Sales is hard enough on its own. Prospecting. Rejection. Scheduling appointments. Researching the prospect. Understanding the competitive landscape. Knowing your prospects PAIN points. Uncovering budgets and spending patterns. Manipulating the decision-making process. A pretty tough game.
There is no need to make it even harder by saying stupid things. But, some salespeople do. Oh, do they ever!
We have all been there. You can almost see it coming. . . like a train wreck about to happen. Here it comes. . . he is going tp say it. . . OMG. . . he did. . . what a tool! The salesperson took all this time to get invited in, has the audience, makes a first impression and then lays an egg when he opens his mouth.
All because he is not thinking. Not thinking about what he is saying. Not thinking about how to differentiate himself from all the other salespeople that call on this prospect. Not thinking that this prospect does not need another “salesperson.” Not thinking that this prospect needs a solution to a business problem.
Here is a list of 10 Ways You are Sounding Like Every Other Salesperson on the Planet:
1. “I’d like to connect.” “I’d like to meet.” “I wanted to. . .” “I need to. . .”
Stop it with the word “I.” Any sales phrase, sentence, or conversation that starts with what you want is wrong. Sales is not about you, it is about what you can do for your prospect or customer. Take the focus off yourself and make sure that you engage into questions about what they want or what problems they have.
2. “Is it a good time to connect?” “Is it a good time to talk?”
Too easy to answer NO to. Most people “buy the fight” and will respond negatively to the question. If you have not established value, it is a waste of your prospect’s time. Instead, ask, “Did I catch you at a bad time?” Let them “buy the fight” and disagree to that. See the difference?
3. “Just checking in. . .”
Do you know how many salespeople use this line to open every phone call they make or email they write? Every one of them. Stop it! Now! If you want to separate yourself from your competition this is where you start.
4. “Touching base”
Like “just checking in,” “touching base” is brutal! Completely unnecessary. If you are not providing new information or following up with new information, there is really nothing for you to “touch base” about.
5. “Are you the decision maker?”
With this question, you are practically asking your prospect to lie to you. If she is not the decision maker, it is often hard to admit it – makes people feel less important. If she is the decision maker (or a part of the process) you may miss out on that valuable piece of information – she is a part of a process – involving others.
6. “To be honest. . .”
Maybe the worst 3 words anyone could ever say – let alone a salesperson. Does this mean everything up to now was not honest? Lose it.
7. “Trust me.”
“Trust me” is almost as pathetic as “To be honest.” Your prospects will trust you if you give them a reason to. Prove yourself. And another thing, if you say this in response to a prospect question, it can also come off as condescending, evasive, deflecting. Again, lose it.
8. “Let me tell you about our product. . .”
Here we go again. It is not about you. It is also (likely) too early to talk about your product. Make it about them. Their problems. The problems that are costing their company money.
9. “You should know X about [competitor]. . .”
Do you get a bad feeling when salespeople bad-mouth their competitors. Everybody does. Never bad-mouth a competitor. It may be tempting. Fight the urge. Take the high road. It always pays off.
10. “Any Buzz Words”
“In order to travel through time, the vehicle integrated with the flux capacitor needed to be traveling at 88 mph (140.8 km/h) and required 1.21 gigawatts of power (1,210,000,000 watts), originally supplied by a plutonium-powered nuclear reactor. Huh? A fun reference to the movie Back to the Future. Fun in the movies. In life and on sales calls this “Jargon” could make your prospect feel uncomfortable because they may not know what you are talking about. Leave the Jargon in the office. Never assume your prospect knows what you are talking about.
Relying on jargon and acronyms makes you sound not human. Use real words to explain what you mean.
Think it through. Less is almost always best. Less sales lingo is absolutely best. Leave that to your competitors. You will mop up their mistakes and start having record sales quarters.
