Words

I had a sales rep that brought me to a meeting with a potential client and introduced me as his, "Boss who is here for the kill."

Nobody died except for me from embarrassment, and that reps sales career died a few weeks later.

Art Sobczak has more on the words we use:

THIS WEEK'S TIP:
Do These Words Make a Difference in
the Answer You Will Get?

Greetings!

A reader emailed me in response to a trial close

(or temperature-checking question) he had seen

in one of my newsletters or books. It was,

"It's a pretty good offer ... what do you think?"

His comments:

"You know how much I like your sales tips and

advice. I use and teach it every day, so you

understand I'm not picking on you. Be that as it

may, your line above is weak. The answer could

be a 'no' or 'I don't know, what else can you do?'

I suggest 'There's a lot of real value in this

offer, how do you feel about it so far?' I always

want to know how they feel not how they think."

I believe I wrote a tip years ago actually

recommending saying the same thing: asking people

how they feel vs. think, supposedly because you'll

get a better answer.

But now that I'm older, wiser, and with thinner hair,
I've revisited that thought and come up with another view.
Realistically, would someone actually go through a
thought process where they say, "Hmmm, he asked
what I think, therefore I won't say how I really feel,
and I'll give a different answer."?

I doubt it.

The most important factor here is what led up

to the question that put them into the frame of

mind they're at, at the very instant the question

is asked.

Let's face it, the closing or commitment

question simply gets them to divulge their mindset--

at that moment--it doesn't change it.

As salespeople--or in any role we play as

communicators, now that I think about it--there's

not one technique that magically and instantly

alters someone's total state of mind like a hypnotist.

(Although I get questions every day from people who

are searching for it.)

No, the real key to sales and persuasive success,

on the phone or face-to-face, is in the entire

PROCESS. Using the context of the

professional sales call, that process involves,

1. Your Opening. The result of a good one is

putting someone in a positive, receptive frame of

mind and moving them to the questioning phase

of the call.

2. Questioning. Here, we help move them more

into a frame of mind where they not only give

us information, but also think about their

problems, pains, or desires. Then they are

much more likely to be receptive to our next step.

3. Recommendation. Just like a doctor, we

prescribe the appropriate solution for their

situation. But notice, it comes after the

questioning.

4. Commitment. This is where we simply validate

everything that has taken place up to this point.

Theoretically, if we've done a stellar job thus

far, they would volunteer the sale--which does happen,

albeit not often enough for any of us. Therefore

we still do need to ask. But if I were a new

salesperson starting out, I wouldn't focus all of

my self-improvement time on learning "closing

techniques" at the expense of the other steps in

the process. After all, if a person went up to a

stranger in a bar, it wouldn't make much difference

whether he said, "How would you feel about marrying

me?" or "What would you think about marrying me?"

On the other hand, if they were dating for quite

some time and the person was wildly in love with

the other, it wouldn't matter how the question was

ultimately phrased, as long as it was asked.

Don't get me wrong, incorrect word usage can cause

your sales demise, and I've helped lots of people

make plenty of money by choosing the right words

to evoke the emotions and actions they are looking

for. But successful sales is using the right words,

within the process. Do that, and I'm confident

that you'll ...

... have your best week ever!

Art

Contact: Art Sobczak, President, Business By Phone Inc. 13254 Stevens St.,
Omaha, NE 68137, (402) 895-9399. Or, email:arts@businessbyphone.com

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