By Jerry More Nyazungu
It was a Friday afternoon the kind of Friday where the air feels like money and your stomach knows it’s about to eat something other than sadza and vegetables.
I had been pursuing this client for weeks. The kind of client whose signature could change your company’s bank balance and your wardrobe at the same time. Follow-ups? Done. Demo? Nailed it. Negotiations? Wrapped up tighter than gogo’s headscarf at church.
All that was left?
The signing.
I walked into the boardroom with the confidence of a lion who just found a goat tied to a tree. Shoes polished, laptop fully charged, and I had even sprayed that expensive cologne the one I only use for weddings and debt collection missions.
The client walked in. Smiled. Extended a hand. “Jerry, we’re ready. Let’s sign.”
Then… the moment that haunts my nightmares to this day.
I reached into my jacket pocket. Nothing. Checked my laptop bag. Empty. Turned to my assistant: “Pen?” She pulled out… a pencil.
The client gave a small, polite laugh and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll reschedule. I’ve got another meeting in 5 minutes.”
And just like that, the deal evaporated.
Two weeks later, I saw the contract posted online. They had signed with someone else someone who remembered a pen.
That day, I learned a painful but priceless lesson:
Deals are not just won by products or PowerPoints. They’re won by the small things the table manners of sales.
Table Manners: Where Deals Are Won or Lost
People think sales is about charisma, discounts, or great follow-up emails. But let me tell you: many deals have been lost because someone forgot a pen, slouched in a chair, or looked like they borrowed their confidence from a WhatsApp group.
Let’s break down the real weapons of the sales battlefield.
1. Carry Your Own Pen Always
This is Sales 101.
A pen is not a writing tool it’s a symbol of readiness.
When you come to a deal without a pen, it’s like a chef arriving without a knife, or a bride forgetting the ring. You just don’t do it.
Carry two pens. A good one and a backup. Why? Because a dying pen during signing is the devil’s playground.
That day, I had everything except the one thing that closed the deal.
2. Eye Contact: Confidence in the Eyes
Your mouth can lie. Your eyes? Not so much.
Sales is built on trust. If you can’t look a client in the eye, they’ll start wondering if you believe in your own product.
No need to stare like you’re casting out demons just maintain calm, confident, respectful eye contact. Let them see your belief.
When you blink too much or keep staring at your notepad, they feel like you’re hiding something or worse, winging it.
3. Strategic Seating: Control the Room
Always sit where you can face the door. Let the client sit away from distractions.
Why?
Because a distracted client is a deal delayed or dead. If they’re watching people walk in and out, or admiring the receptionist walking past, they’re not hearing your offer.
When you face the door, you control the space. You own the atmosphere.
It may feel like a small thing but small things close big deals.
4. Handshake: Firm, Not Fatal
Your handshake is your business card before the real business card.
If your handshake is limp, the client sees you as weak. If it’s too strong, you look insecure or aggressive. Find the middle ground: firm, respectful, confident.
Don’t forget the smile it softens your strength. You’re not applying to be a bouncer at a nightclub. You’re there to make money with grace.
5. Posture: Sit Like You Mean It
Body language is louder than your mouth.
Slouching says, “I’m tired. Let’s just get this over with.” Leaning too forward says, “Please say yes, I’m desperate.”
Sit upright. Be comfortable, but stay alert. Let your posture shout:
“I came here to do business, not beg.”
Small Things, Big Consequences
When I lost that deal over a pen, I didn’t just lose money. I lost credibility. I lost momentum. I lost sleep for three nights thinking: “How could I forget a pen?”
But in that loss, I gained something far more valuable: discipline.
Now, when I train my sales team, I don’t just teach them closing techniques I teach them how to walk into a boardroom like they own the deal before the conversation starts.
Respect the Table, Close the Deal
There’s a battlefield many salespeople never train for the deal table. And at that table, it’s not the most talkative that wins. It’s the most prepared.
Bring a pen. Sit like a pro. Control the room. Lock eyes. Shake hands with meaning.
Because at the end of the day, clients don’t just buy what you’re selling. They buy you. And if you come unprepared, they’ll buy from someone else.
So don’t just dress for the deal prepare for it. And above all, never forget the pen.
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