Verbiage in the sales & business development process – How important is it?

By Reagan Dean, CWCC Member

Have you heard that you only get one chance to make a first impression?  Well, it’s true and what and how you present can make or break someone getting involved in your business or company.

How are people responding to you?  Are you a powerful magnet for attracting new customers? You may have great verbiage!  Are you finding that people tend to put you off, stall and “want to think about it”? A few tweaks in your word choices may be helpful.

Two pet peeves of mine are when people say “pitch” or “deal”.  These words portray a fast moving salesperson who only cares about making a sale and moving on.  Do you really want to be “pitched” to?  How about being part of a “deal”?  No. Most people do not feel compelled to engage with people who may come across as untrustworthy.

Here are a couple of verbiage tweaks that will make your presentations shine:

Negative                                  Positive

Deal                                         Opportunity, Transaction
Pitch                                        Presentation, Demonstration
Commission                           Fee for Service
Cost or Price                         Total Investment or Monthly Amount
Down Payment                      Initial Investment
Monthly Payment                Monthly Investment
Contract                                   Agreement, Paperwork, Worksheet
Buy                                             Own
Sell or Sold                              Get Them Involved
I Sell                                           I Represent
Sign                                            Authorize, Approve, Endorse, OK
Problems                                 Challenges
Interested                               Open
Distributor                              Associate, Partner

Remember, nobody likes to be sold to, but they enjoy getting involved.  They don’t want to buy, but they love to own.  Only a few people are ever interested, but almost everyone is open.  We’ve been taught to be careful what we sign, yet we are willing to approve and endorse.  Problems are never fun, but taking on a new challenge is doable.

How important is verbiage in the sales process, VERY! As you can see, a few minor adaptations in your presentation may make all the difference in your success and how others view you as a professional. Good luck and enjoy!

Reagan Dean, National Marketing Director for Juice Plus+.  She trains and speaks Nationally on wellness and team development.  You can see more about Juice Plus+ at http://www.healthybodiesusa.com