In 1561 the Elisabethan linguist and diplomat Sir Thomas Hoby 1530–1566
produced a best selling English translation of “The Courtyer”
by Baldessar Castillio a Venetian Courtier from the court of the Duke of
Urbino.
In the book, the courtier is described as having
a cool mind,
a good voice (with beautiful, elegant and brave words)
along with body language of proper bearing and gestures.
At the same time though, the courtier is expected to have a warrior spirit, to be athletic, and have good knowledge of the humanities, Classics and fine arts.
The above could make for a useful job specification for the attributes
of a modern salesperson
Recruitment of Talent
Recruitment of Talent
Salespeople are the courtiers of today’s modern
business markets.
A charming salesperson takes an interest in you, laughs
at your jokes and is never intrusive or overbearing.
Certainly, (s)he makes you
feel good about yourself.
They may have their own agenda, but it is, or at least
seems, subservient or complimentary to yours.
Of course, the charmer might also be a liar, charm is not
as Stephen Bayley describes it “ a morally uncontaminated property.”
The great thing
about the charmer though is, they rarely lose. And if they do, they lose with a
certain style and grace.
Charm remains exasperatingly difficult to define, but yet
ever “...so easy to detect, especially in its absence” so writes Stephen Bayley in his book Charm.
I think we also pick
up pretty quickly on clumsily employed charm in the form of obsequious smarm.
Charming
nature or Charming nurture ?
Charm can be trained argues Bayley, like accountancy,
writing computer code or practicing first aid, or is it a genetic accident like blue eyes? Maybe it is something of each.
We can practice charm when we enter a noisy party and
make new friends.
Bayley’s
Three Musketeer Heroes of Charm --Messrs. Ethos,
Pathos and Logos
The study of classical rhetoric and its three-part
structure is helpful.
The first was ethos.
This is where the speaker presents their credentials as an honest person.
So for example, I might
approach you at a networking meeting and offer you a biscotti biscuit and my
winning smile J and a polite inquiry about your possible need
for a fill up of coffee. That's ethos.
Pathos
is
the way to make an emotional appeal. So, having furnished with the biscotti
biscuit and replenished your coffee, I wonder how you are coping with the
stresses of the economy, the dreadful weather ( floods has been topical), the
effect of the Chancellor George Osborne’s budget.
Third is logos, the practical line of reasoning
when an offer of some substantial sort is made. Perhaps to fix up a quick lunch
meeting, a coffee, appointment or visit to site?
Charm is not just a matter of ‘fluttering your eyebrows’ but
of mastering the technical disciplines of persuasive communication.
Four skills help develop Charm - take a modern hero of charm 007
First is critical perception. How do you analyse
your responses to a person or a place?
Second is situational analysis - the critical
path through the circumstances you find yourself in.
Third, is
literacy and articulacy.
It's essential to
know how to use words because charm is never mute. Find good words and use them
well.
Finally, anxiety management. Charmers are many
different things, but they are always attractively... relaxed. And this is a
quality they confer happily on all in their circle. Charm’s positive mental
attitude makes everything better.
When you trained
yourself in all of this, you will know how to placate a cross customer. You
will be better able to persuasively win an argument or a deal. You will be
admired because you can liven up a dull meeting . You will like yourself more and
so too will everybody else.
Charming people are emotionally and intellectually
superior beings, never upstaged by circumstance, embarrassed by accidents or short
of anything amusing to say.
In our often truculent and discontented business market courts we new charming salespeople would become
more easy-going, yet ambitiousmore competitive, but sensitivemore confident, but consideratemore articulate, but also good listeners too.
When you think about charm in all its meanings, you find
a depiction of every sort of competitive advantage.
Charm is an essential tool for survival in the world of
selling .
In social life it
makes everything more pleasant. In business life, it makes you more effective.
Manners - Baldassare Castiglione's Book of the Courtier
is probably good background reading..
Charm makes you
better at business and better with people. Charm a will get you to sell better.
We Salespeople don't need less charm, we need more.
Related Links and Reading
Charm by Stephen Bayley published by Harper Collins the Friday Edition on Kindle
The Elements of Eloquence by Mark Forsyth published by Icon Books
Hobson translation of The Courtier
