Watch your language!

One of the great things about being a consultant and having several sales training certifications is that as a consumer, I can spot certain sales techniques a mile away. And if I'm in the mood, I'll call the sales person on what he or she is doing, even naming the specific closing technique and telling them what to do if that one fails (and it will). So much of selling sounds contrived, even attempts at so-called consultative selling, and I wonder if the perpetrators ever think about what they sound like on the receiving end. I mention this because of a sales call I received about a week ago.

I was driving home from an appointment when my cell phone went off. I don't usually take calls when driving and almost never from a number I don't recognize. That day I did. A young man's voice asked if I was Bob Ligget with Corporate Pulse Consulting, I responded yes, and without identifying himself he began to ask me about my day, the time of year and my general health. I finally said that by now I knew the purpose of the call and asked this young man if he would please tell me who he was and who he worked for. Turns out I had dropped a business card in a fishbowl at a business expo I attended here in Salt Lake City a while back, knowing full well about this standard marketing ploy and now I was reaping the consequences.

The voice informed me he was with V Chocolates, a small local boutique chocolate company, but what really got me was his next statement: "We'd like you to consider purchasing our products as you consider your business gifting needs this Christmas season." I stopped him right there. After telling him I buy from V Chocolates every year, I said I may stop this year if he didn't cease and desist from using the word "gifting." He seemed more than a little shocked and tried to tell me what the word meant, in case I didn't grasp the concept. I asked if "gifting" was really on his script and proceeded to tell this now-confused young man that if he expected to be successful in sales he shouldn't use stupid make-believe words that sound "businesslike" to people who don't really understand business. We had a great conversation after that. He had just started phone selling three days before, and rather than get upset and hang up, this young man asked me why I didn't like the word "gifting," what I did in my business and would I give him some advice. Impressive, and he'll go far with an attitude like that.

My advice to him is the same I give to any sales person, heck, to any business person: stop abusing the language with goofy jargon and phrases that sound impressive only to those who use them and ridiculous to those who have to listen. It's verbal abuse and benefits no one. I suggested to my caller that he rewrite his script to ask his prospects if they would consider purchasing V Chocolates as gifts for clients and customers. Isn't that how normal people talk? He did agree, and even thanked me for the advice. No charge, I said, and I would now probably buy some again this year. And I have. I think their chocolates are the best around and I admire the business itself.

One further note: if I was his boss, I would have had him write a note and maybe include a coupon or a small sample as a follow-up (he had my card with all my contact information). That's sales plus customer service, costs next to nothing and builds huge amounts of good will as well as ensuring further sales. And that's what the company really wants, isn't it? Small things can pay enormous dividends.