Words are the most powerful selling tools of the Salesman.

They are the very life of the business. They are the best tricks of the trade. Without them, every salesman is lost before he begins!        

Keys:

     If you’ve got thin skin. Get over it. You must accept constructive criticism to improve and sustain ongoing growth in the selling game. Don’t take it personal. These tips are to help you sell more.

Learn to use a dictionary

     Customers can not read your mind. They can only hear what you say. The trick is to say the right things. Wow! How many times I have been around a sales person who used the wrong word and killed a sale. Or a sales person who used the right word the wrong way and killed a sale.  

   Whether your prospect buys or flies is greatly due to your words. So you need to be a student of words. Every sales man ought to make the dictionary his or her friend.  1- You need to learn more words. 2- You need to learn to say the words correctly. 3- You need to learn the correct meaning of the words, you use. 4- You need to know the right way to use words. 5- You need to understand your customer’s words. // Get the point?! // Grab your dictionary daily.

Learn to use a thesaurus

     Nobody likes a “canned” approach. You say the same thing every day to your customers and you will come across as just telling them a line; not telling them the truth. That is the value of a thesaurus. It will improve your skills at saying the same things, different ways. It will help you vary the context of your words and never get cold or “rehearsed.” Learn to use similar words to say what you need to get across to your prospects. You will find that mixing up your presentation will make you more interesting. Different people hear the same thing & still hear different concepts. So being able to state your value propositions in a variety of ways:  will help you make sure that your customers are really hearing what you mean to say. Blow the dust off your thesaurus. It will make you a better salesman.

Learn to pay attention to pitch

I hate listening to someone who is whiny, draggy, squeaky, harsh, agitated or mean; don’t you? You must pay careful attention to the pitch of your voice and improve it to better relate to your customers. Record yourself. You may be shocked at what you hear.

Learn to pay attention to rhyme

Everybody likes a good poem. People will respond positively to rhyme, as long as it is used effectively and genuinely. Pay attention to words that sound like each other and can be used together meaningfully. It will make you more interesting to your customer.

Learn to pay attention to meter

I remember many years ago, when I was over the NorthEast in the inside sales department, of a European hardware company operating here in the United States. Gee whiz! What an adjustment did my customers have to do…..  and I had to do, to learn to communicate with each other. I have a celebrated Southern drawl.  But I learn that I can talk fast when I need to. And some people must learn that they can slow down when they need to. Pay attention to whether the pace of your speech is aiding in your communication to your client or taking away from it; And adjust accordingly.

Learn to pay attention to responses

   It really does not matter how you think the customer heard you. What is really crucial in the selling game is what the customer really heard. The only way to make sure that the customer is hearing what you want them to is by paying attention to customer responses. You can sense, even if they do not say that you did not get your point across, if you are listening and paying attention to the customer. Don’t forget the value of coming out and asking what your customer thinks of what you said. Most times they will tell you.

Ask people how you come across

 I told you “thin skin” is no good in the sales game. In addition to “Attaboys,” you need some “You can do betters.” Find an accountability partner in selling. Somebody who will stay on your ass. (Yes,  a preacher said that.) It is only the pressure of a grinding stone that makes the axe sharper. If you want to improve your sales game; find somebody who will tell you the truth about what they see that you need to improve. And don’t dismiss what they tell you, until you have worked on it. — Good medicine often tastes bad at first. We need to hear what we need to improve about our words; if we want to improve the measure of our skill in the selling game.

Don’t let them be “just words”

     Slick talking and positive selling are not one and the same.  If you “talk somebody into” something; without being concerned about the accuracy of your words: Then you are a rip-off artist, not a positive salesman.  

What goes around really does come around. What you sew, you will reap. There is a law of karma, reciprocity or divine justice. Whatever you want to call it; you will not succeed in the best sense of the word, if you do not practice value statements. 

Value statements are those propositions that present the real worth and benefit of your product or service to your customers.  Marketplace recognition, repeat business and trustworthy reputation are the obvious reasons why your words should be truth based. Sales people: work on making sure your words are not “just words.” 

Learn to use your most powerful weapon, your words; with precision, speed and convincing articulation. Paint a passionate, beautiful, desirable picture with your words. Let your words ring with clarity in the mind of your customers long after they have left you and then you will start to be a master salesman.

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Tim – CCCDynaPro – Carter’s Creative Concepts Dynamic Professionalism