Do you kiss your female customers?

A few days ago a colleague asked me if I behaved differently to a male or a female client. The truth is that I answered a resounding yes!  and I did not think too much  when she asked me why?

Women and men are biologically different, we have different tastes and habits and behave differently most of the time.. and this does not exclude the professional field. Yes, men work differently, they organize, lead and delegate in a different manner. But they also treat their suppliers/dealers/clients in a different way if these are women. 

We all know that interaction between a man and a woman is rarely identical to  one between two people of the same gender. When a woman interacts with a man (client or not), unconsciously  a "sexual shadow" appears which only a polite and proffesional behaviour, can obviate.  But it could be a barrier to overcome when interacting professionally with someone of the opposite sex. 

Perhaps unusual, but it would be fine to kiss your female client/supplier if you are also a female, but weird to kiss a male customer when introduced. 

So, whether we are aware or not, there is a "sexual aspect" in dealing with customers/suppliers depending on their gender, which will undoubtedly lead us to behave differently. A woman, for example, will be less lenient with the way of dressing of her female supplier and she would probably notice and take in account details that a man would grant no importance. 

As we all know, the first golden rule of sales relationship is "to attract" our potential client. Nobody buys someone who he doesn't like. Therefore attracting a new customer / investor / etc. goes through the first step of being accepted by your hopefully future customer. Once achieved, we may expand all our knowledge and arguments to convince him o her. 

Accepting that men and women are different  is to be considered in our professional relationships, as this awareness can enrich and complement our selling process.