Trite sayings during a sales interaction are boring and ineffective. Statements like, "our company is very service-oriented" or "we'll take good care of you," or "this is one of our best sellers" are all wasted words. Prospects tune out wasted words, and they have no positive impact on the sales interaction whatsoever.
Consumers hear trite phrases all the time, and they've learned to mistrust wasted words when they hear them. Although a salesperson using trite language is attempting to establish trust or rapport with his prospect by using them, they end up having the opposite effect. They either don't register in the prospect's realm of thought, or they register negatively.
Wasted words should be replaced with interesting and meaningful words and phrases that help develop rich dialogue with the prospect or have a positive impact on them. Great salespeople are good at cutting through the clutter in the prospect's environment: messages from other salespeople, advertising, and the hurried pace of contemporary life. One way they accomplish this is with effective choice of verbiage.
I suggest audio taping your next three sales interactions. When you're done listening to them, make a list of all the wasted words or phrases you used. Phrases such as "to be honest with you" or "if you have any questions just give me a call" count as wasted words.
Words matter. Words mean things. Choose your words wisely.
Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers, a B2C sales training and consulting firm. Subscribe to the free Selling to Consumers Sales Tips newsletter at www.SellingToConsumers.com
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