Likeability
All Things Being Equal, People Buy from People They Like
COMMUNICATION EXPERTS preach the importance of building trust with people in order to build relationships. Sales managers, salespeople, and sales trainers all endorse the importance of trust in winning and retaining business. But here are the hard facts. No prospect is going to trust you after one conversation—and they shouldn’t. You haven’t demonstrated the execution, follow-through, or results needed to really earn trust and loyalty. No client is going to keep doing business with you if they don’t like you (unless you are lucky enough to be the only game in town).
The reality is that likeability is only the first step toward building trust, winning business, and retaining clients. But it’s a really, really big one!
The power of likeability and its importance in the sales profession really hit home to us when we were running a meeting with a large general contractor. Its executive team was very frustrated, having just lost a $100 million project to a competitor it considered far less qualified for the job. When we asked why they lost the business, we were surprised to hear the answer: “chemistry.” We were expecting to hear answers like “price,” “our portfolio wasn’t deep enough in that vertical,” or “expertise on the project management team.” You can imagine the company’s disappointment over losing a sizable project to something as soft and fuzzy as “chemistry.” We’re not referring to the Thomas Edison type of chemistry here, of course, but to that of being liked by a prospect and connecting with all members involved in a selection process. Simply put, business was lost because the contractor’s competition was more likeable.
A similar story, with a happier ending, comes from another client who runs a marketing firm. She landed a nice-sized contract. Knowing her new customer had interviewed several competitors, she asked why they selected her company. The answer: “It just felt better around here.” Hmmmm … was the new client talking about the comfort of her office chairs? No, she was referring to chemistry and the soft skill of likeability.
So what makes one salesperson more likeable than another? Can you actually teach someone to be more likeable? And come on, if you clearly have a better product or service, wouldn’t the prospect make their buying decision on that criteria rather than a popularity contest?
Research consistently shows that people scoring high in like-ability are hired, promoted, and win business more often than peers scoring low in this area. Many organizations don’t win their fair share of business because they forget to incorporate likeability into their overall business strategy.
Companies invest thousands of dollars in marketing and operations. Their website is updated, marketing collateral is professional, and they tweet relevant information daily. Their operations are efficient, using just-in-time delivery, state-of-the-art equipment, or in-the-cloud solutions.
But organizations neglect to put systems or training in place to make their people more likeable. A well-known sales mantra is: all things being equal, people buy from people they like.
All things not being quite equal, people still may buy from people they like.
Here’s a scenario we’ve seen too many times. A salesperson follows up on a lead and goes to the appointment armed with marketing material and confident in his company’s ability to deliver the best solution. He has the best products and services; however, due to his inability to read the prospect and connect with a variety of buyers, he loses to a more likeable competitor.
The salesperson didn’t know how to adapt his communication style to match the prospect’s. His approach seemed a little canned and he ignored the change of energy in the room after a tough question was asked—to which he delivered an okay answer, but not the right answer.
Chances are, your education has been focused on reading information, not reading people. Have you ever taken a course to improve your likeability quotient? Have you ever been taught how to pay attention and tune into what another person is thinking or feeling? What’s needed to win business in many instances are emotional intelligence skills such as self-regard, empathy, building and maintaining good interpersonal relationships, and self-actualization. These skills are what help sales professionals become more likeable, and in highly competitive selling situations, they can be the deciding factor in who wins the business. Soft skills will help you stop losing sales to that crazy thing called “chemistry,” and are what will be discussed in this chapter.
The first step to becoming more likeable is to ask yourself a basic question: Do you like yourself? Don’t panic; this chapter isn’t going to be a therapy session. However, it’s important to recognize a basic principle in life: you can’t give away something you don’t have. If you are not confident and comfortable with yourself—possessing the quality of self-regard—it will be hard to make others feel confident and comfortable with you.
The first step to increasing your likeability is to accept yourself, your strengths and your weaknesses. Salespeople who score high in the emotional intelligence skill of self-regard like themselves, warts and all, and are confident in themselves and their abilities. They don’t have a problem acknowledging when they make a mistake or admitting they don’t have all the answers. This balance of confidence and humility makes them authentic, real, and, well, just plain likeable.
