Michael Schell

Out-Communicating Your Competition is Vital For Sales Success



Posted: Friday, March 04, 2011

by Michael Schell
Thought Leader Publications & Training

It's amazing how we can be so unaware of repetitive and filler words we sprinkle throughout our conversations. People judge us by the way we communicate, and all things being equal, it's likely a decision maker would prefer to deal with a well-spoken, articulate salesperson versus somebody who injects "ums" and "ahs" between most sentences and says things like "Do you know what I mean?" all the time.

To illustrate, let me share a story with you. A few years ago, I was interviewed on the radio about a book I had written. The segment required I respond to live calls from listeners. I taped the session and listened to it later. Imagine my embarrassment when it was pointed out that I said the word "absolutely" 37 times in a 35-minute session! The point I'm making is, if you don't record yourself, it's unlikely you'll ever be aware of what you need to correct. By the way, I hardly ever use the word absolutely anymore. Absolutely not.

My suggestion to you is to record your side of a phone call with a hand-held digital recorder when speaking with prospects and customers. You can then listen to yourself while driving to sales calls. I've done this many times, and it has been extremely helpful. Absolutely!

When listening to your recordings, check for the following:

o Are you speaking too quickly or too slowly?

o Are you interrupting the other person?

o Are you using vocal variety to convey energy and impact where required?

o Do you sound conversational and natural?

Here are some examples of filler words you should identify and eliminate while listening:

o "Do you know what I mean?"

o "To tell you the truth..."

o "Basically"

The Bottom Line: Until you record yourself and objectively listen to your recordings, you will never be 100 percent sure you're coming across as confidently and articulately as possible.

Michael Schell, President of Thought Leader Publications & Training, is an engaging speaker and trainer who regularly presents at conferences and tradeshows. He has served as president of his Toastmasters club in downtown Vancouver and is working on his Advanced Communicator Gold certification.

Mike is the author of five books: "Winning Sales Advice," "Buyer Approved Selling," "The Sales Star," "The Customer Approved Small Business," and "Human Resource Approved Job Interviews." Targeted to business professionals, his books are filled with clear, practical wisdom based on research with the people on the "decision making" side of the desk.

Mike licenses and conducts the popular Buyer-Approved Selling Workshop across North America. Based on interviews with over 300 corporate decision makers from companies like DaimlerChrysler, Verizon, Oracle and Hyatt Hotels, it highlights the "buyer's" perspective to sales and relationship building while providing ways to out-communicate and out-sell the competition. The workshop also comes in e-learning format (developed with Canon U.S.A. Inc.).

Contact Mike at mike@tlp1.com or (604) 682-0543. Web site: http://www.tlp1.com
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