A smile is your best ROI.

While returning home from the gym recently, I was approaching the front of a sports boutique I shop at often. The store manager was opening the door for the day just as I reached it.

Our eyes caught. I gave him a smile, a nod and moved on.

He gave me ‘nada’.

I didn’t expect a hug but an acknowledgement would have been nice.

Really? Would it have killed him to crack a smile and say hello?

Though it was a fleeting moment, it was enough for me to stew about it all the way home. I even mentioned the incident to friends and now I’m writing about it.

A small stone can leave a big ripple.

At i24 Call Management Solutions, – a company that manages hundreds of customer service calls a day. One of the first things agents learn is to smile when speaking with a client.

Smiledog Your Receptionist, an industry friend, makes smiling part of their company brand. It’s reflected in everything they do.

A smile is your welcome sign.

Let’s give my sullen store manager the benefit of the doubt and say he was just having a bad day.

Maybe he slept in, burnt his toast or his roommate didn’t leave milk for his cereal.

It sucks having a bad day. But it sucks more to lose a potential repeat client. 

Smiling isn’t just something your face does.

• A smile, whether visual or nonvisual (phone), communicates your state of mind. It can be the most significant part of a business transaction – influencing perception and satisfaction.

• Smiling is as much a reflection of an organization’s culture as it is a validation of that culture. The impression begins even before meeting the client and continues thereafter.

• A smile is an attitude that reflects your integrity. You can’t control everything that unfolds during a customer interaction. But you can control your attitude.

Smiling sets a tone. It establishes rapport and initiates trust. It’s the cornerstone of every business relationship.

 The science behind a smile.

Smiling is evolutionarily contagious. It suppresses control over our facial muscles. By mimicking a smile and experiencing it, we can understand whether our smile is fake or real. Then, we can understand the emotional state of the smiler.

“Growing evidence shows that an instinct for facial mimicry allows us to empathize with and even experience other people’s feelings. If we can’t mirror another person’s face, it limits our ability to read and properly react to their expressions.” (Why smiles (and frowns) are contagious)

“The facial feedback hypothesis states that facial movement can influence emotional experience. For example, an individual who is forced to smile during a social event will actually come to find the event more of an enjoyable experience.”

Smiling is a pleasure inducer.

British researchers found that one smile can generate the same level of brain stimulation as up to two thousand bars of chocolates. So next time you have a craving for chocolate…

Smiling enhances what others think of you.

When you smile, you not only look more likeable and courteous, but you also appear to be more competent. (Penn State Study) .

Simplicity always wins.

The easier it is to understand the offer, the more likely people are to buy it.

We know instinctively that we feel good both when we smile and when we’re in the company of smiles. We have scientific evidence that shows us the psychological and biological reasons for that.

We also know the importance of a positive first impression.

So next time you’re at the front door as someone walks by, crack a smile, perhaps even give a short “hello”.

It’s the one action that will give you the biggest ROI.