The matter of touch is important when you are shaking hands with a customer. A firm, cordial handshake is a valuable asset.

In many respects touch may be considered our greatest sense. It is undoubtedly the most important for self -protection. Every minute portion of the surface of the body is equipped with nerves that not only give warnings of danger, but convey all manner of impressions to the mind.

When hearing and sight are gone, touch alone, after it has been properly trained, is able to convey nearly every necessary impression to the mind.

Not only is the surface of the body supplied with nerves, but the interior surface of the alimentary canal is so influenced by touch that it records instantly the pleasurable or unpleasant sensations that affect digestion.

When we become too hot or too cold, it is the sense of feeling that gives the signal. When the body is in an improper or unhealthful position, the feeling of discomfort or pain causes us to change the position. When muscles become overworked, the sense of feeling gives warning. And when muscles need exercise, it is the sense of feeling again that prompts us to set them in motion.

Exercises for Touch

Exercise One. Exactness

Get samples of cotton, wool, silk, linen, oak, pine, iron, onion, potato, orange, lemon, grape fruit, baseball, banana, china cup, sugar, salt, and pepper. Touch each with the tip of the same finger while the eyes are blindfolded. See how many you can name.

Try the same experiment with each of the eight fingers and each of the two thumbs, with the back of the hand and the base of the palm.

Exercise Two. Range of Touch

Get a number of weights and guess them. See what range of weights you are most accurate in guessing.

Exercise Three. Quickness of Touch

Perhaps no better common instruments for testing the quickness of touch are to be found than the piano and the keyboard. Take a keyboard and press a key down as if you were touching a red hot stove and yet had to touch it hard enough to write the letter on the computer screen.
This is a very excellent test of the best sort since touch must always be quick enough to accomplish the object desired in the shortest possible time and not too quick to accomplish that object.

On the piano the finger must be held down for the precise length of time indicated by the note, and the performer whose touch is either too staccato or too prolonged must practice laboriously until the sense of touch, aided by the sense of hearing, enables him to hold a note for the precise length of time desired.

Exercise Four. Capacity of Touch

Place a number of different shaped objects on a table beneath the hand. See how many objects you can name by feeling alone.

Have someone place a number of products on a table and cover them with the palm of the hand without knowing what is beneath the hand. See how many you can name.

Stick a number of pins through a stiff cardboard. Place your fingers on the points and see how many you can count. This experiment can be performed by using the back of the hand, the palm of the hand, and the cheek.

Exercise Five. Emotional Use of Touch

Select an object that is disagreeable to the touch, such as a sticky or rough substance, and select a product that is agreeable to the touch, such as a piece of velvet. Rub your fingers over the velvet for fifteen or twenty seconds. Notice how pleasant a sensation comes over you as a result. Then rub the disagreeable substance for the same length of time and notice the effect on your emotions.

Practice handshaking daily with the same person until you learn how it should be done. Do not grasp the hand with the tips of the fingers, do not grip it too roughly, and do not let your hand side over it. Do not touch it too delicately. Let the grasp be firm and yet easy with the palms pressed well together. A firm, friendly handshake is a very desirable accomplishment. You can improve it only by practice, and this exercise should be persisted in a number of weeks with your conscious effort to improve.

Read my previous posts:

- Using the Five Senses in Selling

- The Sense of Sight in Selling

- The Sense of Sight in Selling – part 2

- Hearing in Selling

Touch in Selling is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Mayer

Do you add value to your customer’s business? Or are you simply another salesperson to be reluctantly contacted when there’s a need for a new product?

You can stand out from the crowd and flatten your competition by adding extra value to your customer’s business. If you can gain a great understanding of how the customer’s business operates and what his desires are for growth and progress, your number will be the first that he dials when he needs to upgrade or buy something new. By adding value and building a relationship of trust, you can rest assured that your customer will want your advice and will appreciate the expert knowledge that you have to share with him.

