Seven Words You Cannot Say In Sales

Seven Words You Cannot Say In Sales
In the early 70's, George Carlin created quite a stir with
his comedic "Seven Words You Can't Say on Television." So
much so, that his original routine is still talked about
today. His choices were funny to some and grossly
offensive to others. The fact remains, that despite a
steady decline in moral standards on television, those
seven words remain off-limits to this day, at least on
network television.

Our word choices and uses are important. They often convey
our level of intelligence and understanding to others.
Incorrect usage of words displays ignorance, causing others
not to take us seriously. Words help to create pictures in
our minds. This is critically important, especially in
selling, where perception often means everything. "What you
are doing speaks so loudly, that I cannot hear what you are
saying." says Ralph Waldo Emerson. One might re-phrase that
expression to say "I hear what you are saying, but I
understand what I am perceiving."

The following words depict negativity and are perceived by
your customers as evasive, uncaring, non-interested and
non-committal. Trust me, if you are being perceived in this
manner, you have already dug yourself into a deep hole and
further speech will likely bury you. Lose these seven
immediately:

1. forgot

2. blame

3. excuse

4. can't

5. don't-care

6. won't-do

7. no

People want to be part of business and personal
relationships where they feel they have importance and
matter to the other person. Is that not what you want?
There is no place for words or a mindset such as these on
the journey towards success. These seven words represent
apathy and self-serving, traits that seldom lead to sales
growth. It is not only these exact words but the attitudes
behind them that must be eliminated.

Development of superior selling skills begins with sincere
interest in others. It begins with having the genuine
desire to be of service. Our customers not only expect
these but demand them as well. It is the base of what will
develop into a relationship.

We are in the early stages of another presidential election
season. There are seldom more opportunities to witness
words, intentions and records more highly scrutinized than
right now. Will President Clinton ever live down his
scrutiny of the word "the" in defense of his actions? Learn
from seeing how words will surely be separated from
context, twisted and edited to mean something totally new.
"What did you mean when you said...?" will be a commonly
asked politically-charged question.

Choose your words carefully. Mean what you say. Forget
vulgarity. Forget off-color humor. Forget clouded meanings.
Be direct in your communications so that your customer
knows exactly what you can, cannot and will do for them.
Make certain that they thoroughly understand your
intentions and expectations. This is where integrity
shines. Clear word choices lead to clear communication
which in turn leads to satisfying relationships. Choose
your words carefully and win.

----------------------------------------------------
Daniel Sitter, author of both Learning For Profit and
Superior Selling Skills Mastery, has garnered extensive
experience in sales, training, marketing and personal
development spanning a successful 25 year career.
Experience his blog at http://www.idea-sellers.com