Confidence, Authenticity, and Likeability
We experienced the power of confidence combined with authenticity while attending a sales training conference a few years ago. One of the speakers was a successful vice president of sales, running a large sales organization. It would have been very easy for this gentleman to get onstage and boast of his success, as many of his less-confident peers did throughout the conference.
Instead, he began his presentation by sharing a story of how he blew a recent sales call. The story included him getting lost on the way to the appointment, arriving late, and forgetting business cards, as well as spilling a glass of water on one of the key decision makers because he was harried and hurried. His perfect storm of mishaps had us holding our sides with laughter. This speaker’s high self-regard allowed him to admit and share his not-so-perfect sales meeting. His humility and humor ingratiated him to the audience because he was confident, authentic, and likeable.
Authenticity is touted as one of the key qualities needed to influence and persuade people. And yet it seems difficult for many salespeople to apply it in their daily sales role. In our years of observing hundreds of role plays and actual sales calls, we have seen genuine, authentic people turn into insincere salespeople. Their slick alter ego shows up during a sales meeting and they engage in impression management, trying to show the prospect how smart they are. Product knowledge is spewed or there is a slow death by PowerPoint, touting the greatness of the salesperson’s company. Or they turn into sales robots, using every sales technique known to man. “Bob, thanks for sharing. So Bob, I think you will agree that we have the best solution for your needs.” Who talks that way in everyday life?
Here’s the basic formula. If the prospect doesn’t think you’re authentic, she also won’t believe your product or service offering is authentic. No prospect is going to invest time or money in fake products, services, or people.
“How do you or can you teach someone to be more authentic? More likeable?” We posed this question to Michael Allosso, a communication expert and leadership coach. Michael shared the top two things he sees in authentic people: confidence and preparation. “Confidence comes from knowing that you are prepared. And when you are prepared, you can relax and be yourself.”
Hearing his comment made perfect sense, because in our work with top sales performers, they do the up-front work. They apply their delayed gratification skills and take time to do pre-call preparation, which allows them to show up more confident and relaxed at a meeting. They write out the questions they want to ask during the meeting. They prepare appropriate responses to the potential objections or questions the prospect will ask. They have checked out the website, LinkedIn profile, press releases, and corporate reports. Value propositions are memorized and conversation is easy because they put in the time to achieve the “10,000 hours” mastery goal.
Top performers are prepared, and when you are prepared, it’s easier to take your authentic self to the sales meeting.
Case Study
Carol is a successful salesperson. She has high self-regard, enjoys her work, and doesn’t take herself too seriously. During a sales training workshop, she shared the following story with the participants.
Carol met with a prospect and got stumped answering a few questions. She admitted to the group that she ran an ineffective meeting because she didn’t do the necessary pre-call preparation. (Note that she did not blame anyone but herself for her actions.)
Carol returned to her office and called the prospect to acknowledge and apologize for a lousy meeting. She used humor and blamed her poor selling skills and preparation on her evil twin sister. The prospect was impressed by her authenticity and accountability in owning up to an ineffective sales meeting. He invited her back for a second meeting—and she ended up closing the business.
There are two emotional intelligence skills working here. First, Carol’s emotional self-awareness allowed her to diagnose the root cause for a poor sales meeting: lack of preparation due to arrogance because of her previous success in closing business. Second, her self-regard allowed her to accept her poor performance, move on, and ask for forgiveness and a second opportunity. Carol’s confidence, authenticity, and humility make her likeable.
It’s All About Them: The Prospect and Customer
Top salespeople scoring high in likeability also score high in the emotional intelligence skill of empathy. Empathy is the ability to be aware of, understand, and appreciate the feelings and thoughts of others. It is the ability to see the world from another person’s perspective. We often refer to it as the ability to “walk a mile in another person’s shoes without ever actually putting them on.” In top salespeople, empathy shows up during meetings because of their ability to listen, build rapport, and as a result, be liked by prospects and clients.
The problem we see in sales is that many people leave this important skill at home or in the car when they step into their role of a sales professional.
Here’s a classic scenario we’ve observed many times. The prospect shares a problem such as, “I am really frustrated with deadlines being missed by my current vendor.” The salesperson, focused only on his own needs, barely acknowledges the prospect’s pain and answers, “Great! Is there anything else we should cover?” (The prospect doesn’t think this problem is great.)
Or, the salesperson immediately starts giving solutions without really gaining full perspective on the problem and its implications. Neither response is empathetic and doesn’t do much to increase likeability during a meeting.
