Some words are better to use in the sales conversation than others. On the phone, words have 25% importance so avoid words that cause resistance. Below are a few common mistakes.
1. Never use the word ‘BUT’ to counter an objection
This one little word, ‘but’, is often used when responding to an objection and it can spoil everything else you say. ‘But’ negates everything you say before it, therefore disagreement is all the customer hears.
If a customer raises an objection, acknowledge it and follow with the word ‘and’ as opposed to ‘but’.
An example would be:
Customer: ”This software sounds like it would take a long time to install.’
Salesperson: ‘Yes, it does take a long time to install and that challenge is taken care of by our own consultants who set the whole thing up for you as part of the service.’
Customer: ‘It’s very expensive.’
Salesperson: ‘I understand that you think that and that’s why I would like to include a service contract in the price for you for three years at no cost. How does that sound?’
2. Change ‘WHY’ questions to ‘HOW’ questions
Sometimes ‘why’ makes prospects feel defensive and it can sound interrogating or demanding. Research results show that you can increase the amount of information you get from your customer if you begin your questions with ‘how’.
When the customer feels uncomfortable with you (which they might do with ‘why’) they will not buy from you. They will only buy when they feel comfortable with you. ‘How’ will be less challenging for them and less interrogating.
For example:
Salesperson: ‘Why did you buy from Grace Brothers?’
Could be changed to:
Salesperson: ‘How did you make a decision to purchase from Grace Brothers?’
Salesperson: ‘Why aren’t you interested?’
Could be changed to:
Salesperson: ‘How specifically could we make this of more interest to you?’
3. Avoid starting with “I am just calling about…”
‘Just’ minimises what you are about to say in this context and makes your message less important. Simply say, ‘I’m calling you about …’ Never start a cold call with ‘How are you?’ if you have never spoken to the person before. They will immediately suspect a sales call and want to get rid of you.
4. Avoid closing conversations with negative, casual language
Avoid closing conversations with ‘Not a problem’ and ‘No worries’. These expressions leave customers feeling you are leaving them on a negative note. Say, ‘That’s fine’ and ‘Thank you for your business’.
Find Alternatives
The following words will create resistance so it is recommended you choose the alternatives in the right column.
| Deal |
Opportunity, offer |
| Problem |
Challenge |
| Cost |
Investment, Price |
| Change |
Amend, Improve |
| No worries mate |
It was good to talk to you |
Use Positive and exciting words like:
New, Unique, Magnificent, lSpecial, Great, Amazing, Beautiful, Easy
So you see, some words are better to use in the sales conversation than others.
Many more tips like these can be found here
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