It’s not always what you say that makes the biggest impression. Before you even open your mouth, nonverbal habits you’re not even aware of could jeopardize your ability to make a good impression, close a deal, get promoted, or earn a new customer. Professional body language is critical to any business exchange, and it’s just as important to be aware of the things you’re not saying as it is to be aware of what you are. In other words, through your posture, body language, habits, and tone, you may be speaking volumes without even uttering a word.

The following eight professional body language mistakes might be making you look bad even when you’re saying all the right things:

1. Slouch. Didn't your mother always tell you to sit up straight? Mom was on to something. Not only does slouching make you seem detached and uninterested, but it’s also high school behavior. You’ll feel and look better if you sit up.
2. Drum your fingers. This is one of those unconscious habits that is immediately obvious to everyone except the perpetrator. It says that you can’t wait for the meeting to end. Don’t be the finger drummer in the room.
3. Avoid making eye contact. If you’re hoping to forge a connection or further a relationship, you need to make eye contact. Not doing so implies that you have something to hide or that you are not open or trustworthy. People hear with their ears, but they remember with their eyes.
4. Make too much eye contact. On the other hand, maintaining prolonged or constant eye contact can be perceived as threatening, uncomfortable, or just plain creepy. No one likes to feel like they are under a microscope. Communication is a give-and-take experience, and if the conversation, presentation, or interaction is authentic, the appropriate amount of eye contact will take place in a natural way.
5. Check the time incessantly. Nothing takes the focus out of the moment like a glance at the clock or your wristwatch. This essentially says, “I am not engaged in what you are talking about. I am instead thinking about what I’ll be doing as soon as this meeting is over.” Resist the urge to check the time and focus on the conversation instead.
6. Check your phone or email. Rude as it may be, we’ve all done it at least once. Get caught, and you telegraph disinterest, lack of focus, and disengagement. Avoid the temptation to go down the smartphone rabbit hole during a meeting. While checking email is bad form, responding to an email is a more egregious infraction, to be sure.
7. Act invisible. Want to stand a ghost of a chance of getting ahead? Don’t attempt to fly under the radar. That just makes you look unsure of yourself. Stay engaged and establish a physical presence as well. Taking up space in the room shows power and confidence. Lean forward while seated. Widen your arms and place them on the table. When standing, widen your stance. Legs too close together can make you look unsure, hesitant, or wobbly. Widening your stance can help you look stable, grounded, and confident.
8. Fidget. Don’t bounce your knees, twirl your hair, click your pen, touch your face, or rub your hands together. While these habits might calm your nerves, they also paint you as uncertain, uncomfortable, and not credible.

Body language in meetings and exchanges can make a world of difference in your business conversations. Everything we do communicates something, so why not communicate as clearly as possible. Avoid these eight body language mistakes during your next meeting, and when you do have the opportunity to speak, your words will have the impact you’re hoping for.

Ready to go beast mode? Beasts at sales are energetic, engaged, and capable of accomplishing just about anything! Unleashing your inner sales beast means stepping up your game to succeed at sales. Being a sales beast is a state of mind that drives you to be the best at what you do, but it also has a lot to do with how you behave and the image you project. While it’s important to trust your animal instincts, sometimes it takes a little good, old-fashioned discipline before things become instinctual.

By practicing the five B.E.A.S.T factors – body language, eye contact, awesome attitude, smile, and timing – you can start building great habits proven to help you succeed at sales.

Body Language:Your body is communicating with customers even before you’ve said a word. It’s important to understand the message you’re sending. Leaning on counters, tables, or desks as customers approach sends the message you’re bored and disinterested in speaking to them. It also doesn’t look very professional. Good posture has been shown in studies to make you feel more confident and prepared to make a sale. Facing the customer during a sales pitch can feel too confrontational, instead, stand to their side while you show them information. Don’t invade their personal space by getting too close, and avoid touching them other than a handshake, a high five, or a fist bump. Many people prefer not to be touched by strangers.

