Don't Waste Words

Monday, August 04, 2008

Don't Waste Words

I know I am guilty of this at times. Most sales people are. Here's Art Sobczak:

This Week's Tip:
Do You Use Meaningless Words?

Greetings,

On the phone we have about 10 seconds or less
to capture a listener's attention, break their
preoccupation with whatever they were doing when
you called, and place them in a positive,
receptive frame of mind to share information
with you and listen with an open mind.

Therefore, you don't want to muddy up your call
with wasted words, or meaningless words.

Here are some that are overused, and really are
meaningless when you analyze them.

-"cost-effective," as in, "We provide cost-
effective products."

-"leading," or "premier," as in, "We're the leading
company in this field." According to whom?

-"solution provider," as in, "We're a solution
provider."

-"meet your needs," as in, "I'd like to discuss how
we can meet your needs."

Here's an opening that I'm sure someone, somewhere
is probably using.

"Ms. Prospect, Josh Verbose with E-Commerce
Applications. We're the premier solution provider of
cost-effective e-commerce systems. We help companies by
facilitating their migration into electronic marketing
by leveraging their options to meet their e-commerce
needs."

Huh?

I actually received a call similar to this. Not only
did the guy's monotone sound like he just arose out
of bed with a stinging hangover, he slurred the
unemotional pronunciation of words:

"Art, this is Joe Collins with Data International.
We're the most respected provider of data funneling
(or something like that--I had never heard the term
before). We work with the IBM's, AT&T's..." and the guy
went on for at least 90 seconds, nonstop, with his
droning. I was not a prospect, and even if I were,
I wouldn't have been interested based on this opening.

Here are a couple of fundamental ideas to keep in mind
before and during your calls.

-Know who you're talking to, both company and position-
wise. This guy was clearly in the wrong place. To
avoid wasted time, energy, and resistance he could
have simply said to my assistant, "I want to be sure
that what I have would be of some interest for your
company. Please tell me ...", followed by some
qualifying questions.

-Use clear terminology to quickly create interest.
Let me say this again: you have just several seconds
to create interest at the beginning of a call. You
do this by alluding to what you might be able to do
for them, and then asking a question. So be simple
with the hint of the result you could possibly
provide. For example,

"Art, depending on how you're using your existing
list of customers, we might have a way to help you
get two or three times the amount of repeat business
you're doing now. I'd like to ask a few questions
to see if it would make sense for us to speak further."

Along the same lines, avoid stilted words when
simpler ones will do. An article in Sales and Marketing
Management magazine suggested ...

"use" instead of "utilize"

"talk" instead of "have a dialogue"

"help" instead of "facilitate"

Examine your own language, both in your openings, and
in all parts of your call. Are you creating resistance
instead of interest? If so, change it today.

=====================================

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Words, like eyeglasses, blur everything that they
do not make more clear."
Joseph Joubert

Go and have your best week ever!