There are words that can hurt your sales. Most people are not even aware of them because they’re so common in selling. This can be frustrating as you think things are going well, but your prospect is quietly getting annoyed (by you).
What are these words? Some of them include, but are not limited to, challenges, pain, issues, and problems.
What makes this more confusing is that it feels good to help people with their challenges, pain, issues, and problems. However, these are the exact words that risk ticking off your prospect. These words can produce responses from your prospects that can be quite defensive.
Here’s a few examples:
- Salesperson: “So, what’s the problem you’re wrestling with most?”
- Prospect: “Well, I don’t know if it’s a problem. I mean, all businesses have certain ups and downs, right?”
- Salesperson: “It sounds like there are a number of challenges at play.”
- Prospect: “I don’t know if I’d go so far as to call them, ‘challenges.’ We’re working hard to set things right and making good progress.”
- Salesperson: “Help me understand the issue with your team.”
- Prospect: “I’m not sure there’s an ‘issue,’ but rather we need a little help navigating some changes.
Can you feel the prospect getting defensive? People don’t like to have problems and issues. Rather, they’re looking for someone to take all that away.
So what should you say? Just replace those words with the following and see how much better it feels to you and to your prospect:
- Salesperson: “So, help me understand your situation?”
- Salesperson: “It sounds like there are a number of scenarios at play, is that fair?”
- Salesperson: “Help me unpack what’s happening with your team.”
See the difference?
I hope this helps!
Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comments below.