Photo: Contributed - (Photo: Flickr user, caliorg)

Deliberately or not, we all have perceptions of the other person. Right or wrong, it happens. That perception is based on three things; the words we use, the tonality of our speech and our body language. People judge other people initially from what they observe. And prospects do it to you. So what perception are you building with potential new customers?

Body language accounts for 55% of your communication. Based on how you look, others will determine if they like you. It’s about how you dress, the jewelry you wear, how you style your hair (if you have hair), how you shake hands, sit, stand and so on. Ever looked at someone and wonder, “who dressed her this morning?”

Tonality makes up 38% of your communication. It’s about how you enunciate, the pace and speed of your speech, and your accent. If you’ve ever been verbally assaulted by someone who spoke at a 100 miles a minute and felt confused because you couldn’t understand the person, that’s bad communication. Or if someone was slow and monotone, it may have been so distracting that you simply didn’t listen.

Finally the words come into play. But they only account for 7% of communication. Yet we all have our own way of expressing ourselves with special words and phrases that have meaning for us. So do our clients.

To be a professional communicator, you must adjust your communication style (body language, tonality and words) to that of your prospect. By doing this, the prospect will feel more comfortable with you. They’ll have a more familiar feeling and will be more inclined to spend time and information with you.

You actually do this now. Watch two friends at a restaurant, at a concert, sitting on the back deck. They will be in sync. They have a bond based on common communication styles and the conversation flows freely. Why not be a professional communicator at work and use the same communication style as your prospect?

Reprinted from The President’s Club Report, © Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2012 Sandler Training and Insight Sales Consulting Inc. All rights reserved.

John Glennon is the owner of Insight Sales Consulting Inc, the authorized Sandler Training Licensee for the Interior of British Columbia. He can be reached at jglennon@sandler.com or toll free at 1-866-645-2047.