The quickest way to damage a budding customer relationship is to use trite phrases that make you sound like a B2B sales rep. Don’t get me wrong… there’s nothing wrong with being a sales rep, but if you sound like one, it lessens your ability to achieve rapport and then make the sale. Here are three of the worst offenders, along with suggestions for a more effective approach, courtesy of Jerry Acuff, author of The Relationship Edge in Business.
Trite: “Would you agree that…?” The problem with this phrase is that it always introduces a leading question that is usually impossible to answer in the negative. The idea is to get the prospect to say a little “yes” and then use that momentum to land the big “yes.” Nice theory. Doesn’t work, though, because prospects are more sophisticated than they were in the middle ages, which is probably when this selling technique originated.
Better: “Does it make sense that…?” This question opens a discussion. If the customer agrees, it provides a platform for telling the prospect more. If the customer gives you a “Yes, but…” it surfaces the prospect’s main objection, which you can then handle. If the customer says “No,” you can ask “Why?” and learn more about the customer’s real situation.
Trite: “Today I’d like to share with you…” The concept behind the word “share” is that your pitch is something special, like an ice cream sundae, that you’re “sharing” with the prospect. The problem is that specific language is right out of 1970’s self-help literature and has been overused to the point of nausea. And your pitch may be good information, but it ain’t no ice-cream sundae, and the customer knows that your attempt to “share” is just a lead-in to the rest of your patter.
Better: “Here’s an agenda of what I’d like to discuss…” Seriously. Hand the prospect a brief agenda, typed on your letterhead, with the customer’s name and the date and time at the top. Keep it short — five to seven bulleted questions, and use it to structure the discussion. Unlike your attempt to be touchy-feeling with the word “share,” the agenda tells prospects that you respect their time and are focused on doing business, not running an encounter group.
Trite: “If I could save you 15 percent, would you be interested…” Ow! Ow! Ow! This phrase It also communicates quite clearly that you haven’t bothered to find out anything specific about the customer’s real problem. It’s the kind of line that you’d expect some TV satire of a sales rep to use. It makes me wince even thinking about it, yet I heard a sales rep try to use it just last week. It’s apparently eternal, like the common cold.
Better: “What are some areas where reducing costs would be of particular value?” This is a question that gets to the heart of the reason why you’re there. Unless you’re calling on a Member of Congress, your prospect will be interested in saving money. The point is to start a discussion so that you better understand the customer’s problem and can better craft a solution.
In short, any phrase that screams “I’m trying to sell you something” is going to damage rapport and probably scuttle the entire sale, even if the rest of your presentation is perfect for rapport-building. While you need to move the sale forward, just make sure you don’t suddenly get “salesy” when you do it.
