Become the Contractor of Choice
Thinking Outside
the Sale
Develop a Winning Vocabulary
By Paul Montelongo
The NBA professional basketball season is in full swing. My beloved
San Antonio Spurs are off to a great start in spite of a sometimes
disjointed team defense effort. With the season come the interviews.
Oh…the interviews. Highly paid, college educated, celebrity
athletes vomiting the same old “jock-talk” for which
they have become known. It never ceases to amaze me that these celebrities
with lots of disposable income cannot seem to hire a voice coach,
a speech coach or take an English course.
Now I am not so naïve that I am suggesting that these athletic
specimens of humans should go down in history as some of the greatest
orators of our time. However, do you think they could mix in a little
logical coherent development of their interview responses?
When asked what his team had to do to win that night, one well-known
superstar actually said, “We have to do the things we need
to do in order to win tonight.”
Hey stretch… YOU THINK????
I love sports and athletes. As a kid I couldn’t wait to watch
the Wide World of Sports on Saturday afternoons. To hear Jim McKay
say… “The human drama of athletic competition, the thrill
of victory and the agony of defeat” still gives me chills.
But come on guys, could you possibly incorporate in a little personality
in your interviews? I would love to hear Tim Duncan say, “Yeah,
we gave them a ‘butt-thumping’ tonight. I knew the minute
they walked on the floor, we were going to be playing against the
Sisters of Perpetual Fear.”
In my dreams…
So what does this have to do with increasing your business, your
sales, your motivation, your career, your life?
Well, I got on my soapbox for a reason. Too many times I see and
hear sales people give their routine pitch with absolutely no emotion
at all. Their rote delivery is about as inspiring as a snail crossing
the interstate, and many times with the same result.
People buy based on emotion. It doesn’t matter what you buy;
there is an emotional response behind it. What does the purchase
do for you as a person? Every time you buy a product, sub-consciously
you are asking and answering this question.
When your gray matter hits the right cylinder and you get excited
about some feature or benefit of the product, BOOM, you buy. The
more the excitement, the bigger the purchase, usually.
The interesting aspect of this is that it is only your perception.
What excites you about a product may not excite me and certainly
not Tim Duncan (nothing seems to excite him).
However, experienced seasoned sales professionals know that they
better generate some emotion in the prospect or they won’t
be going to the bread store very often.
Where does that start? I believe that you first must be genuinely
excited about the product or service you sell. In other words, you
must have sold it to yourself first. After all, aren’t you
the most difficult person to sell?
The belief in your product or service creates excitement and enthusiasm.
Enthusiasm is contagious. Enthusiasm is an emotion. Enthusiasm sells.
Once you have enthusiasm and excitement about your product, you can
go out and give the whole world a “butt-thumping”.
Does this mean that you have to be a raving lunatic about your
product? If that works for you, then go for it. However, a genuine
belief and faith in your product or service creates a state of being
that is calm and confident. This too, is highly contagious and persuasive.
The bottom line on this segment is “Do what you love and
love what you do”. If you are not totally proud and excited
about what you do, change it. Change it now. Piggybacked to this
idea is that you can also change the way you feel about what you
already do. Search for all the good in your service and continue
to embed those thoughts in your mind.
This internal vocabulary plays all the time like a never-ending
CD. The first step is to ‘beef-up’ your vocabulary to
yourself. It is much easier to sell after your have already sold
yourself.
Once you go out into the world to visit with prospects and customers,
take note of the words you use. I mean the nomenclature, the phraseology
and actual words that come out of your mouth.
Here is a list of my top ten “mis-speaks” that most
salespeople make. Remember that the words you use do influence the
mind of your customer. Would it be better to set yourself up for
the win and the sale from the very start of the conversation with
your prospect?
This simple change in your vocabulary will make a huge difference
in the way you look at your product. More beneficially, your customer
will think differently about what you are selling.
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Price, Charge
Contract
Problem
Down Payment
Draw Payments
Overwhelmed
Signature
Salesman
Job
Gal in the office
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Investment
Agreement, Paperwork
Challenge, Issue
Initial Investment
Disbursement Schedule
Popular
Endorsement
Consultant
Project
Personal Assistant
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Could you imagine your customer thinking of your product or service
as an “investment” rather than a purchase? Having your
customer “endorse your letter of agreement” is much more
inspiring than “signing your contract”. Most people associate
contracts to lawyers. So take away any objections to your service
from the start by using winning vocabulary.
With regard to the NBA elite, let’s enjoy another season
of athletic prowess and finesse, though we will grin and bear the
interviews.
Nationally recognized speaker, author and consultant to the construction
industry, Paul Montelongo speaks
at conventions and for corporations on “Thinking Outside the
Sale” Strategies. To obtain info rmation about training resources,
call toll free 1-866-494-1911 or visit www.PaulMontelongo.com.
Register to receive your free email newsletter. Receive tips, strategies
and concepts to help you think outside the sale and earn more money.
Paul has owned and operated his own multi-million dollar construction
company in South Texas for over 23 years.
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