The empathetic salesperson puts herself in the buyer’s shoes and slows down to validate and acknowledge the problem. “I can only imagine how frustrating that must be for you. And I am guessing you are receiving lots of phone calls from customers that aren’t very pleasant, which makes for long work days.” The empathetic salesperson lets the prospect know that she can relate to her situation. She is slow to offer solutions, and quick to listen and validate.
Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Free Press, 1990), says, “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”
Empathetic salespeople are tuned in during a sales meeting, with their full focus on the prospect or customers. They aren’t thinking about their prior appointment or next appointment. As a result of being fully present, they are keenly aware of all the dynamics in the room, spoken and unspoken.
Case Study
As you read in the Introduction, our colleague, Marty Lassen, is vice president of Complete Intelligence, a business consulting company. She and her partner, Scott Halford, do a lot of work with executives in the field of emotional intelligence.
Marty tells the story of showing up to a meeting with the intention of talking about future business with a large client. Because of Marty’s training in emotional intelligence, she immediately picked up on the fact that her client was distracted, not really into the business conversation. Instead of pushing her agenda of gaining more business, Marty closed her notebook and said, “Jim, I get the feeling that our agenda about future training needs isn’t top priority for you today. What else is going on that I might be able to help you with?”
Marty read the client correctly and Jim went on to share a family concern. Marty, whose empathy makes her a likeable person, was able to offer some insight and share a few resources that could help Jim solve his most pressing concern that day. No contract was signed. However, a relationship was cemented and Jim is a raving fan of Complete Intelligence.
A Day in the Life of Your Clients and Prospects
Do you really know what your clients’ and prospects’ lives are like? If you don’t, how can you connect on a deeper level? How can you empathize with their challenges and aspirations?
Think about your own personal life and who you like and connect with. Working mothers like to be with other working moms because they can relate to the juggling act of kids and family. Athletes like hanging around other athletes because they can relate to the discipline of getting ready for a race or discuss how to get over a nagging injury. CEO forums are popular because the participants are with like-minded people sharing similar issues and challenges.
Empathy is the ability to see the world from another person’s perspective, even if you don’t share the same roles, responsibilities, or day-to-day challenges. If you don’t know what a day in the life of your prospect is like, it’s going to be difficult to connect and build likeability.
Here’s the day in the lives of our clients and prospects. With large clients, the directors of sales are stretched because they are always managing up and down. They have pressure from the CEO and CFO to hit numbers while managing the many demands coming in from their sales team. Salespeople are requesting help with closing deals or handling internal operations issues. They put in long weeks flying on airplanes, sleeping in beds with bad pillows, and coming back to the office to piles of reports and emails. They partner with us because they do not have the time to develop training modules or materials.
Our smaller clients and prospects are CEOs who are also the president, sales manager, chief marketing officer, and chief bottle washer. He or she is the main rainmaker and gets frustrated trying to hire and duplicate themselves, wondering why no one wants to work as hard as they do. They are first in and last out, and are tired of burning the candle at both ends. They look to us as a shortcut and partner to establish systems and processes.
If we were to ask you to write a paragraph about your clients and prospects, could you do it? If not, take your best clients out to lunch and conduct interviews. Find out about their daily lives. You cannot relate to that which you know nothing about. And when you can relate, you increase the likeability factor.
Case Study
One of our clients, Ensign Drilling, builds oil rigs and is a successful company that is growing in leaps and bounds and experiencing double-digit growth. There are many reasons for its growth: strategic thinking, state-of-the-art equipment, and good people, among them. There is also another reason: Tom Schledwitz, Senior Vice President, places an emphasis on soft skills, including empathy. Tom wanted his corporate staff to gain a better understanding of its team members in the field, called “roughnecks.” These are the men who work on the oil rigs. He noticed the corporate team sometimes got frustrated with lack of quick response or incomplete administrative forms submitted by roughnecks.
To gain perspective for everyone in the company, Tom went to the rigs and interviewed the roughnecks on camera. He asked questions such as:
What time does your day start?
How long do you work each day?
What’s important to you?
