Forget the buzz words, the slick over-used terminology. Sometimes, past the cool acronyms, salespeople with good
intentions will say things, yet the customer will hear very differently. Over the last 22 years, I have been on thousands of sales calls. At all levels. What I always found fascinating was the language that some of my reps would be using in describing the service or product we were selling. When you hire experienced sales people that have been trained by other organizations, you don’t get to actually mould their skills to the “nth” level. You buy a package, and in that package, there are pieces that might be – say – more annoying than others. Words used in a sales call or demonstration were always among other things, one of my focus.The best examples are found with online demonstrations with recorded audio. There is a pletoria of words that have no value to the clients, words that I made sure were eradicated from presentations with my sales team. Here are a few examples:
“This is a NICE feature” – Nice means unnecessary, and as a client, I don’t want to pay for it. Tell me it is key and why.
“This is why I like it” – Hmm..no offense, tell me why YOUR CLIENTS like it….tell me a story of how it is being used by other clients.
“I am happy that it happens actually”…When talking about a product malfunction during a demo…this is the sleaziest signal….of course you’re not happy, but you are telling your client that you will lie in order to get a deal. Great way to start a business relationship.
“This is actually our last one” ….Really? Am I that lucky to buy the last one or is this an old product?
“Trust me on this“….. Why do you have to say it? Should I have any doubts?
There are so many examples of what not to say to your clients. You can get the same message across, you can create urgency, just think as a client before you speak. What matters to you – the sales person – might not matter so much to your audience.
Filed under: Sales management Tagged: | sales, sales call, sales coaching, Sales management
