Don’t vomit on your customers

Kelley Robertson

17 years ago

During a recent presentation, I discussed the importance of being able to deliver a clear, concise message when you first meet with a prospective client, positing that a quick, thirty second introduction would be quite effective.

A participant challenged me, saying that an introduction of this nature sounded canned and rehearsed. As he recited his opening message, I fully agreed with him—it did sound canned, not to mention extremely difficult to understand.

I witnessed him making one of the worst mistakes possible in a salesperson’s introduction—he barfed on his client. Not literally, of course—it was only a verbal vomit. But verbally barfing can send customers running the other way just as quickly as a literal stomach illness.
Too many salespeople mistakenly believe that they should open their conversation with a background and history of their company or with a complete description of their products, services, or solutions. They have a script, and it just comes spewing out of them, almost uncontrollably.
Rather than regurgitating your or your company’s inner life, a great introduction reaches out to the customer.

It focuses on the other person.
It conveys how you can help your clients.
It is easy to understand.
It does not contain an excess of adverbs or adjectives.
It intrigues the other person.
It is delivered in a conversational tone.

Rather than detailing your products or services, focus your attention on your customer. The best way to do this is to show how your product or service benefits your customer. Here is an example: “Mr. Adams, I’m Pat from Geeks ‘R’ Us. We specialize in helping small businesses like yours fix computer problems. The reason I’m calling is to see if you have ever experienced computer problems, and, if so, how they have affected your business.”

Notice that this introduction briefly describes the salesperson’s business and clearly describes the problems they solve. It is brief—forty–two words in total—and it takes less than fifteen seconds to say, which makes it very easy to understand.

As in the example above, your introduction or opening should be scripted. However, the script must sound like something you would actually say in conversation. I don’t know about you, but most of the people I know don’t use many descriptive words when they speak. Also, very few people write and speak identically.

The individual in my workshop had memorized a written statement that described the services he provided. What he wrote looked good on paper, but ended up sounding forced and stilted when spoken. Part of the stiltedness was the number of adjectives and descriptive words he used. Limit your use of descriptive words. The shorter and more brief, the better.

While I believe in the use of scripts, your script must not sound like a script when you recite it. Your opening must be delivered in a conversational tone in order to initiate conversation. Consider the difference between a highly–trained actor and a typical telemarketer. The actor imbues the words with emotion and feeling, while the telemarketer simply reads a script. Practise your introduction so it sounds natural, relaxed, and conversational. If you’re not sure how your message sounds, ask someone you trust to evaluate it for you.

The barf factor also applies when you are delivering a presentation about your products and services. Instead of talking without a breath during the presentation of your product, pause after a few moments and make sure that your customer is still paying attention. It never ceases to amaze me how often salespeople actually speed up when they notice that their customers are tuning out. As if that’s going to keep the other person’s attention!

Lastly, be careful not to barf on your customer when he or she expresses an objection. It is far more effective to empathize with the customer and check to make sure that you fully understand his or her concern before you present a solution. I have watched hundreds, if not thousands, of salespeople in my workshops barf on their customers as they try to overcome objections. They ramble on and on, trying to convince the customer to make a buying decision, instead of trying to understand the objection and then honing in on a solution to the problem.
Barfing shows a lack of control. You can’t usually control this bodily (dis)function when you are sick. And when you barf on someone during a sales conversation, it shows the same lack of control. Demonstrate your superior skill and ability by controlling what you say and how you say it.