You Are the Message

I teach the following stats in my sales training courses:

Your sales message is 7 percent the words, 38 percent tonality and 55 percent physiology. Those are pretty daunting numbers when you think about it because 55 percent is ON you and it's ALL you.

The bottom line is simple: You are the message. This brings me to a recent segment I was asked to do on a Texas morning show. We asked three “models” of a certain type of person to appear with me as salespeople who would say just a few words and the same ones. One was overweight; the second was unemotional and the third was overstated.

I trained them to each say the exact same words. The unemotional person had no inflection in his voice and no animation. The overweight person was quite nice and excited about the message. The overstated person, who incidentally was also lean, was also fired up and said the same words.

Guess who made the sale? The third person was the choice because he was in shape and saying words with enthusiasm. Why is this true when everyone had the same message? You need to realize that it’s not just the words, but the whole presentation that makes the sale. That includes -- in quite a big way -- your personal physiology.

For example, I have a sales training client who has lost 37 pounds in about six weeks. It’s a significant amount of weight loss and ever since he dropped the pounds his sales activities have increased. Is this fair? Maybe yes. Maybe no. The truth is he is the whole package now. The message is I’m in control and here to help you. Right or now, an overweight person is often thought of as someone with issues. People don’t always trust that fact.

By the way, there is no judgment in saying that. This might be a good time to tell you that I’ve lost 77 pounds of fat and gained 12 pound of muscle for a 65 pound net improvement. When I was heavier, I still had a good sales career, but when I came back lean and fit, I sold millions of more dollars to my prospects. I had become more congruent with my message. I have personally lived this (and many other) lessons I share.

Let’s say you’re selling something related to the health field. You smoke and you’re 30 pounds overweight. How in the world will someone listen as you explain to them how to be a healthier individual? You can’t say health is important to me…when it’s not that important. Obviously!

If I’m standing there with my stomach hanging over my belt, I can’t convince you that my company is extremely disciplined in the way we work with our clients. A man who is 50 pounds overweight selling you that message is clearly not that disciplined.

Again—no judgment here—just a realization that needs to be shared for those that are willing to consider it as a possibility.

By the way, getting fit isn’t just about your bottom line in a pair of jeans. It’s about an attitude of feeling in control and great.

Right now many of you are shaking your heads because the easiest way to gain weight is to go into sales. There you are on the road, stressed out a bit, and those gold arches are often a hot meal at the end of the day. Each time you’re tempted to do the pizza, burger or fries say to yourself, “I am the message. What message am I sending?”

Incidentally, you can make better choices at McDonalds including salads and wraps. Wendy’s chili is a great meal of protein, a little fat and fibrous carbs. You can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner on the road and not just eat out of bags at night in your hotel room. It just takes a little planning. Remember that you can’t run without energy. Eating healthy makes you run faster and longer.

On the road, I used to stop every night for a Frosty or hot fudge sundae to treat myself after a hard day. I treated myself up to 256 pounds, which was my heaviest weight ever and then the alarm bells went off. I needed to make a change.

I needed to change the message -- and I did. So can you once you think about it!

NEXT FRIDAY: A few more dieting and workout tips on the road.