Steve W. Martin’s Presentation

Build a Winning Sales Force Using Sales Linguistics

Presentation overview and key highlights

Sales is a unique (and very mental) profession – there is nothing else like it.

It is an:

• Art & science
• Memory-based profession
• Mental profession
• Mentor-based profession
• Language-based profession

Within sales, language is incredibly important. This does not mean what language you speak, or what you say. It’s all about how you say things.

Sales linguistics is made up of three parts:

• Socialinguistics: How cultures and societies use language
• Psycholingusitics: Language and symbolism (associations and emotions)
• Neurolinguistics: How the mind processes language

Everything you say will result in one of five reactions. Your listener will:

• Reject it
• Ignore it
• Acknowledge it
• Accept it
• Internalise it

You want what you say to be internalised. This will lead your listener to respond to you. It will empower you – and this is all achieved through language (and using the right language).

So, how do we do that?

There are seven basic principles:

1. Every customer speaks in their own unique language, based on how their minds process language.
2. Salespeople must build rapport with clients. Rapport is harmonious communication, and to achieve that, you need to speaking the same ‘language’.
3. Customers always lie. Whether inadvertently or on purpose, this is a fact. It’s human nature to avoid confrontation. So when you are asking, “Will we get the deal?” You are actually saying “Lie to me.”
4. Persuasion requires a personal connection.
5. Sales calls should be classified linguistically.
6. Sales intuition is language based.
7. Main principle: The final decision maker is always influenced by human behaviour – so you need to tap into that human nature.

What is your language?

Everyone expresses their thoughts, recounts their experiences and displays their personalities, shares ideals and conveys emotions through language. You can figure out your language and that of your customers – and it will actually allow you to read their mind!

Remember: There are always a number of conversations taking place in any discussion between two people:

• There is the inner core or ‘you’ of each of you.
• Both of you have a conscious and subconscious mind that have constant streams of internal dialogue
• You then both have actual spoken words, voluntary body movements and involuntary body movements
• And while you are talking, you are always competing with the other person’s stream of internal dialogue. The better you are at tapping into that, the more successful your communication will be!

How to (successfully) communicate

We all communicate in layers:

• Physical (how you dress, present yourself etc)
• Internal dialogue
• Word catalogue
• Purpose (how and why you say things)
• Phonetics (inflection)
• Content layer (the actual words)

Language is tough because there is so much going on (verbal, non-verbal, multiple layers) and we fixate on the verbal only.

When communicating, as the question: Who are you? Are you dominant, equal to or submissive to your client? Obviously you don’t want to be submissive. You want to be dominant. People follow the advice and recommendations of a person that is dominant – which means as a dominant personality you will gain the willing obedience of someone else.

Speaking in the right language

• There are three key things to keep in mind when choosing the right language to use: is the person you are talking to in the ‘plan’, ‘measure’ or ‘execute’ language channel? Each pillar is the basis for a form of communication.
• Plan and measure: These pillars are typically the area that executives operate within. They plan strategies and measure how effective they are. They do not implement them – they have managers and employees for that. The language they use will illustrate the fact that planning or measuring is taking place – if you want to speak to them on their level, your language needs to follow the same pattern.
• Execute: This is technical language, operational language and tends to involve a lot of industry lingo. This is the language of your industry and products, but also the language of your client’s industry and products. Managers speak this language, but not executives.
• NOTE: Too many sales people fall into the trap of using operational language. It’s safe, it’s what they know and it allows them to rattle of product, service and company info. BUT, if you want to really speak to executives, you need to speak in their language.
• Lesson One: All business leaders are trying to ‘create’ and ‘control’. The language in these two pillars is ‘plan’ and ‘measure’. Planning involves creating a message, and measuring involves controlling that message. It is not operational speak.
• Lesson Two: If you understand this, you don’t need to be a CEO or CFO to talk to a CEO or CFO at their level.
• Lesson Three: To do that, you need to know how the business is run and organised. You need to ask: what are you creating? What are you controlling? You will not only find solutions for them in these two areas, you will speak directly to them. Speaking to an executive requires you to ask different questions. They are not interested in the operational aspects. If you are speaking to a manager on the other hand, they are interested in operational aspects. Who is doing what in an organisation?

