A tale of two salesmen

I had the great fortune to sit next to a professional fund-raiser today. I asked him the the secret of his success, and he said, "It's all in the listening. I ask them what matters to them, I listen to their emotions, and then I put all that together in a proposal." He repeated, "It's all in the listening." Later in the day I called a company to ask about getting an expensive service. I told the salesman what I needed, stressing that convenience was important in this case. He told me the way the company worked, which was definitely not customer-friendly but was employee-convenient. I told him why I needed it be more convenient to me, and he said "We don't do it that way." Case closed, sale lost, employee clueless. Are you in the business of selling ideas, services or products, informally or as a profession? Remember the fund-raiser's words: "It's all in the listening." Knowing what matters to your prospect helps you emphasize vital points that will make a sale. As for the emphatic "We don't do it that way", that leads to closing of the wallet! Business Speech Improvement provides intensive training in verbal skills, including sales and executive communication skills. Training options include in-person coaching and convenient e-books! Check us out at www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com  .

Your voice in sales

A strong, engaging voice can have an impact on your ability to sell in the USA.

1. Enthusiasm - Start by waiting for the next time someone says, "How are you?" Instead of answering with a wan "good", try enthusiastically answering "terrific!" You will see the impact of using a more powerful word and enthusiasm. Then find a product, any product at all, that you really are enthusiastic about. It may be something you do not sell, but enjoy as a consumer. Pretend you would get a million dollars if you could sell this to someone. Act excited about it! If you aren't excited about it, your listeners won't be, either. Then act excited about the products you do sell. If you positively can't act excited about them, look for another job selling products you respect. Record yourself speaking with enthusiasm.

2. An authoritative voice comes from having authority or expertise in a subject. You should know a great deal about your company's products that you sell. You should know how they are made, how they work, their benefits over the competition, and what negative things are being said about them online, so you can develop responses.

You should also know a lot about psychology and sales. What sales strategies does the best salesman on your team use or recommend? If he or she does not reveal this, read every book you can find and attend workshops or seminars on sales strategies. You need to know what works and when to use it, whether you go for relationship-based selling, hard sales or a softer approach.

Pay attention to your use of filler words, such as "um" and "uh". We all use them sometimes; however, if used too much the speaker appears uncertain of his information. Instead, train yourself to use silence if you are not certain of the word to use.

3. Engaging voice - If your voice comes across as harsh, gravelly, or otherwise unpleasant, there could be many reasons for this. Start by going to an ear, nose and throat (ENT) physician who will look down your throat and see if there is a physical reason for a problem. If there isn't, find a corporate speech pathologist (www.corspan.org) or a traditional speech pathologist (www.asha.org) who specializes in voice issues, who can provide individual guidance. (Corporate speech pathology is a specialty focusing on communication in the workplace.)

4. A general lack of confidence in your product or your ability to sell the product can cause an overly-relaxed sounding voice.
In that case, you need to identify the reasons for this and set some small goals to increase your self-confidence. Sometimes a few sessions with a psychotherapist or psychologist can help.

Business Speech Improvement (www.BusinessSpeechImprovement.com) provides intensive training in verbal communication skills. Training is offered through in-person coaching and concise e-books filled with practical tips. Check them out!

Regional Accent Modification Helps with National Business Contacts

Many people with strong regional accents who give presentations or speak with people on the telephone in other parts of the country feel self-conscious about their speech. They report that customers ask them to repeat themselves, tell them their accent is "sweet" or "just like my Grandma's". If they give presentations, they note that listeners notice their speech patterns so much that they do not necessarily focus on the speech's message.

One tip regional speakers can do is to listen to the news on a national TV channel to determine what sounds are produced differently, and try to speak that way.

Many speakers, though, need feedback and more specific recommendations on what to change, and how to do it. They need help to go through the stages of speech training.

Business Speech Improvement (http://businessspeechimprovement.com/enabler/scripts/category.pl?Classes) offers group seminars on regional accent modification, as well as
Individual Speech Coaching that can combine accent modification with other skills such as
presentation skills or customer service skills.