When making sales, there is a fine line between being too pushy and being assertive enough to convince a prospect to make a purchase. The words that you use as a salesperson can have a huge impact on how a prospect responds. The following are a few sets of powerful words that every salesperson should use during the sales process to get a prospect to consider their offer:
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When it comes to sales, one of the biggest fears of most small business owners and salespeople is the fear of rejection. There’s a simple way to actually create an opening statement that is rejection-free by using the powerful words,
When it comes to sales, the prospect’s subconscious mind is a very powerful playground to play in. A couple of words can play on a prospect’s subconscious to dramatically shift the odds in your favor and get them to consider your offering. The powerful words “How open-minded are you about…” are so powerful because by using those words, the individual is forced to choose one of two options, being open-minded or closed-minded. Nobody wants to be associated with being considered closed-minded, so being open-minded is the only option.
For anybody to change, they need to be motivated. A person’s feelings drive their motivations. The powerful words “How would you feel if…” are so powerful because they deal with feelings and emotions. Your goal is to create a future scenario based on feelings by asking,
The decisions we make as human beings are based on the images that we see in our minds. Your job as a business owner and salesperson is to place those images into your prospect’s mind. The best way to create that image is to create a story because stories create images in our minds. As a business owner or salesperson, you want to create an image that either moves the prospect away from something bad or towards something good with the phrase,
When it comes to making sales, sometimes the deal gets stalled for one reason or another. As a business owner or salesperson, you want to get the prospect to move the sale along, but you don’t want to come across as too pushy or confrontational and risk the deal. The following are two sets of powerful words that every business owner or salesperson can use to resurrect a stalled sale.
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As small business owners, we’ve always had this problem. You talk to a client, and they commit to getting back to you by a certain date. And now, that date has come and gone. Most small business owners and salespeople will simply give the prospect more time to do what they committed to do so they don’t come across as too desperate. However, giving the prospect more time can also cause the client to hear a pitch from your competition and cause you to lose the deal. Moreover, many business owners and salespeople don’t want to address the issue head-on by saying something such as, “Hey, you said you were going to get back to me about your order by Tuesday. It’s now Wednesday, and I still haven’t heard from you. What’s going on?”
As small business owners, we’ve always had this problem. You talk to a client, and they commit to getting back to you by a certain date. And now, that date has come and gone. Most small business owners and salespeople will simply give the prospect more time to do what they committed to do so they don’t come across as too desperate. To avoid the deal killer response, begin with the powerful words,
When it comes to making sales, sometimes the prospect raises an objection to your offer. As a business owner or salesperson, you want to address their objections in a non-threatening or non-confrontational way. The following are three sets of powerful words that every business owner or salesperson can use to overcome many objections from prospects.
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Objections during the sales process are quite common. When you hear a prospect raise an objection to your offer, oftentimes, it’s simply a way for them to say, “No thank you, I really don’t want your offer,” or perhaps it is just a way for the prospect to avoid the pressure of making a decision at the moment and kick decision-making further down the road. When you are replying to their objections, you are ceding control of the sales process as you attempt to defend your offer. Rather than be forced into a defensive posture, respond with the question,
It is not uncommon that during the sales process, a prospect will make excuses to stall the sale, such as saying they don’t like your price, terms, or something else. These excuses prevent them from doing what you want them to do, which is to complete the sale. They use external conditions because they want to remove themselves from actually having to say no. In those situations, a good bet would be to say,
One of the most common ways a sales negotiation ends is with the client’s response, “I need some time to think about it.” At this point, you have often laid out all the reasons why your prospect should move forward. If you are like me, I often feel like grabbing them by the shoulders and shaking them and saying, “What is it that you could still possibly need to think about?” A set of powerful words that a business owner or salesperson can use to keep the conversation going and not come across as too aggressive is to say,
When it comes to making sales, sometimes the prospect is indecisive. As a business owner or salesperson, you want to get the prospect to move the sale along, but either the prospect is dismissive, saying they know something you know they don’t, or they are just fearful of taking the leap and choose to procrastinate. The following are four sets of powerful words that every business owner or salesperson can use to get an indecisive prospect to commit one way or the other.
