We have a question for you — Do looks matter? What do you think? Well, this is a controversial question between realists and idealists throughout the world belonging to different sections of society. However, there is one section where the answer is positive without much debate. That section is the world of sales and business. 

Surveys indicate that people with attractive or decent appearances earn more money and derive better sales results as well. The basic explanation of this phenomenon is the natural human inclination. People judge and are influenced by looks subconsciously, without even knowing it. 

This puts up the question of whether grooming is important for salespersons. The simple answer to this question is yes! 

Grooming is essential in putting the right first impression in front of a client and converting more sales. Grooming impacts sales and, thus, indirectly, the salesperson's income. 

A survey revealed that well-groomed and attractive people earn 3-4% more than a person not well-groomed. There are several reasons why this impacts sales.

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Importance Of Grooming Yourself

• One reason why grooming impacts sales is that it gives off the impression of professionalism in an individual. It inculcates trust and respect subconsciously in the clients' minds and thus influences their choices and decisions.

• A casual or unclean appearance gives off the impression of thoughtless or irresponsible nature. This can again subconsciously impact the minds of the clients but in a negative way.

• Companies and sales firms tend to hire well-groomed individuals and help their preexisting salespersons groom themselves better for an increase in their sales graph. 

Sales earn a lot of benefits when details like grooming are taken care of. The effects are the opposite when salespersons don't care about their appearance and etiquette. 

Appearances make a lot of impact on a person's image in the mind of a potential customer. Thus, grooming is an inevitable part of sales. 

However, only dressing up for your next sales trip is not enough. Doing it right is essential in making the right impression and converting clients! 

3) Wear The Right Attitude 

 Wearing the right clothes is only the first step. Their attitude demonstrates a salesman's real technique and skill. The salesperson should always be confident about himself and the product he's selling. This impacts hugely on the reliability of the product you are selling. One must also be informative, polite, and patient at all times when it comes to dealing with a potential client to make the right impression. 

4) Do Not Embrace Any Bad Habits

Habits like smoking, chewing tobacco, or chewing gum put a really negative image in customers' minds. This is an unacceptable trait in a salesman and should be avoided at all costs while on a sales trip. A salesman represents the brand and must always act according to the values of the said brand. Besides these, there are other habits that we feel every salesperson should incorporate into their routine:

5) Don't Commit to Unreasonable Deadlines

A salesperson must not overpromise and underdeliver, and all the other company employees involved in executing the transaction can deliver. This can affect very badly on the image of the sales organization.

6) Be Courteous At All Times

Salespeople are bound to encounter rude or overly demanding customers. Good etiquette requires that the salesperson be patient and not get drawn into an unnecessary conflict, no matter how unpleasant the customer may be.

If the salesperson responds equally unpleasantly, not only will the sale be lost, but the company's reputation might also get harmed.

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7) Improve Your Listening Skills

Sales etiquette requires that a salesperson not merely be an engaging talker or a powerful persuader but also a good listener. The customer must be viewed as a unique individual with individual needs, not just a generic "prospect." 

By developing listening skills, the salesperson can better find out what these specific needs are, so what he is doing is not so much selling as helping the customer buy. He succeeds not by convincing the customer to make a purchase but by solving a problem the customer has that the company's products can address.

8) Do Not Lie About Your Competitors 

The pressure to beat out the competition can cause a salesperson to temporarily lose his/her moral compass. In extreme cases, he/she may say untrue negative things about competitors' products. 

The customer may return to the competitor and verify what the salesperson said. When the customer finds out he, in essence, was lied to, the salesperson -- and, more significantly, the company -- loses credibility. The competitor may respond in kind by saying untrue things about the salesperson’s company.

9) Try To Be A Team Player

One of the most significant findings highlighted that team-based cultures yield the best sales teams. Rather than the mentality of having a select few top-performing sales reps to carry the team, high-performing organizations focus on the team as a whole. 

In fact, high-performing sales teams were twice as likely to describe themselves as a “cohesive group of like-minded individuals” than people at average or underperforming organizations. Additionally, the top teams viewed individual talent as less crucial to sales success but less likely to have below-average salespeople – curating an all-star team.

Final Thoughts 

The above are the ten essential grooming techniques for salespersons that cannot be ignored in any situation. Salesmanship is a skill that has appeared, and etiquette is centered at the core of it. Grooming, an integral part of the right sales technique, can't be avoided; thus, your sales department must be hired or trained with these skills. Doing this will increase not only the profit margin but also the goodwill of your company. Well, what did you think of these above-mentioned techniques? Do think about it!