We have already discussed the importance of body language in establishing rapport. Body language is also used to position you as a professional. Any Little League coach will agree that it is easy to spot a kid who looks like a baseball player. My own experience as a Little League baseball coach and girls softball coach taught me that a youngster that could flex their knees and get into good fielding position had better raw athletic ability than the one that stood upright, lock-kneed and fumbled with the glove.
The positioning play helps you establish your role by defining the scope and scale of what you have to offer and establishing you firmly on the high ground. Scope and scale are defined by finding the balance between general and specific in the language you use. Language also helps you secure the high ground that distinguishes you from your competitors. In addition to the language you use, the way you look and act determines what your suspects think of you. You will only be granted the high ground of professionalism if you look and act the part. When you establish your role as a professional you will be more credible and more convincing. To establish your role you have to talk the talk and walk the walk.
Players who look and act the part are more credible and more convincing. In the same way a softball coach makes a snap judgment about the skill of a softball player by the way she looks and acts, a suspect makes immediate decisions about the sales person and the product she represents. Sales people who look and act the part are more credible and more convincing and position themselves as professionals. For this reason, body language is an important part of establishing your role as credible and professional.
