Let me see those pearly whites.....

Have you ever heard the expression, “Smile when you dial”? Sales people all over the world get taught to slap on a grin before even picking up a receiver. It’s not just for over enthusiastic double glazing sellers – the rule applies to everyone.

The premise is very simple. If you smile when you call someone, the person at the other end of the phone will pick up on your cheerful disposition. Let’s face it, when was the last time you bought something from some glum robot who was clearly reading off a script, counting down the hours until he could run away from his boring, soul destroying job and bury his face in a plate of chips?

But why only smile when we dial? For me, I really cannot understand why we all choose to limit ourselves in this way. Surely there are really only a handful of circumstances under which a smile is not appropriate. I can think of a few, but I’m not going to list them here to make you sad, and you’ve probably got your own too. But let’s face it, what percentage of your life do those moments actually inhabit? It can’t be more than about 10% if you really took the time to think about it.

Just today I was walking down the street and I saw someone on the other side of the road. I didn’t know this person but as our eyes met each other from a clear 100 feet away, they smiled at me. It was infectious – I was trapped – there was nothing left to do but……smile back! Well what else could I do?

But it’s what happened next that prompted me to write this blog. I felt happy. I mean I wasn’t sad before but my mood was actually lifted. I held onto the smile that this person had given me and if I had seen anyone else on my travels, I’m fairly sure that I would have passed it on to them.

Why am I telling you this? Well this week I have found myself calling a number of people who were clearly not smiling. Despite my calling them with a happy spring in my step, many of them were downright miserable – suspicious that I would want to ask them their first name so that I could have a friendly conversation. What’s the point in that? These people are the first point of contact for new customers calling in to their companies and yet their demeanour sucks all the joy out of you in the time it takes to say hello.

I’m forced to press on deflated and utterly unmotivated. Now what if I had been someone calling them to become their next best customer? I simply haven’t the energy to carry on.

Perhaps they were having a bad morning – it happens, we all get them from time to time, but a simple smile can actually lift your spirits when the world around you is not inspiring you as much as you might have hoped. So the next time you see someone not wearing a smile, just give them yours.

Does this have anything to do with marketing? Well of course it does. Marketing is all about image, and who wants to deal with a miserable company. Unless they’re shopping for a funeral director, people expect a smile.

Now I know that people expect this blog to be my opportunity to sell promotional merchandise but that’s not really what I do. I help my customers increase their business in any way that I can. My advice is free and as I have said on many occasions, I’d be more than happy to visit your office and offer you even more of this free advice. If I can help you take a fresh look at your marketing, then I will have done my job.

Smile when you dial? Why not just smile when you live.