It has often been said that it's not what you say but how you say it. This statement effectively explains why body language is so important for sales. Non-verbal aspects of your presence say more about you than actual words. What this means is that you should always be aware of the messages that you are broadcasting whenever you are making a sales presentation.

If you want to improve your sales techniques, then you need to be aware of your body language so that you can take specific steps that will help you improve your non-verbal communication skills.

Here are five ways to increase these abilities: 

1. Use an appropriate amount of eye contact.

There is an acceptable amount of eye contact that should occur between you and any other person to which you are speaking. If you blink too much, then you will appear nervous or excited. If your either stare too long into another person's eyes or avoid making too much eye contact, then you might also make a negative impression on this person.

You need to be able to sense what the right amount of eye contact will be, so you can be more effective with your presentation. The best way to do this is to be healthy and in a good state of mind. When you feel good, your body will naturally reflect this positive state of well-being. So you always need to make sure that you look and feel great, so you can look into someone's eyes and say, "Would you like to buy my product?"

2. Emulate their behavioral traits.

By mirroring the body language of your prospects, you can make them feel more familiar with you. When two people emulate one another's behavior, it generally means that some type of bond has been established. However, this needs to be done in a way so that your potential client does not realize you are doing this; otherwise, they might sense that you are merely employing another sales technique in order to gain their business.

3. Be aware of your facial expressions.

You can emphasize what you are saying with the various facial expressions that you use. It's obvious that you should be smiling most of the time. However, there are certain times when other types of facial expressions would be more appropriate, such as raising the eyebrows when you are pleasantly surprised.

It should also be realized that being subtle is often very effective. You can do this by using your eyes to express or enhance your emotions. There are several colloquialisms that have been created over the last several years to describe this phenomenon. One of the more popular ones  is the word smize, which means "to smile with the eyes."

4. Don't violate your prospect's personal space.

Everyone has a certain amount of room that they need in order to feel comfortable. This room is known as personal space. It is important that you do not violate this physical area; otherwise, you could cause unease and risk losing the sale.

Always maintain an appropriate distance from your potential customer so that your sales pitch can be as effective as possible. Therefore, it is important for you to be able to sense just how big or small your prospect's personal space is.

5. Be aware of your customer's body language.

By reading the non-verbal aspects of a client's responses to your statements and questions, you are usually better able to tell what they are really thinking. When you can better interpret this information, you can more accurately adjust your presentation accordingly.

By developing your ability to read the body language of others and being able to control your own non-verbal communication skills, you can become much better at making more effective presentations that lead to more closed deals.