Watch Your Language!

With apologies to Shakespeare, “What's in a word…or a phrase?” If you're in business-to-business marketing or telesales, your success or failure often is in a spoken word or phrase. Indeed, word choice and verbal delivery can either enhance or wreck a conversation.

Here are some words and phrases to delete from your business phone repertoire, and why.

• “How are you today?”

  And its beer commercial corollary, “How ya doin'?” Too often, this line is the setup for a pitch and prospects know it. It's almost like saying, “I'm a telemarketer. Hang up quick!”

• “Just,” as in “I'm just calling to…”

  In this context, “just” is the most self-diminishing word in our language. It lowers the perceived value of everything that follows and sets a dull tone for the message.

• “Would you be interested in…”

  The word “interested” is a static adjective. It neither provokes nor accelerates forward motion toward the sale. You need to use verbs to get things going and keep advancing.

• “Are you the decision-maker?”

  Because a decision is the result of consideration, saying “decision” or “decide” prematurely puts the prospect on guard and the conversation at risk. Worse, the phrase may insult a viable, but non-primary, buying participant. Better to ask, “Tell me about the consideration process and all the people who will have a say in it.”

• “We sent you a mailing. Did you get it?”

  This construct does nothing more than check up on the U.S. Postal Service: “We put it in the mail…did they bring it to you?” It yields only “yes” or “no” and does nothing to start or advance the dialogue.

• “Feel free to…”

  We're fortunate to live in the “land of the free,” so this well-meaning but silly phrase is superfluous. Better to adhere to a basic tenet of direct marketing: Tell 'em what to do. Tell 'em how to do it. Make it easy. Ask 'em to do it.

• “Touch base” and “Follow up.”

  Now there's an important reason to accept a call…the caller wants to “touch base.” Whoopee! And what's wrong with “follow up?” It reverses the sales process by looking backward rather than forward. Better to say, “I'm calling to bring us up to date and arrange our next step.”

• “I noticed that” and “According to my records.”

  The former makes the call sound routine and uninspiring. The latter sounds officious.

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU SAY?

• “How come us? How come now?”

  When prospects respond to a marketing touch in any medium, this is the question combo that reveals their business motivation for doing so. Unfortunately, it's something phone reps bypass most often. Add it to your call-guide question bank right now.

• “Is this an OK/good/suitable time to talk?”

  This is the golden rule of conducting business by phone. After giving your name and company, and stating the reason for the call, always ask this question. It's one of the greatest favorable differentiators.

• “Is that worth a conversation?”

  This is a great starting point when you've discovered a “relevant event” to discuss with your prospect. Example: “Ms. Prospect, I'm at your Web site reading about your new locations opening this summer. My company handles the logistics for such expansions and we may have a good business fit. Is that worth a conversation?”

• “I invite and encourage you to…”

  Friendly, powerful verbs show cordiality and confidence.

• “Please be my guest at the Web site.”

  The rich, informative content on your site shows as well as tells — and can provide the substance for your next conversation. (By the way, I hope and trust you have rich, informative content on your site.)

• “You get…because of.”

  This construct is the way to sell the benefits of your product or service. “You,” meaning the individual and his or her company, followed by an active verb such as get, increase, improve, reduce, gain and so on. Then, say the phrase “because of” to link back to the supporting feature or attribute.

• “Valuable, helpful, worthwhile.”

  Each of these positive adjectives supports the “you gets” in your benefit statements.

• “Please bring me up to date since we last spoke.”

  Much better than “follow up.”

• “Where are you in the consideration process?”

  Helps you assess progress.

• “I recommend…”

  One of the most powerful phrases we can use to provoke forward motion. I recommend you say it!

MICHAEL A. BROWN (michael@michaelabrown.net) is president of Business to Business by Phone, Austin, TX.