One smile at a time

Unfortunately, I’m a complete pushover for a smiley face. I stick them on my mirrors and my computer. I paste them into my Word documents. And all an author has to do get my attention is put a yellow smiley face on the cover.
As a result, I sometimes purchase unusual books, like the one I bought last month when beginning this column—“Smile: Sell More with Amazing Customer Service” by Kirt Manecke.
Why in the world would I buy a book like that when I have nothing to sell except myself?
Easy answer. It has a smiley face on the cover!
But there was more. I was intrigued by what an award-winning author and marketing guru like Manecke would have to say about smiling. And I wasn’t disappointed.
Manecke’s short 116-page book is disarmingly simple. In a nutshell—smile and focus on the other person. A sincere smile and a warm ”Hello” are always appropriate in any situation. In a sales situation or a social situation.
But let’s begin with the smile.
Everybody knows what a smile is. A smile is a facial expression formed by flexing the muscles at both ends of the mouth. Like everyone else, I love smiles – in the mirror or on other people. Smiles make us feel good.
Just for fun, I searched the word “smile” on the Internet and got more than 70 million hits; in fact, exactly 70,300,000
On the other hand, a search for the word “frown” netted a paltry 1,700,000. Imagine that: 68,600,000 less frowns than smiles.
Obviously, everybody likes smiles! So why not give people what they want and make them feel good.
Manecke makes a living helping companies build relationships with customers. Teaching them how to “surprise” and “delight” them.
His goal is to give customers what they want. And in his book “Smile” he divulges many of his secrets.
a) Smile and follow it with a warm “Hello.” A person with a smiling face is always more attractive.
b) Focus on the other person. “How can I help you today?” Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar says, “Stop selling. Start helping.”
c) Look people in the eye. Make a friend. Remember names… if possible!
d) Ask questions. Listen to the answers.
e) Say please and thank you. Good manners are always in style.
f) Always remember to put a smile in your voice as well as on your face, especially on the telephone when the other person can’t see your face.
g) And most important of all, remember what a smile will do to you. It will make you feel good—emotionally and physically. And the people around you will also feel better.
There’s an anonymous saying that underscores the importance of a smile—“Use your Smile to change the World, don’t let the World change your Smile.”
“Smile: Sell More” is Manecke’s slogan. If you don’t work in sales, how about making your slogan? “Smile and change the world.”
Just don’t ever let the world’s worries and troubles chase away your smile. You need it!
It’s important, because with your smile you can actually change the world around you—one smile at a time!
Copyright 2014. Snider is an award-winning health writer and syndicated columnist. Write Snider at thisside60@cox.net