Marketing
The Language of Salesby Marjorie Brody
Language is the basis for all sales. How a salesperson communicates will decide whether he or she closes the deal and gets the business.
Whether it’s for phone sales or in-person meetings, having effective language skills is vital for all salespeople. Knowing how to say things – proper vocal cues – is important. But understanding the right verbal mechanisms can be more critical. You may be speaking the same language as your client or prospect, but are you really speaking their language?
Know Your Audience
A colleague of mine once had a journalism professor who said you need to be able to write on a 6th grade level to be an effective newspaper reporter. What does this mean? It means that most people when reading the newspaper have a short attention span – they don’t want heavy language or a lot of technical terms they need to look up in a dictionary. The journalist who keeps it simple gets his or her story read and succeeds.
The same is true of sales. Successful salespeople know how to talk to their audience when giving a presentation. Even if it’s a one-on-one meeting, you are still giving a presentation, and the same rules apply as if it were a large keynote before hundreds of people.
All too often, our verbal skills distort our images as capable, knowledgeable professionals. We hem and haw, trying to find the right word. We may even discount ourselves and our ideas without realizing it, or we might unknowingly offend others with our language. Descriptive simple language and short sentences work the best. When you search for the so-called more “impressive” words, try to expand your statements or sales pitches into drawn-out monologues, you tend to run into more trouble with comprehension and effectiveness.
Avoid Power Robbers
Certain expressions, phrases and word selection can rob the speaker of his or her power. These “power robbers” should be avoided. Verbal shortcomings detract from our confidence, authority and professionalism. Salespeople are not powerless against the power robbers, however.
Examples of power robbers are: “I guess,” “I hope,” “I think,” “Maybe,” “Sort of,” “Kinda,” or “Kind of” and “Probably.”
Salespeople can reduce the effect of power robbers on speaking habits in three ways:
By identifying their own tendencies
By correcting the behavior
By practicing to permanently replace the bad habit with a good one
Stay Away From Tag Questions & Qualifiers
Tag questions can be power robbers. These are questions at the end of a sentence that give the impression you are unsure of what you just said, or are looking for approval. An example would be: "I think the proposal is good, don't you? The "don't you" gives the sentence a weak ending.
If your aim is to stimulate conversation or encourage feedback, ask an independent question. "I think the proposal is good. What are your impressions? This allows you to say what you think or how you feel and encourage a response without devaluing your original statement.
Hedges are also common power robbers. These are fillers we use when we are uncertain about what we have to say or are uncomfortable with silence. Thewells, ums, ahs, likes, and you knows have no place in a sentence and become distracting and annoying if they are abundant. Words like basically and frankly are worthless fillers. Think about what you really want to say and how you are going to say it before you start to speak.
Buzz Off & Keep It Simple
Another trap that salespeople fall into is using buzz words or jargon. For example, if a client is in the information technology industry, if you don’t know what a VAP (Value Added Provider) or VAR (Value Added Reseller) is, don’t use the terms. Not only could it come back to haunt you if your client asks you something you don’t know, but your audience may not be as familiar with the terms as you assumed.
What would you think if someone said to you, “Let’s coordinate a VTC?” I had one very large pharmaceutical client say that to me recently. He assumed that I knew what this meant. I didn’t. How did that make me feel? Dumb. He just as easily could have asked if I was available for a Video TeleConference – the newest technology to “meet” via video when various parties are spread out over various locations. By using technical jargon I didn’t understand, he made me feel less than his equal – and I doubt that was his intent. If he had been trying to sell me something, I know what the result would be – failure.
Stay away from overly aggressive or pretentious language as well. A good example of this would be, “We know we are the best in the world.” Confidence is one thing, arrogance quite another.
Truth and honesty are important values and business practices, but should be kept out of conversation and presentations. The minute I hear someone say “to be perfectly honest,” or “to tell you the truth,” I begin to question – haven’t you been truthful all day? Why now are you being honest? These words often are red flags to many listeners.
Using Powerful Words
You can be powerful with your vocabulary without sounding arrogant. Two of the most powerful words in the English language are you and I. You is most effective when influencing, persuading or selling to someone. The focus should be on the person we are speaking to. Most of our statements in business should be you based. "You're going to love this new copy machine. Imagine all the benefits toyou and your company.
The word I is best used in a conflict situation. In conflicts, we often begin by accusing and attacking the other person. You were wrong. You made a mistake. You made me look bad. The other person, upon hearing this tirade of You, begins to withdraw or become defensive. Either way the communication has stopped. A more effective way to approach conflict is to use the word I. "I feel that there was a mistake made. I was embarrassed and felt we could have been better prepared." Nothing in that statement is directly accusing, yet you are still getting your point across and chances are the other person won't feel defensive.
Other strong words are urge, recommend andsuggest. Pick your words carefully. Selecting the wrong one is sure death for a salesperson trying to convince a potential buyer about the merit of his or her product or services. Which is the more confident statement and would close a sale?
1) “I hope your company would benefit from our services.”
2) “I guess your company would benefit from our services.”
3) “I believe your company would benefit from our services.”
4) “I think your company would benefit from our services.”
5) “I am confident your company would benefit from our services.”
It’s no contest. Statement five is the correct verbal choice of winners. The idea behind understanding which words send which messages is to make conscious decisions about the words we choose to use. Instead of saying things out of habit, be aware of what you say and create new more effective habits when you speak. Aristotle said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence is not an act, but a habit." Make sure your habits are good ones.
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Marjorie Brody, MA, CSP, CMC, is an internationally recognized expert and motivational speaker on career enhancement and corporate etiquette who connects people to potential. She can be reached via e-mail at mbrody@BrodyCommunications.com.