Eye Contact: Ever heard someone described as “shifty-eyed,” or have you noticed when somebody won’t make eye contact when they talk to you? It’s never a good thing. Keeping consistent eye contact helps you earn the customer’s trust by demonstrating that you’re confident and that you believe in what you’re telling them.  It communicates sincerity and genuine interest. It also allows you to connect with the customer, build rapport, and improve their engagement in the conversation – all customer service wins. By focusing on the customer’s eyes, you encourage them to pay attention and listen to you, and you can gauge whether they understand what you’re saying.

Awesome Attitude: By working in sales, you are helping to connect customers with services and products. Thinking of your role in terms of serving the customer, rather than just selling to him or her, helps you create a better experience for the customer, and most likely will result in more sales. That’s because people like to buy from people who make them feel good, cared for. People are busy, and not everyone is going to be polite when you approach them to make a sales pitch. But there’s no excuse for a salesperson to be rude, and it certainly won’t help you succeed at sales. When you maintain a great, confident, and friendly attitude, a customer who has already said no might change his or her mind later. But a customer you’ve been rude to is lost forever, and he or she might encourage others to avoid you, your product, or your company.

Smile: Studies have shown what you probably already know instinctively, smiling makes people feel good about you. Have you ever been in a bad mood and tried to keep a scowl on your face while the person you’re talking to is smiling. It’s tough, isn’t it? Smiling is contagious. It puts other people at ease, helps to change their mood, and most importantly, it leaves them with a good impression of you and what you have to say. While learning to smile consistently, and in a way that feels sincere and not forced, take practice, it’s probably the simplest thing you can do to improve your chances of making the sale.

Timing: Even when you do everything else right, the success of your sales pitch can sometimes come down to timing. Starting your pitch when the customer is too far away can force you to shout at them. Waiting until they are right in front of you can create an awkward feeling of intimacy. When approaching customers in person, start speaking to them when they are about seven feet away. Don’t wait until they have already passed you, or else you’ll be speaking to the back of their head, which puts you at a disadvantage.

Unleashing your inner sales beast takes more consistency and discipline than the name might suggest. Becoming a sales beast requires developing great communication techniques and professional habits that make the customer feel that you sincerely care about them and have their best interests at heart. The best sales beasts don’t depend on their killer instincts; instead, they use their B.E.A.S.T factors to convey confidence, sincerity, and helpfulness, which add up to the kind of creature qualities customers can’t resist.

Grit is a mysterious and powerful mix of passion and perseverance that gives some the strength to keep going where so many others before them have given up. In fact, studies have shown that grit may outrank either intelligence or talent as an indicator of future success. Salespeople know a lot about grit. They work in a competitive business, but for those with the grit to stick with it, the rewards can be huge. The best salespeople know that grit can be the secret ingredient that makes the difference between success and failure.

Here’s how grit can make good salespeople great:

• Persistence: To get good at sales you have to become okay with rejection. You have to hear “no” enough times that you finally figure out why people say no and what you can do to get a “yes.” People who thrive in sales are the ones who can persist, persevere, and learn to embrace the word no as a challenge to identify what will get the “yes”. To them, no is just another exciting challenge to overcome. Salespeople with grit are the ones who brush themselves off and wonder how many more people they can meet with before the sun goes down.

• Self-belief: Salespeople with grit tough it out by trusting their guts and believing they can make it no matter what anybody else thinks. Only the gritty keep moving forward regardless of the obstacles that may stand in their way.

• Long-term perspective: Salespeople, must be able to envision that future. Achieving long term goals means keeping your eye on the prize, and having grit means you focus on doing what it takes to win, overcoming hurdles and celebrating wins along the way.

• Unwavering Courage: Successful salespeople are fearless. They take pleasure in achieving the hard things, and they welcome the unknown. They want to overcome weaknesses, revel in change, and capitalize on their strengths. Salespeople with grit get out of their comfort zones in order to realize their dreams.

• Endurance: Having grit means having the stamina to follow through on your promise to yourself, and finish what you’ve started. It’s an attitude of always finishing what you start.

• Owning it: In the sales business, excuses won’t get you very far. It’s the effort you put out, your commitment, and your unwillingness to give up that will determine your success. The ones who succeed in sales are those who are accountable for their own actions.

