Really? Every time I hear 'how was your day?' from some random I don't know, it always seems like a silly question, almost a formality. I invariably respond with 'yeah, fine', just to get it over with.
I should maybe add that I struggle with small-talk at the best of times, so I'm probably a sales person's worst nightmare :)
Maybe I should also add that I'm from the UK, and we don't generally go in for 'have a great day' and all that American smiley stuff :)
I have had people fall asleep in the middle of my presentation (after lunch-heart medication). I have had people throw up in the middle of my presentation. I have had people cry in the middle of my presentation.
At that point, I stop politely. I'm not in sales mode anymore; I'm in human being mode. Maybe they need an ear. Maybe they need a beer. Maybe their staff understands that they fall asleep after lunch and that you can continue on.
Sales is mostly empathy and education. I'm selling to you because I believe that I'm going to make your situation better. If I reach a point where I believe that is not true, I'm going to stop selling to you, refer you to someone else, etc.
Occasionally, this loses me a sale. Oh, well. I generally engender so much good will when it happens that it almost always rebounds back to me later.
You don't care at the same level, and if you try to show you do you will rightfully be seen as phony. Normal human-to-human empathy is enough. You don't have to cheer them up, but you know what it's like to have a bad day. So do I, they suck.
But, realistically, the sales guy doesn't give a shit about how their prospect's day has been - how is this 'sincere'?