Finding the right language

• Step One: Discovery. You need to ask qualifying questions: what, why, how, when and would of the person you are interacting with.
• NOTE: There are five levels of qualifying questions:
• Deal qualification questions
• Technical fit qualification questions
• Business fit qualification questions
• Expertise demonstration qualification (demonstrates what you know and how you have helped other companies)
• Leading Questions (hypnotic suggestions: puts thoughts in customers’ minds – especially effective when they think they have come up with an idea on their own).
• Where do you lose the customer? At level 2: because they have to ask you a question, and now you are answering instead of asking. Why? Because you have asked a technical fit question, they conversation has to go back to your product. You want to keep them answering questions – they will feel you are genuinely interested in their company, and you will be gathering invaluable information).
• How do you get around answering questions? By clarifying them. If you are asked a question, turn it around. Ask them another question: “Specifically what did you mean by….”
• NEVER answer something that hasn’t been asked. ALWAYS rather clarify a question.
• Take a pause moment if you aren’t sure of an answer. It makes you look smart, and it gives you time to think.
• Then redirect the question (as in the above points).
• If you can, always talk about other clients and what you have done for them.
• Use confidential language: this will help build trust and rapport.

Tapping into values

People spend money based on their values. So, to sell, you need to tap into your client’s values. And to do that, you need to know what they are. All values fall into these categories:

• Strategic value
• Operational value: the person’s success depends on the department’s success. There is internal pressure for success.
• Political value: becoming powerful in an organisation
• Psychological value: people buy products and services that they believe will help them solve a need.
• Pain avoidance: Find the pain so you can eliminate it
• Psychological wellbeing: Will to survive, physically, mentally, emotionally
• Self-preservation: Enhance stature and protect group position
• Self-gratification: Ego
• Find the person’s motivation to be able to sell to them – and don’t assume that your motivation is the same as theirs. You need to understand how they view a situation. If you want someone to buy something, you need to tap into at least one psychological factor.

WORKSHOP

The 3 categories of senses: All people respond to the world in one of three ways: They are predominantly auditory, visual or kinesthetic. These can be divided into dominant and secondary senses, or balanced across all three.

Why is this important? Because if a visually primary salesperson is talking to an auditory primary customer, there will be no rapport. As a sales person you can expect the client to adjust for you – you need to adjust for them.

The VAK pattern

• People respond emotively to what people tell them (even if this is subconscious, it is happening). So you need to reach them on an emotive language.
• You need to determine whether a client is primary visual, auditory or kinesthetic. You can determine this through the way they speak: do they use words related to sight, hearing or feelings (taste, touch, smell)? And what are you?
• When speaking to customers, you need to adjust your speaking style to suit theirs: so if they are visual, use visual language.
• NOTE: If you are addressing more than one person, keep these stats in mind: the general population is 40% primary visual, 40% primary auditory and 20% primary kinesthetic. So, when addressing a room, either be balanced, so you can appeal to everyone a little bit, or use neutral words.

The goal of a sales call

• You need to build momentum. There are always three underlying themes:
• Your personal demeanor
• Communication style
• Your message
• After each call, listen to it again and evaluate it. What was your message? And did your VAK pattern either match that of the customer or remain neutral?

Round up of ideas

• Tell metaphors. People respond to stories much more than basic facts.
• Record yourself. It’s tough, but unless you hear yourself, you won’t know who you are turning on, and who you are turning off.
• Know who you are speaking to before you make a call. You will use different language for the CEO, CFO and IT manager. Understand what the person you are speaking to is creating and controlling, and then speak in that language.
• NOTE: page 22 in the workbook is extremely important – if you can’t figure out this exercise you will fall back on technical language, and lose the customer’s attention.
• Remember: you aren’t selling to people. You are selling to their internal dialogue.
• Defensive vs offensive call strategies.
• Offensive: Guide the internal dialogue by using specific language
• Defensive: must have defensive call statements. When the customer tries to poke holes in your story by asking you questions, you need talking points to get the conversation back on track. Plan these in advance and have them written down next to you.
• Talking points and a script. If you have a script, you can refer to it if you need to. Practice it, it will help you say the right words at the right time.

Your 45-second elevator pitch

Common mistakes:

• Using truisms (‘we are the best’, you believe it, but it isn’t a fact)
• Describing yourself with buzz words (these are technical, operational words. Stay away from them)
• Using fillers (words that have no purpose or value – um, ah etc)
• Demean yourself or your listener (eg, relegate yourself to ‘just’ a salesperson, ask impertinent questions or make impertinent assumptions)
• Present an unreasonable close (ie make an unreasonable demand on a top executive)

What you should be doing:

• Be soft (and even apologetic)
• Use real facts
• Geometric logic (use their industry, what they know and other players in the industry to make a point)
• Use metaphors and stories
• Have a fall back position (and 2nd and 3rd)
• Silence (If you are quiet, they will start speaking to fill the scilence)