Set yourself apart from the rest. Become an asset to your customer’s business and you’ll see the difference it makes to your bottom line.

Do you add value to your customer’s business? is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Mayer

Action Step

Be confident in your ability to sell a quality product that is worthy of your effort and support. Increase your knowledge about the product that you sell and become an expert in your own field. This will go a long way in boosting your confidence and you will be able to approach your clients in a calm and professional manner; well prepared to answer their questions and to provide them with excellent solutions. The way you come across to your clients will determine the basis of your relationship with them. And if you are respectable and trustworthy, they will stand by you and depend on your expertise for a long time.

Answer These Questions:

• Are you an expert in your field of sales?
• Do you approach your clients in a professional manner at all times; and do you appear presentable when you meet with them?

Sales Tip #146: be an expert is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Mayer

Action Step

Body language is a quick giveaway when it comes to reading people’s feelings and their state of mind. It’s no use continuing with your presentation if you have not managed to engage a potential customer’s interest. You need to either change your approach or disengage from the conversation completely. Don’t talk for too long. You need to encourage participation from your prospect in order to better address their needs. Make sure that you remain aware of their reactions to your presentation at all times – and respond accordingly.

Answer These Questions:

• Are you adept at reading facial expressions and body language?
• Do you know how your prospects are responding to your presentation?
• Do you make a concerted effort to encourage your prospects to answer questions and provide you with pertinent information?

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Sales Tip #105 is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Mayer

Action Step

Selling is the one area where you can afford to stand out from the crowd. You need to present a unique service, go the extra mile that nobody else is prepared to go, in order to set yourself apart from the rest of the competition. Remember, you’re not simply selling a product. You are selling an entire solution. If you can become an authority in your field of sales you will be able to address your customer’s business issues abundantly – adding more value to the solution than simply offering him a brilliant product.

Answer These Questions:

• What makes you different from your competition?
• Do you have a level of expertise that exceeds that of your competitors? If not, are you prepared to rise to the occasion and improve your strategy and further your training?

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Sales Tip: give more value to your clients is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Mayer

Action Step

Find out all that you can about your customers before you make that call. Demonstrating an understanding of their business will give them confidence in your ability to sell them the right solution. Get your sales insurance policy in order and ensure that you are well-prepared before calling on your customers.

Answer These Questions:

• Are you quick to pick up the phone and start chatting to your customers without knowing anything about them? Sometimes just “winging it” isn’t enough to demonstrate your ability to provide the best solution to your clients’ needs.
• Do you conduct any process of discovery about your customers before making the call? Do you try to find out what it is they do, and what they might need, before you call?

Sales Tip: Start Selling Right is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Mayer

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxIj3h7m79Q

Subscribe to my daily sales tips and you will receive a free e-book every 30 days, plus extra discounts on my books, CD’s, webinars and seminars. If you would like to stop receiving my tips, you can unsubscribe at any time. Subscribe today by filling the form on the right-hand side. Thanks!

Video: Daily Sales Tip #15 is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Mayer

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL113Z6UWPQ

Subscribe to my daily sales tips and you will receive a free ebook every 30 days, plus extra discounts on my books, CD’s, webinars and seminars. If you would like to stop receiving my tips, you can unsubscribe at any time. Subscribe today by filling the form on the right-hand side. Thanks!

Video: Daily Sales Tip #17 is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Mayer

It is the same in sales – you have to put the efforts in motion and start learning about new sales tools available to you. There is something you simply have to start doing that your competition is not doing and that is learning about your customers’ situation, their wants and needs.  With trigger events you will be better prepared for challenges that customers are putting in front of us each day.

• Trigger events will help you with research and qualification process.
• Trigger events will give you the clue about the timing.
• Trigger events are here to help you differentiate prospects from suspects.

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More about Trigger Events in my book “Trigger Events – How to Find Your NEXT Customer”. Special discount on the e-book version is ending on September 30th. Order today and start selling to new customers tomorrow!

Daily Sales Tip #56 is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Mayer