at a bit of an advantage when they're working like that. And it kind of brings up an earthy, my mind that a , you know, you've probably heard about the, the rise of artificial intelligence or , or AI in sales and there's been some doom and gloom , uh , predictions that AI is going to take over selling and every salesperson is going to be at a job. And you know , I definitely don't in any way prescribed to that way of thinking. I think it has a role to play, but the idea that is going to take away this, this whole role of selling seems to me to , it's certainly an enterprise space seemed to me to be a little bit farfetched. And for one of the reasons I have my own mind is the whole power of, you know, reading things in body language. If you think about it, you're sitting there, how's an AI bot going to be able to sit there and work in a big deal and somehow read body language and intent that you can only really get if you're experienced, you're sitting there in front of someone. So anyway, I kind kinda think that , uh , this is a kind of good example where AI probably is at a disadvantage. Today's tip though comes from Joe Navarro. He's an ex FBI agent and an expert on nonverbal communications. He wrote a book a few years back and the book is called what every body is saying. So everybody's not everybody, but it's every body is saying. So that's the kind of nonverbal idea. So let me just read from, from the book, learn to recognize and decode nonverbal behaviors that are universal. Somebody's behaviors are considered universal because they're exhibited similarly by most people. For instance, when people press their lips together in a manner that seems to make them disappear, it is a clear and common sign that they are troubled and something is wrong. The more of these universal non-verbals you can recognize and accurately interpret, the more effective you will be in assessing the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of those around you. Universal tells of the lips were very helpful to me during a consulting assignment with a British shipping company. My British client had asked me to sit through their contract negotiations with a huge multinational corporation. There'll be outfitting their vessels. I agreed and suggested that the proposed contract be presented point by point with agreement being reached on each item before moving forward. That way I could more closely watch the corporate negotiator for any non-verbals that might reveal helpful information to my client. I'll pass you a note if I spot something that needs your attention. I told my client and then it settled back to watch the parties review the contract clause by clause. I didn't have long to wait before I saw an important towel . When a clause detailing the outfitting of a specific part of the festival was read a construction phase evolving millions of dollars. The chief negotiator from the multinational corporation pursed his lips a clear indication that something in this part of the contract was not to his liking. I pass a note to my client warning them that this particular clause in the contract was contentious or problematical and should be revisited and discussed thoroughly while we are all still together by confronting the issue. Then in there and focusing on the details of the clause in question, the two negotiators were able to hammer out an agreement face to face, which ends up saving my client 13 point $5 million . The regulators, nonverbal signal of displeasure was the key evidence needed to spot a specific problem and deal with it immediately and effectively. So that's read straight from the book and you know, calls that this idea of the personal of lips, I think I know what you mean. You know what I mean? Right. We kind of bring them together and, and uh , kind of stressful way to hold your lips. Um, and to me, you know, just an aside, this also highlights the power of negotiating and working in teams on these big deals. And we've talked about that in a previous episode. The real value in having the assigned roles during a negotiation or even during selling and be able to have someone have the time and the, the wherewithal to start reading these things such as non-verbals or what's going on in the room beyond what's being said. Um, so action item from this is practice watching people's lips. You know, dude , anywhere you can watch conversations in the office, what's conversations in line at the , uh, the coffee shop somewhere where people are interacting. Um, if you can over the holiday period, this is a tip for you is if you ever in kind of family board games or you're playing cards or whatever, that's a great environment, right? Where, you know , people are kind of playing a game as it were and you can start seeing how they're reacting to whatever's happening in front of them. Look for people that start personally to lips and you get a sense that something's causing them to be uncomfortable and that , you know, start applying these in real sales conversations. You know, we're coming up to the end of the quarter, end of the year here for many of us. And as you're doing your negotiation and you're sitting in front of people, look out for the pursed lips and be ready to call it out and say, you know , uh , you know, I noticed perhaps there's something about this clause that's making you uncomfortable. You know, is there something we need to talk about and you know, call it out and put on the table. So that's the action, you know, start practicing and start using it in sales situations.

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the episode is sponsored by unstoppable dot du . Most sales teams are not trained effectively the skills and mindset they deserve and these are the most important people in the company. It's no wonder that only about 50% of reps make quarter every year. Unstoppable is a service that helps sellers and leaders get great at the skills and mindset they need without taking time out of the field. It exists because if the sales team has the right skills and mindset, they thrive, they are confident

and they perform much better. Find out more and even get a free sales book@bitesizesales.com and now the wrap up as Nikki Downing global channel

director of mine , cast may or may not have once said , training with our implementation is just entertainment and preparer entertainment when Monaghan does it. So make sure you take action on what you learn and keep getting better every day. This world does not need more sales BS, so don't create anymore . Be great at the fundamentals. Be honest, be real. Be yourself. Just do not be us. And finally, I'm setting off as the Greek Joe Sexton word by saying, gone to sell

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