Word Choice Can Help or Hurt You |
I heard a Buddhist monk say, "Our words are a vibration of our thoughts."
It reminded me of a poem that goes like this;
Watch your thoughts; they become your words.
Watch your words; they become your actions.
Watch your actions; they become your habits.
Watch your habits; they become your character.
Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.
Let's look at how the energy of your thoughts and words you could be using are either working against you or for you. Words like, prospecting or prospects, closing, handling objections, pitching, getting people to do things…think for a moment as to whether these words tend to have a positive or negative vibration? When I ask this question in my workshops the answer is always a resounding, “negative!”
If you use these words, on whom is the focus? You and your needs? Or other people and their needs? It's clearly on you? And if it's on you, do you think that people feel this?
So how can you change this?
Change Your Thinking
First, think about changing the focus from you attempting to achieve your objective and instead focus on your purpose, which is to help other people solve their problems (The cornerstone principle behind Natural Selling.). It's important to live and breathe this belief because if on one hand you say to people, "I'm all about helping you get what you want", and on the other, your subsequent words and actions won't send or vibrate the same message, they will pick up on this mixed message.
Change Your Words
Think about changing your words. Changing your words and coming from a place of real service can bring you immediate results. Here are a few ideas:
“Prospects”
Think about it. Do you like to be called a Prospect? Probably not! Using the word prospect implies that other people are just units of production in your scheme of things! To paraphrase Nietzsche , "When you brand someone or categorize them, you take away their identity". Just thinking this word will influence your actions, whether subtle or not, and relay your real intent to the person you're talking with!
So how about using the word, “People”? Instead of saying "I'm going out prospecting", say "I'm going out to talk with some people to see if they have any problems I can help them solve!" Doesn't that sound and feel better already?
“Objection Handling”
It's always baffled me why most conventional sales training starts by training newcomers the process of exploring and discovering the needs of potential customers, which to my mind is a worthy and admirable pursuit, and then destroy the good feelings created by teaching them how to “handle objections” with all sorts of mental tricks and techniques at the slightest amount of customer resistance!
On top of that, they are then taught to keep the pressure on and to keep “closing” until they get the sale!
It's no wonder buyer's have “remorse” and seek protection behind legal “rescission clauses”! It's all too conflicting and adversarial! Could this be why most distributors are so hesitant to talk with people?
Remember that objections come up mostly because the solution has been presented too early in the conversation. Objection handling is nothing more than a technique to persuade the other person to the Distributor's point of view!
How about replacing the words “Objection handling” with, “Acknowledging concerns”?
People will have concerns. Acknowledge the concern and instead of telling them you know how they feel, and you felt that way until you found… (you know the rest!) Ask questions to get behind the concern and discover where it's coming from. There is a way you can allow other people to answer their own concerns without you having to tell them a thing!
“Closing”
Change it for the word “Qualifying”. You don't have to close people who become “sold” on YOU first because they felt you really understood them! You also don’t' have to close people who are already motivated to make a change because they persuaded themselves to do so as they listened to their own answers. And you can find out any time by asking this simple Qualifying Question: "If you could get what you're looking for without having to accept what you presently have any more, do you look for opportunities like that?"
By focusing on helping people get what they want based on their reasons and not yours, you'll find that if there is a sale to be made, you will make it every time – guaranteed! The outcome is always the result of the process you use that is determined by your thoughts, words, actions and habits.
So think about replacing words that might not be serving you and the people you serve. See if you can either eliminate or replace them with something more vibrationally attractive!
Michael Oliver is an Internationally recognized trainer, speaker and author of the best-selling book, “How to Sell Network Marketing Without Fear, Anxiety or Losing Your Friends!”. He is also the founder of Natural Selling® Sales Training, www.NaturalSelling.com.
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LaKeisha Hankins
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