The language you use impacts the outcomes of your sales conversations.
Welcome to Language! I just love discussing this.
In Australia, as in the UK (my birthplace) we are pretty negative with our language.
How are you today? ‘Not bad’. I called a friend the other day and asked how he was and he replied – ‘not dead yet!’.
The problem with this is how negative language inadvertently slips into our business conversations and you can end up dropping in something negative next to the brand. For example at the end of emails writing ‘if you have any problems’ (implying there might be)!
Or, at the end of a client call saying ‘if you have any queries, let me know’. Ditch the words ‘query, worries, concerns, issues, problems’ and replace with ‘if you need more clarity, let me know’.
In the worst of cases, sales people let slip things like ‘I know it’s expensive but…’ It’s then hard to move the conversation into another direction. The client has been anchored in that thought. If you think it’s expensive, then the client certainly will too.
Of course, when with a client this language works both ways. At no point should you be ‘dumping’ information on them – so ‘if you need more clarity, let me know’ shouldn’t even exist if we are clearly reading them and the situation constantly to know if they are ‘buying into’ our perfectly aligned solution or if it’s off the mark – in which case you adapt on the spot. Remember, the client needs to be sold before you get off the phone or video conference! (On that note – see below – we have a Video Conferencing Webinar Sept 22. Register to polish up on your presenting skills.)
We need to ‘normalise’ every interaction, raise our professionalism so we are seen as the Trusted Advisor. We need to approach business in an intelligent, sophisticated manner where we engage with a client/prospect with the intent of partnering. Being there to help them.
For those leaders reading this, there is no point in telling the sales person it’s not expensive. They themselves in their own mind with conviction need to believe how and where the value lies to be completely comfortable in conveying that to a client. If they don’t believe in the value, no matter what you tell them to say, their sales message to the client will not be congruent.
As a leader you can help your team by:
✔Ensuring they are 100% clear on the solution and are internally aligned
✔Discussing the reasons why a client should buy your product over another. Do they understand the value your product delivers over the competition?
✔Suggest options from your product suite they could buy instead and why.
?My question – how do you prepare to have conversations about price with clients/prospects?
What to do
Be prepared and think of everyone as being part of the decision
Learn more:
Read more blogs on how to align with your client by becoming the trusted advisor.
Watch our live recorded webinar on how to master Video Conferencing below:
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