Tom then held an off-site meeting, where the video was shown to the internal corporate team. Few people in the corporate office knew much about a roughneck’s day. They discovered that it often starts at 4:00 A.M. because of a two-hour commute followed by a twelve-hour shift. Many people in the corporate office were touched and surprised to hear the “tough roughnecks” share how important their families were and the difficulty of working on Christmas because rigs can’t shut down. The result was a better understanding of their fellow team members and the difficulty in responding quickly when you are working and traveling sixteen hours a day.
The corporate team empathized and changed some systems, processes, and attitudes based on their new insight on the day in the life of a roughneck. Likeability increased between the two teams as a result of “walking a mile in the other person’s shoes.”
Know, Relate, and Build Likeability
Harvey Mackay is the founder and chairman of the MackayMitchell Envelope Company. He is also bestselling author of Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive (Ballantine Books, 1996). We guess he scores high in interpersonal skills because of a well-known tool he developed called the Mackay 66. It is a questionnaire designed to help his sales team learn everything about their customers. The questionnaire has sixty-six questions, from personal hobbies to names of kids to political affiliations.
His salespeople fill out this form on every customer. (Do you think his sales team members know about a day in the life of their customers?) This sales team uses interpersonal skills to win business and it seems to work, because MackayMitchell produces 4 billion envelopes every year.
How about you? What do you need to learn about your clients and prospects to increase your likeability? Make it a goal to learn more about a day in their lives.
Enthusiastic or Annoying?
Empathetic salespeople are good at relating to and reading people. The problem is that salespeople still use outdated sales training techniques, which decrease likeability.
Many salespeople have been taught to be enthusiastic. Go into every meeting upbeat and full of energy. Herein lies the problem: Not all of your prospects are enthusiastic, and people buy from people who are like them.
Picture this. A salesperson shows up to meet with the CFO of a large engineering firm. There is a good chance, based on the position and industry, that this CFO is going to be analytical and reserved. The salesperson is bubbly and energetic throughout the meeting because she was taught that enthusiasm is contagious. No, it’s not contagious; for some people, it’s plain annoying. She is not paying attention and picking up on cues suggesting that the introverted CFO is overwhelmed by the intensity of the meeting. He ends the meeting quickly and potential business is once again lost to chemistry. The salesperson didn’t read her prospect and adapt her style of communication.
The empathetic salesperson is aware of their prospect’s preferred communication style. She adjusts her style in order to build rapport and likeability by matching and mirroring the prospect’s communication style. We’ve had some people ask us, “If you are adapting your style, aren’t you compromising your authenticity?” Our answer is always the same: Our number one goal is to have our prospects and customers comfortable during a meeting. And if that means adapting and adjusting, we are being authentic because of our desire to build a connection.
The skill of matching and mirroring evolved from neurolinguistic programming, an interpersonal communication model that involves the study of language, interpretation, and how we interface and communicate with other people. Co-founders John Bandler and Richard Bandler used their background in linguistics, mathematics, and gestalt therapy to help people learn how to achieve competence and excellence in their personal and professional lives. This approach enhances likeability because you are communicating with your prospects in a manner that aligns with how they think and speak.
For example, if your prospect talks slowly and tends to speak quietly, it’s your job to match and mirror her laid-back communication style. We have seen more than one sales call blown in the first five minutes because the salesperson isn’t tuned in and speaks loud and fast. This happens frequently during phone conversations when salespeople get nervous and increase their rate of speech. The prospect hangs up, shakes her head, and says, “I couldn’t understand what he was saying.” Translation: The salesperson was not like me and I didn’t like the interaction.
Salespeople who pay attention to the dynamics of a sales meeting also match their prospects’ and customers’ energy level. If you are meeting with a low-key prospect, leave your high-energy self in the car and take your relaxed self to the meeting.
Match and mirror your prospect’s body language. If your prospect leans forward, wait about sixty seconds and then gradually lean forward as well. If he crosses his legs, follow his lead, and cross your legs. The prospect starts seeing someone just like him, which is comfortable and likeable.
Another area to adapt and mirror is the type of words your prospect uses during the conversation. People have three major modes for processing information during a sales meeting: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.
Visuals processors see the world in pictures and use phrases like “I get the picture,” “show me,” or “my perspective.” Salespeople who are paying attention use visual words in order to build a connection or make a point: “Let me show you what we have done for other clients” or “Here’s the big picture of what we can do for your organization.”
