9 years ago
April 13, 2016

5 Words You Should Always Use During a Sales Call

Some words are so good, so much better, that they should play a role in every sales call.

Rhys Metler

In almost every form of sales, the word serves as the basic building block of your every move. Whether you’re cold emailing a fresh prospect, making a typical sales call, contacting a happy customer for a follow-up, writing copy for a brochure, or Tweeting a status update for a social media campaign, the job of a sales person can be summed up, in essence, as choosing the right words. It should come as no surprise, then, that some words are better than others. And that some words are so good, so much better, that they should play a role in every sales call-that they are always, more or less, ‘the right choice’.  

True.

It doesn’t make much sense when you think about it, but using the word ‘true’, or related words such as ‘truth’ or ‘honest’ or ‘real’ can help you make a faster connection with a prospect during a sales call than you otherwise could. It seems that it really does make you more trustworthy to another person if you tell them, verbally, that you’re telling the truth, that you’re sharing honest facts and opinions. Of course, this can backfire horrendously if you’re not, in fact, telling the truth-so don’t. Honestly sells better, and trust is a valuable currency for a sales call.

Need.

Very few words can empower a sales call efficiently as ‘need’ or its cousins: ‘require’, ‘unique situation’, etc. Prospects want to know that the solution you’re offering them is what they need, not something generically good that may or may not suit their situation. That means spending the preparation and early stages of your sales call getting a feeling for the prospect’s circumstances and figuring out just how your product or service meets their need-not their want, not some vague ‘way to improve’ but a need. If there are weaknesses in your product as it relates to the prospect, figure out in advance how your other customers work around them so you’re ready with good answers.

When.

Putting a date on something makes it more real, more immediate, more alluring to a prospect than when you leave scheduling vague-when, not if. Something as simple as setting up a future follow-up sales call can give you strong leverage moving forward. And when the prospect’s ready to buy, you need to be able to say confidently when they’ll have the product in hand. If your purchasing process is too convoluted, your scheduling too erratic, you’ll need to figure out a good workaround-but getting a few ‘whens’ in to your sales call will always be a good thing.

Free.

Along with its companions ‘throwing in’, ‘bonus’, ‘freebie’, and ‘extra’, few words grab a sales call prospect’s attention more than free. Whether you’re offering something in advance as a way to draw the prospect in, or tossing something ‘extra’ in to secure the deal, free things go a long way with everyone. Something extra that the prospect doesn’t really care about can still win them over-there’s something about getting ‘free stuff’ that triggers the ‘winning’ part of our brain. Nothing makes a prospect more likely to close than that feeling of winning.

Difference.

The last, perhaps most vital word in your sales call dictionary. If you can firmly establish the idea of a difference in your prospect, you can write your ticket to salesperson superstardom. The difference between your product and the competition, the difference between the prospect’s current situation and their situation with your product. You’re not selling a product-you’re selling change. ‘Difference’, ‘change’, ‘improvement’, ‘superior’. If you can accurately, effectively, and convincingly use these words, your sales call success rate will skyrocket.

Of course, none of these words by itself can close a sales call–this isn’t a video game cheat code you’re inputting. Rather, understanding the strength of these words, the ideas behind their use. That’s the real secret to sales call success.

Rhys Metler

Rhys is a tenacious, top performing Senior Sales Recruiter with 15+ years of focused experience in the Digital Media, Mobile, Software, Technology and B2B verticals. He has a successful track record of headhunting top performing sales candidates for some of the most exciting brands in North America. He is a Certified Recruitment Specialist (CRS) and has expert experience in prospecting new business, client retention/renewals and managing top performing sales and recruitment teams. Rhys enjoys spending quality time with his wife, son, and daughters, BBQing on a hot summer day and tropical vacations.

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