So far you’ve had your sellers set goals and they have told you what they will do to get those goals – now it’s time we start arming them with the tools they’ll need on a daily basis to help them achieve their goals. How? Words.
Words? If no one has told you that words affect how our guests perceive what is presented to them, then we are missing out on a whole lot of opportunities!
We’ll focus on 3 areas:
- Bad words
- Good Words & Phrases
- Tone
Then you’ll be able to help your sellers tie it all together!This will help you increase your team’s sales numbers by up to 40% if done correctly.
Words to avoid
Why do we have words we want to stay away from? Because the negative connotation they have and most of our sellers don’t think twice about that and associating it with your brand. You have to remember that they aren’t doing this on purpose, they just don’t know any better – and to be fair, most trainings you have don’t focus too heavily on the psychology of what our sellers are doing consistently or on building habits that stick.
Some of the words that make this “naughty” list?
- Cheap
- But (when talking about your brand)
- No/Can’t
- But
These are some of the words that make the list with “cheap”being the biggest culprit. Think of it in your own mind, what does the word “cheap”convey? Is a cheap product made with the best materials? If something is cheap,is there something better available? Does cheap last? I’m sure you have your own experience, like me, with cheap products/services and normally those aren’t good.
As an example, if your seller is comparing your brand to another competitor and says you are the cheaper option then I guarantee this will turnoff a good chunk of your guests. Your guest who is paying even $10 a month for their service doesn’t want cheap service, they want the best value for their money.
See what I did there? This little rephrasing goes a long way in making your guest feel a certain way that helps them want to say YES to your offer.
But negates everything said before it. When you’re talking about your brand then say but, all the guest hears is that nothing said before matters now. Simple solution is to avoid saying this all together when talking about the brand your represent.
When it comes to “no”, the premise is simple, the moment you say no or can’t our brains shut down to possible solutions we can come up with to help the guest. Think of all the tech/warranty issues that walk through your doors every day – how many of them can be converted into an opportunity if we only spend a little bit more time understanding what is going on? A lot! Instead of sending people away when they come in for these issues, train your sellers to take their time and have them listen to what their guest is saying rather than answering with a “no we don’t do warranty exchanges or bill issues here” –your guest will love this even if their issue can’t be solved, they know we tried and will want to go back.
What words make the good list?
- Yes
- Only
- Today
- Because
- Qualify
- Value
I had taught my sellers how to turn their tech issues into sales and the big part of that was not turning them away when they came in – I want to take the time to know their issue and see what I can do, and normally that means pulling up their account to see what options they have available to them.And in the new world we live in where guests are holding on to their phones longer than before, pulling up their account to see those options is crucial to building better value in our brands for them personally and to have them stay longer.
You might be wondering why the words “only”, “today” and “because”make the good list. The reason is they do is because they convey a sense of urgency without being pushy with your guest.
Qualify is a funny word that has a lot of authority to it, have your sellers use it and watch the number of guests that become interested in their offerings increase. When you use this word it gives the guest the illusion of wanting to take the step to check what they qualify for (this rings true because guests walk into our store locations for a purpose – it is rare that a guest just walks in to walk in just to walk in).
My favorite example is “today you qualify for a special promotion where you get a $300 tablet for only $0.99 because [you’re a valued member/ you are getting a phone/ etc].”
This simple sentence implies that this promotion won’t be around for long and we know that promotions do change.
Tone
It’s not just the words that are used but more importantly how they are conveyed that matter most. Think about the experiences you’ve had with a sales person that is enthusiastic or at the very least energetic about what they are saying compared to a person that is monotone and not energetic at all –even using the words on the good list won’t be enough to make the guest want to say yes.
Practice posturing and smiling exercises because this will help your sellers understand the difference and start making them conscious of their actions.
This is by far the most important aspect of today’s training subject – too many times I have seen sellers loose out on sales because they aren’t conveying the right tone of the message. Think of your favorite movie or play – these are all scripted and rehearsed (yes even improve, you think they build that chemistry without ever working with each other before?) scenes, yet they make us feel certain ways, from laughing because it was that funny to crying or even feeling scared and happy – the point is we need to practice and rehearse what we say to our guests and as leaders to our teams and sellers.
Bring it all together
We have a good set of words to use and ones to avoid and have an idea of how to say them. Couple this with the goals your seller has set and the action items they plan to take and together it helps them become far more effective at their trade.
Have your sellers think of words that convey positive, urgency and negative feelings and have them come up with a few statements or transitions they can start using today in their sales presentations.
Now we can bring it all together in practice. I have created a training document that will help you facilitate this training. This exercise with practice it can be facilitated in 15 minutes, but to start off give yourself minutes – this includes a role playing session.
As their leader you are helping them develop skills they will use their entire lives and careers, something they may not understand now but will be grateful later down the road. By coaching your employees to get better and taking time to show them how will alleviate the need to do as many write ups and will also help reduce churn and increase the length employees stay with you and will also help increase the number of leadership candidates that the company can select from – which means you become one of the best leaders in your organization!
It’s a process and done right it will not be a very long process for you to start getting noticed as one of the most effective leaders in your organization.
Omar
PS – take time to share this with others – true leaders share the wealth and help others become better at all levels!
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