Prospects who are auditory process information through listening. You will hear them use phrases like “I hear you,” “sounds like,” and “tell me more.” Here’s where the disconnect in communication and likeability happens.
The visual salesperson loves to come in with charts and graphs because that’s how she processes information. The auditory prospect just wants to listen and doesn’t really need to be bothered with a bunch of collateral. The visual keeps shoving information in front of this poor prospect instead of just conducting a conversation. The observant, empathetic salesperson adapts her style to match the prospect’s and puts away her visual stuff.
The last style of communication is that of the kinesthetic person. These are prospects who are deliberate in their speech, often slow to answer, and take time to process information. This prospect uses phrases such as, “I need to get my arms around this,” “give me some time to process,” or “my gut is telling me.”
This type of prospect is one with whom many salespeople have a hard time connecting because the communication style is so different from their own. In fact, we’ve decided most salespeople should send the kinesthetic prospect a note of apology after a sales meeting because many get impatient with the slow pace of the meeting. They finish the prospect’s and customer’s sentences, or their nonverbal communication loudly states, “Hurry up! I don’t have all day for you to sit there and think.”
We once competed with two other training firms for an engagement. We won the project and obviously were pleased. When we asked the owner why he chose us, he replied, “My gut told me it was a good decision.” Note that his answer didn’t include how wonderful he thought our curriculum or solutions were. His answer told us that the ultimate decision was made because we were speaking his language.
Are You Showing Up or Living It Up?
Have you ever been around someone who loves their work? Have you ever been around someone who is just showing up to work, collecting a paycheck? There is quite a difference. You may have heard the phrase, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work another day in your life.” Salespeople who score high in the emotional intelligence skill of self-actualization are happy people who enjoy their work and are on a journey of personal and professional self-improvement.
They read, listen, and absorb information on how to become a better person and salesperson. It is easy to identify this salesperson in training because he or she is the one who brings case studies for coaching—the one who applies new content immediately.
We find that the best salespeople, the ones already achieving quota, ask for the most coaching because of their desire to improve and reach new heights in their personal and professional development. The late UCLA basketball coach John Wooden said it best: “When you are done learning, you are done.”
Self-actualized salespeople provide more value to their prospects and customers because of their continuous learning curve. They bring new ideas, thoughts, and solutions to meetings because they don’t settle for “good enough.” It’s not surprising to learn that salespeople who love their work have customers who love working with them.
On the other hand, there is another group of salespeople called “settlers.” Not to be confused with the early pioneers, these sales folks are not trying to capture any new frontiers. They have quit learning and settle for “good enough.” They settle for average satisfaction from their work. They settle for average commissions. And they settle for showing up in life, not living it up in life.
We have coached hundreds of salespeople and share this piece of advice: If you don’t like what you’re doing or selling, do your company, your customers, and yourself a favor and get another job. Yes, you can complain about your boss, lack of marketing materials, and a bad territory. But when you look at the data, the common denominator is you—and the fact is, you don’t like what you do.
Case Study
Some years ago, a young woman named Brooke contacted us about sales training. She certainly was not our ideal profile as she wasn’t in sales; she was an administrative assistant.
Brooke worked at a property and casualty insurance company. She had approached the sales manager several times expressing her desire to enter the sales profession. Unfortunately, the sales manager did not see the potential in Brooke and turned down her requests. She would not settle for “no,” so she enrolled in our sales training course and paid for it herself. Brooke turned out to be a star student and eventually quit her job. She landed a sales position with a competitor of her old company and went on to become a top producer at that brokerage firm.
Brooke is a classic example of an individual who scores high in self-actualization. She was on a journey of personal and professional improvement, and took the necessary steps to make her life more fulfilling. Brooke wasn’t a settler.
Self-actualized salespeople tend to be joy givers because they are happy in their personal and professional lives. Have you ever noticed that happy people are more likeable than unhappy people?
There is a great scene about this concept from the movie. The Bucket List. Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson are sitting atop one of the Egyptian pyramids, having a philosophical conversation about life. Freeman shares the ancient Egyptians’ beliefs about their entrance into heaven. The Egyptians would first be asked two questions:
1. Have you found joy in your life?
2. Has your life brought joy to others?
The questions shake up Nicholson’s character, as relationships and interpersonal skills have not been his strong suit in life. It’s a profound scene, and the questions are good ones to ask each day as we interact with clients, prospects, and peers.
