Sales professionals think before they act. They plan, prepare and practice as they build a foundation to success.
They lead with intention and become the example.
They are precise with their decisions by aligning their vision and values to earn the respect of their clients. With purposeful intent, they engage in heartfelt activities benefitting those around them.
This is what your clients and prospects crave, right? They deserve a sales professional who is heartfelt, sincere and fills out a suit with empathy, emotion and excitement.
Are Your Salespeople Leaders?
Sales professionals are effective in opening up business conversations as they speak the language of leadership. This language clearly conveys their ideas to their audience.
They precisely explain their thinking to the hearts and minds of those whom they wish to move to action, their clients and prospects. They keep the conversation simple.
How well is your team communicating the language of leadership?
How well is your team engaging your clients in business conversation?
Sales professionals are not empty suits in the eyes of their clients and prospects.
Is Your Team Viewed as Being Empty?
Buzz-riddled descriptive words may sound impressive but despite sounding important, there’s usually little meaning nor substance behind the words.
Are your salespeople using the same standard sets of sales jargon to describe situations as a replacement for just speaking plain old normal language.
Are they relying on buzzwords to communicate concepts rather than explaining what they mean?
Sales leaders, let’s get real for a moment. Do you think this makes your people sound or look smart? I can imagine it adds more confusion as opposed to clarity.
Sales professionals communicate in a way that brings them to life. Hiding behind catch phrases and buzzwords only gets your team exposed for what they really are, empty.
These words drive your clients bonkers…
- Turnkey
- Streamline
- Think outside the box
- Best in class
- Efficiency
Is Your Team Hiding Behind Buzzwords?
We all know how hard it is to gain access to the C-suite. When your salespeople do get that meeting, it’s mission-critical they maximize every minute. The last thing you want is to have them walk away empty-handed, or worse, leaving their clients confused and none the wiser.
Empty suits cover up their lack of understanding and experience with science and jargon, all because they think it sounds good. In reality, all this does is confuse and alienate your clients.
When your team hides behind buzzwords and jargon this only prevents them from building rapport. Your clients and decision-makers are smart and will quickly see what’s happening.
In George Orwell’s essay, “Politics and the English Language,” he shares his opinion on our reliance on “dying metaphors,” “pretentious diction,” and “stale similes and idioms,” that have clouded our thinking.
He understood that if we only recite clichéd and meaningless phrases because they sound nice, we’re spared the effort and challenge of not only crafting our thoughts and opinions into fresh language but actually confronting what our thoughts and opinions really are.
In other words, using unclear and cliched sales jargon reflects upon your salespeople with unclarity and canned thinking.
Are Your Salespeople Worthy of a Conversation?
One huge reason why executives pay lip service is your team is using canned sales crapola and buzzwords positioning them as being weak.
Your team must live, walk, talk and breathe as a sales professional.
How well is your team demonstrating competence? An executive appearance, presence and attitude may open some business doors of opportunity; however, without competence, those will quickly dissipate.
Let’s stop for a moment and think about this scenario…
What happens in a first meeting, when the executive opens up about their problems and all your salespeople can contribute to the conversation is a stream of buzzwords, canned pitches and sales jargon?
In a split second, it becomes painfully obvious your team has no clue about what they do, what problems they have or how you can even help to solve those problems.
This my sales leader friends is an empty suit. Your team is dead in the water!
Your Team Must Avoid Being Labeled
Your salespeople must ditch the buzzwords, sales jargon and canned pitches. They’re better than this!
They all must remove the mask and become their true self. They must ditch the façade.
Expensive Armani suits are no substitute for business acumen. Fine clothing is not a substitute for brains.
As the leader of your team, I encourage you to look in the mirror…
- Are your salespeople being sincere with your clients?
- Are your salespeople bringing substance to your clients?
- Are your salespeople engaging in business conversations with your clients?
Please don’t allow your team to suffer in silence as this only leads them down the road of obscurity.