• A Winning Attitude: To beat the odds, you have to ban negative thinking and immerse yourself your passion for your work. True grit takes keeping self-doubt, fear, frustration, and even disappointment from derailing you. It takes an absolute belief in yourself and confidence that with hard work, you can achieve your dreams.

• Drive: Leaders in sales will tell you that to accomplish something extraordinary, you must remember why you’re doing it. You have to stay connected to the things that are most important to you, because they are the things that will make all the hard work worth it in the end. The most successful salespeople never forget what they’re working towards.

Intelligence and talent are huge advantages in business that can help you innovate, perform well, or solve problems. Without the grit to stay the course even when it gets bumpy, those advantages can be fleeting. Brains and natural ability are the reason many people are good at their jobs, but without the grit to overcome challenges, bounce back from stumbles, and the drive to push themselves further, they may never truly be great.

Studies have shown that first impressions last. That’s why it’s important to be sure people’s first impressions of you are good. And if you only have one chance to do it right, it pays to do everything you can to improve your odds. In business, a first impression can decide whether or not you get that new job, or it could help a customer choose whether they’ll buy from you or not. A poor first impression could cost you money or an opportunity, but a good first impression can help you establish relationships with people that can help you reach your goals.

Here’s a first-impressions checklist, guaranteed to help you make your next first-impression a good one:

Be on Time: It’s so easy, but so many people get it wrong. Being late to an important meeting shows disrespect for the other person’s time, and it makes you seem arrogant and disorganized. Being on time, on the other hand, shows that you’re taking the appointment seriously. It also makes you appear more confident and poised, because you’ve had time to gather your thoughts and review your notes.

Do your Research: Before any important meeting, make sure you know a little something about the person you’re speaking with. People naturally connect with those with whom they have something in common, so find out if you’re from the same city or whether you’ve traveled to the same landmark. Those shared experiences can be great icebreakers. When meeting with a company, prepare some talking points that are relevant to the business, or think of questions that show you understand their unique challenges in the marketplace.

Be Positive: Maintain a great attitude and a positive perspective whenever you’re meeting someone for the first time. A first encounter is not the time to start complaining about your last employer or grumbling about business setbacks. While some of your complaints may be valid, they can give the impression that you’re someone who looks to assign blame rather than taking responsibility for his or her own actions.

Say it with a Smile: Some studies indicate that 90% of what we communicate comes not from what we say, but rather, how we say it. Body language is critically important when making a good first impression, so even if you’re feeling tired and stressed, remember that keeping up that friendly smile can help put the other person at ease, even when words fail you. Other simple, non-verbal ways to make a good first impression are maintaining eye contact, nodding in agreement, and giving a nice, firm handshake.

Say Less and Listen More: What you say is important, but what might be even more important, is how well you listen. People like to talk, and they enjoy people who pay attention to what they have to say. Show you’re genuinely interested when the other person speaks, and ask follow up questions that show you understand the point they have made.

Stay Focused:  Eliminate distractions like your cell phone, and plan meetings in quiet spaces where you’re unlikely to be interrupted and where you can hear the other person clearly. Don’t check your watch, and avoid glancing at the clock more than necessary. While staying on schedule is important, obsessively watching the clock gives the impression you’re anxious for the meeting to end.

Show Your Manners: When it comes to good first impressions, manners can go a long way. Build rapport by asking the other person about their day or pay them a compliment before diving right into business. Offer to get them a cup of coffee or a cold drink. Thank them for their time and shake hands, or walk them out, when the meeting is over. And, don’t forget to send a nice thank you note or follow up email.

Dress to Impress: Putting a little extra effort into your appearance before an important meeting isn’t just about looking attractive. It’s about showing effort. It lets the other person know the meeting is important to you, and it puts you in a mindset to act professional and feel confident. Dressing sharply sets the stage for success, and it helps you play the part.

A first impression sets the tone for what’s to come. It can determine the way an employer, business partner, or client thinks about you, and no matter how the relationship evolves, that first meeting will always play a role in how you are perceived. Don’t squander the opportunity. By taking first impressions seriously and following the tips in this checklist, you can be sure you’re putting your best foot forward when it matters most.