As a former vice president of sales, I know firsthand how giving joy affects sales results. Missy Price was a member of my sales team and was a superstar. She was a hard worker, good salesperson—and she was a joy giver. Missy had this huge smile and equally huge heart. She was kind to customer service, even when things got stressful due to missed ship dates. She helped fellow team members with encouragement and support, even when she had a full schedule. Missy’s clients did business with her for both her sales acumen as well as her joy-giving attitude. Got joy?
Tim Sanders, author of The Likeability Factor (Crown, 2005), shares in his book four traits that likeable people possess: friendliness, relevance, empathy, and realness. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to measure your likeability:
Friendliness: Are you approachable? Do you smile and engage others? Are you interested in other people’s personal and professional lives?
Relevance: Who have you helped in the last month? What have you done to help another person? Are you a giver or a taker?
Empathy: Do you work at trying to understand other people’s perspectives? Do you listen more than you speak?
Realness: Are you authentic and sincere? Do you show up as the real deal?
Which of these do you score high in? What could you do to increase your likeability factor?
Action Steps for Improving Your Likeability
As the chapter title reads, people buy from people they like and who are like them. Most people think that a salesperson has to be an over-the-top extrovert in order to be likeable. We hope you’ve gained some insights on other ways to become likeable beyond pure personality style. The good news about this soft skill is that it can be improved with focus, commitment, and practice. There are three steps you can take that will improve your likeability and sales results:
1. Examine your self-regard to see if you are showing up confident, relaxed, and authentic.
2. Create your own Mackay 66.
3. Show up and live it up.
Step #1: Examine Your Self-Regard to See If You Are Showing Up Confident, Relaxed, and Authentic
Ask yourself these questions:
Am I taking myself to the meeting or is my alter ego showing up?
Am I showing up at meetings prepared or nervous?
Where am I taking myself too seriously?
Am I willing to acknowledge and poke fun at my mistakes and shortcomings?
Am I self-focused or other-focused?
Salespeople who are comfortable with themselves have the ability to separate what they do for a living from who they are. They know that success or failure does not define their self-worth because success or failure is more about their roles in life, not their character. And this is true for you, too.
If you fail to close a sale, it does not reflect on your worth as a human being. If you win a sale, it does not raise your worth as a human being. A win or loss should roll off your shoulders rather than into your head, where self-doubt and arrogance can take hold.
Step #2: Create Your Own Mackay 66
Make a commitment to learn more about your customers in order to better relate to them and build relationships. Download this form, www.harveymackay.com/pdfs/mackay66.pdf, or develop your own questions that will help you be more empathetic to your prospect’s and customers’ needs. Set a goal to interview your current clients in order to learn about a day in their lives. The information might surprise you, and it will help you to better serve your clients.
Once you gain new information, do something with it. People often say knowledge is power. We disagree. Knowledge is power only when it is used and applied.
Step #3: Show Up and Live It Up
Go to YouTube and download the commencement address given by the late Steve Jobs to the 2005 graduating class of Stanford University. In his address, he stresses the importance of going after your dreams and not living your life for other people. Jobs is really talking about self-actualization and pursuing your full potential.
Find purpose in your work and you will find happiness. Years ago, a colleague of mine worked with city bus drivers. Many had “settled” and did not see any real purpose in their work.
Then my colleague got them thinking about the importance of their job. They drove people to work that didn’t own cars. These drivers took sick people to the doctor’s office. City bus drivers provided transportation for people to visit parents and loved ones. Once the drivers saw the importance of their work, their happiness and job satisfaction increased.
As a sales professional, do you see purpose and value in your position? Do you see how you are helping people every day? You sell services that help businesses grow and keep people employed. Some of you sell products that save lives. Others provide great service that make your customer’s day easier and more productive.
One of the best phone calls or emails we can receive at our office is from a client that used one of our tactics or strategies, saying, “It worked. I have a new client.” Or, “I am going on the company incentive trip and your training was part of my success.” We have a tremendous desire to help our clients. As a result, our work is not really work, because we get such a kick out of teaching, coaching, and mentoring.
Improve your likeability by liking and accepting yourself. Get to know the day in the life of your clients and prospects. Make it all about them. Set personal and professional goals that make you happy and fulfilled—because a happy salesperson is a likeable salesperson.