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Most people are not receptive to any kind of change, even if the change will have positive results. Many small business owners or salespeople will hear this common refrain when pitching a cold prospect: “I know all about it.” Most of the time, the prospect uses that phrase to disengage from the discussion. The sale is doomed whenever you get an “I know all about it” type of response. The prospect has placed a stake in the ground that makes any future discussions feel more like a direct challenge. Any further efforts will often cause the prospect to take a side and dig in, which can only result in an argument. But what if there was a way to avoid this situation altogether and allow you to maintain control of the narrative? Well, there is. Open with a question like,
Many prospects are nervous or uncertain about making decisions and, as a result, become incapable of making a decision. This is especially true when dealing with a highly stressful situation where failure can have grave consequences. By saying, “Don’t worry,” you can provide instant relief to the prospect. The words “Don’t worry” convey that you have everything under control and you’re there to help them navigate to the next step.
Indecision and procrastination are what prevent many deals from moving forward. The biggest cause of their indecision is that the prospects are afraid of making a bad decision. One of the seven principles of persuasion is to provide social proof. Our brains are psychologically wired to look for shortcuts. As a result, people have an innate tendency to follow the actions of others when making decisions vs. expending mental energy to weigh the pros and cons. Moreover, many of us feel that others may have more knowledge than we do. Therefore, most people take social clues from people around them. One way to create a degree of social proof is to share the powerful words,
During most sales processes, the client likes to be led. As a business owner and salesperson, you should take advantage of that and lead them. Often, what you sell involves quantity, whether it’s service hours or widgets. Your goal, as a business owner and a salesperson, is to help that client aim just a little higher in terms of quantity compared to what they could do on their own.
When it comes to making sales, you can often see the prospect leaning toward no. As a business owner or salesperson, you have a few powerful words that you can use to improve your chances of salvaging the sale. The following are two sets of powerful words that every business owner or salesperson can use in a last-ditch effort to save the sale when the prospect leans toward no or says “no.”
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During the sales negotiation process, you often notice the prospect beginning to lean toward a no response. If they say “No,” trying to get them to change their mind and respond “Yes” is nearly impossible. Therefore, when you see the beginnings of a “No,” your goal is to get them to a “Maybe.” To do that, you want the prospect to consider the decision slightly differently before it is too late. You want to shift the vantage point of your discussion, add alternative information to support your idea, and increase your influence by using the powerful words,
When you’re in a sales meeting, you often get to a point where the customer just says, “No, I don’t think I need what you are offering.” As a business owner or salesperson, you always want to avoid getting a “No” response, but there is still an opportunity to salvage the deal that is worth a try. As a business owner or salesperson, to make the most impact after the prospect says “No,” you should get up and start heading toward the door. At this point in the prospect’s mind, they think the sales call is over, and they drop their guard. However, just before you are ready to walk out the door, turn around and say the powerful words,
When making sales, you have to go for the close when the time is right. As a business owner or salesperson, you want to present the close in a way that increases the chances that the prospect will say yes. The following are four sets of powerful words that every business owner or salesperson can use to close more deals with prospects.
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Many prospects are paralyzed by the thought of making a bad decision, so they choose not to make any decision at all. There is a simple trick to help the prospect decide, by laying out their three options. Providing three options makes you appear impartial, and saving the best for last makes it much easier for the person to see the value of choosing your preferred option.
Your job as a business owner and salesperson is to be a decision catalyst. One decision-making problem is that the prospect has to wade through the pros and cons of many options. Often, it becomes overwhelming, and instead, they choose not to make a decision for fear of potentially making the wrong decision. Even when a prospect makes a decision, they frequently question if they made the right decision. Help the prospect by providing a simple binary decision.
Throughout our lives, we have been conditioned to recognize if/then outcomes as true. As a result, we have built habits or, more accurately, shortcuts in our thinking process to accept those “then” statements as being true. Using the“If you… then…” sandwich taps into some of the unconscious memories they have growing up.
Your number one job as a business owner or salesperson is to build a relationship with the prospect and educate them about your value proposition. But once you have laid out all the reasons why the prospect needs your offering, you need to move that prospect to commit to your solution. Too many salespeople fail to take control. So, instead of asking for the sale, they hope the prospect sees the value and will ask for the sale. The problem is prospects are generally biased toward inaction. A great way to transition from your pitch to the close is to use the powerful words,
When a customer thanks you, it’s an opportune moment to do more than just respond with a simple “You’re welcome.” When you get a “Thank you,” it presents a valuable opportunity to deepen your relationship with the customer. Instead of saying “Thank you,” take advantage of their level of gratitude by asking for a favor. Here is a post that explains how to ask for a referral. How To Master the Powerful Words “Can I Ask for a Favor?”
How can you these techniques to improve your odds of closing the deal?
