When you’re in sales, confidence and leverage are everything. If you want to improve your numbers, convert more leads, and generate greater profits, you need to learn how to employ the appropriate skillsets.
In other words, you may need to add a couple of power moves to your repertoire.
What is a Power Move?
The best definition of a power move is a legal action or habit that enables you to influence how people respond to you ethically in essential business settings. Think of it as leveraging basic human psychology to gain an advantage, and enable yourself to be more productive and successful.
A power move is not about bringing other people down, or manipulating, coercing, belittling, hurting, or damaging someone else—physically or emotionally. In other words, power moves don’t necessarily involve a zero-sum game.
Five Power Moves You Could Implement Today
Power moves have the potential to change your approach to sales completely and fundamentally. Here are five examples of specific power moves you can implement right away.
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Control Your Posture
You have utter control of your body language. Although you might be a nervous wreck on the inside, you may communicate confidence and success in how you hold and present your body.
“Don’t slouch! Those with social anxiety tend to try and take up as little space as possible, which can mean sitting slumped over in a protective pose,” therapist Arlin Cuncic writes.
“Straighten your back, pull your shoulders away from your ears, and uncross your arms and legs.” Likewise, keep your chin up and make eye contact with everyone when you talk to them.
This might feel uncomfortable and natural at first, but you can do it. If making direct eye contact is challenging, try staring at the other person’s eyebrows.
To them, it will look as if you’re making eye contact, but you won’t actually have to gaze directly and deeply into people’s eyes.
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Talk in a Deeper, Slower Voice
Your voice can say a lot about you. If your voice is high-pitched and the words pour out like an avalanche, others will tend to read that as a sign of nerves and a lack of confidence.
If, on the other hand, you speak in a deep, slow manner, people will be more likely to hang on your every word and regard you as honest and powerful.
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Wear a Luxury Watch
Few clothing choices or accessories make a more powerful statement than a luxury wristwatch. It’s a classy way of telling people you’re successful (and you have taste).
Try wearing a luxury watch to establish a stronger first impression with others—particularly during a first meeting or pitch to a prospect.
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Take Up Space
Here’s another body language tip: Take up as much space as you possibly can in the room without coming across as pretentious and intimidating. This principally means broadening your stance, using your hands for effective gestures when you speak, and taking long, confident strides when you move.
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Learn to Say No
If you’re always saying yes to people, many will eventually assume you’re their pawn who’s unfailingly ready to do their bidding at any time of day. So it’s a helpful habit occasionally to tell people no—even when it’s a task you could do.
You don’t have to be harsh or dishonest, but a matter-of-fact “sorry, no” can restore some power to your side. If you’re uncomfortable saying no to anyone, do the next best thing, which is to implement the hand-pause. This is especially effective when someone tries to ask you something and you’re on the phone.
“When they approach you on the phone, just hold a single finger up—or, if you like, the palm of your hand—as if to say: hush,” Joel Golby writes for Vice. “Then finish your phone call as slowly as possible, put the hand down, turn to them, saccharine smile.
“This also works when someone approaches your desk while you’re in the middle of a sentence on an email or something—single finger, keep typing, no eye contact—or if someone tries to interrupt you mid-meeting. The single raised finger is possibly the most powerful flex you can enact in the office. Use it rarely and wisely.”
Give Yourself the Upper Hand
You don’t have to implement all the power moves covered in this article to achieve success. However, you’ll experience increasingly significant benefits if you leverage them in your sales pitches, conversations, and processes.
Start using these tactics today and you’ll notice the difference they make.
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Interesting related article: “What is Conversion Rate?“