Nothing happens until somebody sells something. To make sales happen, IMMS.com Key Sales Consultant Randy Schwantz has created a comprehensive series of 43 Producer Success Lessons. Used singly or in combination, these powerful tools can help your producers build their skills and grow their sales.
'When the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept; Ambition should be made of sterner stuff: Yet Brutus says he was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man.'
This line, from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, is one of the most famous in literature. Marc Antony makes this speech before a crowd of Romans just after Brutus and his conspirators have stabbed Julius Caesar to death.
Antony’s motive is to incite the people of Rome against Caesar’s murderers. He knows that Brutus will claim that he killed Caesar to prevent him from turning Rome into a kingdom, with Caesar as king. Antony makes his appeal from a completely unexpected angle — one in which he agrees with the murderers. He presents evidence to the crowd that makes Caesar look like a hero, but then praises Brutus for murdering him honorably.
'Re-framing' is the process of putting an action or event into another frame of reference. Marc Antony does a wonderful job of it. The real message isn’t lost on the Romans who quickly tear apart the city in search of Brutus and the murderers, eventually putting them to death for their crimes.
Imagine the last time you failed to make a sale. There are two ways to look at it. Either you took a few steps forward because you eliminated a set of behaviors that won’t work, or you failed — went home, gave up, and felt awful.
How you felt about that experience depends on your frame of reference. If you come from a frame of reference that supports trial and error and learning from mistakes, failure is just a learning experience. If your frame of reference supports the notion that there are winners and losers, then you’re a loser in this situation. The event didn’t change — only your perception of it.
WORDS MATTER
If I tell you I love to eat snails, your initial reaction might be 'Yuk!' If I tell you I’m a connoisseur of escargot, your reaction might be different. The event is the same — I eat snails. But the way that event is represented through words is very different.
Certain words trigger a whole set of experiences and memories that form frames of reference. It helps us understand what others are talking about. But what if the frame of reference that a person associates with a word is different from others? Is the communication accurate?
For example, what sorts of images, sounds, and feelings does the word 'objection' elicit? For some people, it’s a request for more information — which means a sale is imminent. Hearing an objection might exhilarate that person. For another person, it might indicate struggle and conflict — a failure is imminent. Hearing an objection is disheartening for this person.
Words have all kinds of feelings and images associated with them, and these feelings and images vary from person to person.
CHANGE YOUR WORDS
Because words are such powerful representations of experiences and events, it’s logical that changing words can change your whole frame of reference. In short, you can re-frame, just as Marc Antony did, simply by changing the words you use to represent things.
An example is asking for introductions. When you ask a risk manager or an executive for an introduction, there’s a whole set of experiences and events associated with that word in the other person’s mind. Most people like introductions. Contrast this with asking for referrals. In selling 'asking for a referral' often has a negative connotation. This applies to both the salesperson and the client. So we re-framed, seeking referrals by asking for introductions.
We’ve used words in a number of ways throughout this course to re-frame events or experiences. Let’s go through some words or phrases that you’ve been using that are really re-frames.
Outcome, rather than goal. People generally feel they have more control over an outcome than a goal. Outcome also isn’t associated with all the past experiences that people associate with the word 'goal.'
Decision or Commitment, rather than close. The reasons are many. Quite a few salespeople have a negative feeling about the word 'close.' Clients and prospects share this feeling. Don’t use it. Ask for decisions — people love having the power to make them.
Help, in place of pressure. No one wants to feel pressured. Don’t think about pressuring people. Focus on helping them.
Consult or listen, rather than present. These words imply client input, rather than salesperson input, which is the way to identify pain.
You can find many more words that have specific meanings you might not like. Don’t allow them to trouble you. Find other words with different experiences associated with them. On one level, you’ll re-frame your client when you change your words. On a deeper level, you’ll re-frame yourself. By changing your client’s set of associated experiences, you increase the likelihood of a sale. By internalizing these changes, you increase your career satisfaction.
In sales, how you say things really does matter. One word can have dramatic and profitable effects on your outcome.
EXERCISE:
1. Write a list of ten words you use in business that have negative connotations.
2. Next to each word write another with the same meaning, but with a more positive connotation.
Example:
Negative Positive
Close Decision