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Avoid Salesy - Feel Good
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1 non-salesy tip
Get tone right and win more deals
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Tone is a wildly underrated sales skill.
It’s easy to know when Maverick’s got good tone...you know when he's locked on.
But how do we know?
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Advice doesn't help, e.g., "It just didn't feel natural..."
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Instead, there's a better way.
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Here are six areas that allow you to identify when you're locked on, and when you're not.
Here are the six:
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- Pace: the speed at which you talk. Most sellers talk too fast, e.g., "Hi Ted, can I take 27 seconds to tell you why I called!" A better pace is slower and relaxed and sounds like, "Hi Ted, it's Sue from So & So corp. Hey, I know I called you out of the blue. Do you have a sec to chat?"
- Context: knowing your audience & context matters - the automotive space is very different than the medical field. The former is more free-flowing. The latter is more formal and structured. Understanding context helps you adjust your tone accordingly.
- Cadence: this is the rhythm of language - the ebb and flow, the ups/downs. Think of the southern drawl compared to a Canadian. These are very different rhythms. Adjusting your cadence to your context helps your prospect hear you more easily.
- Inflection: think the opposite of monotone - inflection is where you put emphasis on certain words. It's where you bring your voice up in the form of a question, or perhaps drop it lower (or softer) to make a point.
- Personality: this is the natural way "you" speak. Are you bubbly, or more like Matthew McConaughey? Your voice should be your voice in it's natural state - not something forced or fake. If you're naturally bland, some inflection and cadence can help.
- Confidence: this is a calm-assertive vocal presence. It's easy to go one way or the other - too confident = cocky, arrogant, and/or authoritarian. Swing the other way and it's anxious (shaky, nervous, subservient) - the middle ground is a non-anxious presence. A calm-assertive presence expressed in your voice.
Tone isn't something to be forced - it should sound natural, like talking to a friend over coffee. It can take some practice in a sales context, but you can get to the point where you're not "thinking" about it...
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When you try too hard, it sounds:
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- Wooden and fake, shifting from your natural personality & style
- This creates anxiety and so you sound scripted & forced
- You then lose natural cadence, inflection, and pace
Three quick tips for you get a better lock on tone:
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1. Standup – let your body do the work for you
2. Practice – run it by a friend, colleague
3. Record – listen back to yourself
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1 sales principle
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1 1-min vid
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1 suggestion
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Get the book...
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Simple Step to Help Prospects Trust You & Feel Heard
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Insert a recap into your sales convos - too often we jump right to solutions. A recap helps a prospect feel heard, appreciated, understood - short video...
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Does your prospect "feel" heard?
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Simple step to ensure your prospect feels heard: Insert a recap into your sales convos Ever chat with a boss, a friend, or peer—and they suddenly go, "Got it," and then zone out while you're still talking? Happens all the time. Happens in sales conversations too. Imagine a seller who thinks they've totally understood the prospect's needs and starts daydreaming about …
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This cold email ask gets sales convos started...
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Bad: Can I grab 15-mins on your cal? Better: Open to a convo…? Worth a chat? Pure gold: Is it worth a short email exchange to see if a convo even makes sense?
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What's going on with your buyer?
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I saw a recent ad (somewhere) that used the word "Permacrisis" to describe how many are feeling today. Permacrisis is a period of long suffering, confusion, and difficulty with no apparent end. And this is indeed how buyers are feeling. While we need to create a safe space for our buyers given the realities, we also need to think differently …
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