Hope all is well in your sales land.
Are you becoming a sales cat yet?
Why do we often talk more than we should? When other
people talk too much, we notice immediately. When we talk too much, everyone
else notices—except us.
Here are a few possible explanations why it
happens:
1. Anxiety. People
who are anxious use an avalanche of words to avoid dealing with potential
conflict (like a prospect saying "no"). Instead of balancing talking
with listening, they believe that their wall of words will protect them from
what they imagine as a threat. They often refuse to give up control of the
conversation by adding a trail of words that echo the ones that they've
expressed previously.
2. Lack
of preparation. The less clear we are on any given
subject, the more words it will take us to talk about it. Here is an
eye-opening exercise. Ask a salesperson to make a presentation about your
company as if you were a new prospect. Time the presentation. Next, ask the
salesperson to write a brief, but concise description of your product or
service in 180 words. Now, read the copy at normal speed. How much time did it
take? About one minute. It should not take more time to engage a prospect.
3. Stress. When
we are tired we tend to ramble and our ability to concentrate begins to
decrease. Our brain responds to mental fatigue by producing more words and less
meaning. The cure: Get enough sleep, eat healthy and exercise regularly.
4. Lack
of a roadmap.
Do you know where your conversation will lead before you start talking? If not,
write down the answers to three questions: What is my call objective? What
information do I need to get? What information do I plan to give? Stay on
track, stay on message and don’t skip vital steps.
5. Lack
of a time budget. Decide to invest a specific amount
of time for each call and stick to it. If you are a manager and you want to
save time, conduct your meetings standing up. This forces people to be brief
and to the point. If you meet with longwinded people, ask the moment they get
on your nerves: "We have another five minutes, what else do we need to cover?
6. Lack
of humility. Some people think that everything
they say is profound and important. When they talk, they experience a rush of
good feelings and they often fall in love with their own words. They may use
catch phrases and complex language to impress their customers. Being expressive
is nice, however good relationships require us to be receptive to others.
7. Ineffective
thinking. While some salespeople continue to hopscotch
from problem to problem, others quickly get to the core of a customer's problem,
solve it and close the sale. Decide which thinking style would be most helpful
to achieve your objective: convergent thinking or divergent thinking?
Convergent thinking leads to a focal point in the middle of a circle, divergent
thinking radiates - like the sun - away from the centre in every direction.
Divergent thinking opens people's minds; it leads to new ideas, thoughts and
possibilities. As a result, the conversation goes on and on. Convergent
thinking leads to conclusions, and concrete results, like a closed sale.
Boiler
