Month: February 2025

Tonality When Selling

Tonality is very important, and it can’t be faked consistently enough through an entire live sales interaction, without being based upon personal principles and a well thought out mindset.  There are quite a few instances when we tend to up-speak, for example, which in a sales interaction can sow seeds of uncertainty and doubt, often without the salesperson realizing it.  A great example of tonality in speaking can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LpGIRhSZ3Jw

One of the fastest ways to become aware of a tone that isn’t working for you, is to record yourself ONLY and then play it back and listen with your eyes closed.  Many people find their own voice playback to be uncomfortable, but if you can hang in there, you’ll immediately pick up and become very aware of the tonality changes that actually create negative reactions, conscious and intuitive, and you will also be able to intuitively fix them.

It’s not always about what you say, it’s about who you are being while saying it.  We often focus on what to say (next) and completely ignore how we say it.

For example, any excess or inauthentic enthusiasm, although espoused by many a sales guru, if it doesn’t reflect your natural conviction, will come off as fake or manipulative.  Listening to your side of a phone conversation will show that instantly.  Sales is a leadership process.  People are reluctant to follow leaders who sound fake.

To Be Honest With You

The following was my response on Reddit to someone who suggested a salesperson say, “to be honest with you…”

Basically, be honest.  Saying you’re honest, even as a space filler, creates doubt and distrust.  Same thing with having the intention of getting prospects to trust you.  That’s inherently manipulative.  Just be trustworthy and trust the prospect first.

Radical honesty is more profitable.

Our prospects have so many choices nowadays, and they are the source of our prosperity.  “Disrespect the source of your prosperity, and it will continually elude you.”  C. Ingalls

A reply to my post on Reddit was as follows: “Never thought about it that way!”

“Being aware is more important than being smart.”  Jacques Werth

The Carrot Illusion

Do you ever feel that a prospect is leading you on, dangling a carrot in front of you to keep you hoping that they will eventually reward you with a sale?

Did you ever ask yourself where that carrot came from and who put it there, really?

You may think that the prospect is purposely teasing you. One author calls this “carroting”. Others call it “future faking”.

If you are so eager to chase an illusory carrot, can you blame them?

But consider the possibility that this fake carrot may be entirely of your own making. Wishful thinking. Part of the fiction that you tried to create in the prospect’s mind. Only you fell for it, and they didn’t.

There is a simple mirror that you can hold up to see if the illusion has any real substance. Ask the questions that you are afraid to ask.

  • Ask the prospect if they want what you are selling. If the answer is not yes, then let go. If they do say yes, find out more.
  • Ask the prospect when they want this to happen. If it’s too far in the future, don’t spend any time on it now. Come back another time.
  • Say what it will cost, and ask if the prospect is prepared to spend that. If the answer is not yes, well, you know what to do.

In-Person Appointments VS Zoom Meetings

Question

Now that COVID has passed, do you think that it is better to have appointments in-person face to face, or to continue with Zoom or Google Meet?

Answer

If you are a believer in having to have a meeting at all to sell, then either way will work. For example, if you (the salesperson) insist on meeting in person and the prospect is 500 miles away, then Zoom starts looking better for most people.

I have learned that where or how the appointment is conducted doesn’t matter much to me or my prospects. But that’s because, long ago, I gave up the traditional sales strategy that getting the most appointments equals the most sales, in person or otherwise.

The difference is in the conditional commitment level of the prospect towards something they want and I can provide, and the agreed upon purpose of the appointment or meeting if desired.

I don’t need an appointment to sell. I need a high probability prospect who is ready to buy if I can meet their requirements. Quite often, prospects prefer to buy without an appointment at all.

For a lot of buyers, a sales appointment is a waste of time, and it gets in the way of doing business for them.

The problem is that almost no salespeople bother asking IF the prospect wants to meet in the first place.