Like it or not, being on time matters. In fact, it matters a lot. It communicates to others whether they can trust and rely on you. It gives others insight into how you view them and how you view yourself. Being chronically late can have countless unintended consequences, and it’s a seemingly small thing that can have a huge and lasting negative effect on your career. By contrast, learning the importance of punctuality – or being consistently on-time, or even early – is an incredibly simple way to set yourself apart from the crowd. It allows you to make an instant good impression, and it can help you reach your goals faster by helping others see you as someone worth listening to.

There is no excuse for being late. Barring true emergencies, being on time is completely within your control. Taking ownership of your time, knowing the importance of punctuality, and choosing never to be late again, is one easy thing you can do to change your life and career for the better.

In case you still need reasons to be on time, here are 7 big ones:

1. Being Late Weakens Your Position: When you’re late, you’re starting off on the wrong foot. Nobody wants to start an important business meeting with an apology. You may also be stressed and scattered, which may make the other person question their choice to work with you. If you can’t even be trusted to be on time, why would a customer trust you with their money?

• How to flip it: When you know the importance of punctuality, it puts you in the driver’s seat. Being on time helps you be cool, calm, and collected, and you make a great impression by showing the other person you respect their valuable time. By arriving early, you allow yourself a few extra minutes to think through your argument, and you appear more confident, poised, and in control.

2. When You’re Not on Time, You’re Stealing: If time is money, then by arriving five minutes late you’ve just stolen something of value from the other person, which is NOT a great way to start any important business negotiation. The other person feels like they’ve already given you something, so they’re not going to be as likely to give you more.

• How to flip it: Being on time instantly makes the person feel valued and appreciative, which could make them more open to your sales pitch.

3. Being Late Communicates a Lot…and None of it is Good: Being late tells others a lot about you, your integrity, and your respect for other people. It tells them you think your time is more important than theirs, and whatever you are doing is more important than what they could be doing. It shows disrespect and disregard, and it tells the other person you’re totally unreliable, careless, and disorganized.

• How to flip it: Being on time tells others that you’re trustworthy, considerate, and prepared. You’re showing them they are important to you and you are bringing your A-game.  

4. There’s No Good Excuse: Other than a real emergency – and no, sleeping late and traffic don’t count – being on time is 100% within your control, and it’s easy! Sure, staying on schedule does take some planning and organization, but compared to almost every other challenge you could face at work, being on time is a cakewalk. Being late is like shooting yourself in the foot.

• How to flip it: Being on time is an incredibly simple way to impress others, make people like you, and make yourself look good. Why wouldn’t you do it?

5. Being Late Wastes Time: When you’re late, you’re not buying yourself a few “extra minutes” you’re throwing away those minutes on things that could have been accounted for with a little planning. Being late often forces you to do extra work by scheduling follow-up meetings when you can’t finish your whole agenda, or by slowing you down on a project because you haven’t organized your thoughts ahead of time.

• How to flip it: Knowing the importance of punctuality, on the other hand, saves you time. Good time management makes you more efficient, which means you can leave work right at 5 pm to make it to your child’s baseball game or get in that evening workout you’ve been skipping.

6. Being Late Wastes Money: Ever miss a flight or a show because you were running late? Ever have to pay extra for parking because your meeting ran over? Does your child’s daycare charge you by the minute when you don’t pick up your kid on time? Being late can lead to some costly mistakes.

• How to flip it: Always being on time can save you from a wide variety of late fees and penalties, and it can help you catch those precious first-come, first-served deals.

7. Being Late Makes You Scatterbrained: The stress you feel when you’re constantly running late interferes with your ability to make decisions, think and speak clearly, perform with precision, and get things done with a winning attitude.

• How to flip it: By being on time, you’re able to start meetings, projects, and your work day clear-headed and free from the nagging emotional distractions.

Being on time doesn’t come naturally to everyone, but it doesn’t have to. Even those of us who struggle with punctuality will admit that being on time just takes a little planning, and most importantly, admitting to ourselves that being on time matters. Just think about it. When you really care about being somewhere on time, you’re able to make it happen. Right? That’s because the biggest trick for improving your time management isn’t a trick at all. It’s just knowing the importance of punctuality.