Selling a Recruit in Person? Watch Their Hands...

Of all the body language a prospect can reveal to you during the final stages of recruiting, what their hands are doing could hint where they're leaning.

Body language in sales situations (and recruiting fits into that category, by the way) is a fascinating study in what’s going on in our brains when we’re in the middle of making a buying decision (which is what your prospect and his or her parents are doing when they’re face to face with you).

Our eyes reveal things about what’s going on in our head, for example. Did you know that if your prospects or parents are looking at you 60-70% of the time as you’re talking to them in a decision making conversation, they are not only interested in you or your program, but are actually close to making an agreement to commit to you?

And your prospect’s feet are also a good indicator in selling situations: If their feet are pointed towards you as you’re sitting and talk to them in your office, they are usually connecting or agreeing with you. The opposite is true if their feet are pointed in a different direction.

But our hands reveal the most good ‘data’ when it comes to what’s going on in our brains as we are trying to make a buying decision. A coach asked me about body language the other day, and I wanted to write this column for her so that I could give some detail back on what she (and you) should look for the next time they are fact to face with recruits they really want.

Here are five key indicators you’ll want to look for the next time one of your prospects is on campus, based on years of study on the subject and what we’ve taught coaches to do when they’re in the final in-person recruiting stages with their prospects: