Try Communicating in Their Language
For the sake of argument let’s just say you are the world’s greatest sales professional. Your company feels you can add a great deal of value in expanding the organizations market share outside the USA. You are asked to transfer to France to expand the operations there. When you arrive it becomes more and more clear the language gap is going to be a problem.
Your new apartment is ready to go except you need one more thing. A big flat screen TV. You make your way to the local TV store but all the signs are in French and the prices are in Euros. The clerk walks up to you and says “Est'ce que je pourrais vous aider?” You attempt to explain that you are looking for a large flat screen TV, but didn’t understand what it takes to hook up a TV in France. You just wanted to know if they have HD, how large of a format can you go, and a whole host of other things like do they deliver? Do they fix the TV if it breaks? And, can they sell it for you when you leave the country and move back home?
It was obvious the clerk was frustrated and you too are concerned. What are you going to do? So, you decide to take a walk up the street and look for someone who spoke both French and English. Perhaps they could translate your questions for you. As you walk up the street you come across another electronics store and you walk in to look around. The store is different, in that you are greeted by a clerk in French but they immediately said hello in English. So you ask, “You don’t happen to speak English do you?” To your surprise, the clerk said, “yes, actually I do, how can I help you?”
You are so happy and relieved. You explain what you want and the clerk walks you through everything. Then you notice something else, prices (even in Euros) on the TV’s seemed higher than at the first place you visited up the street. You challenge the clerk by asking about price matching. His response was this: “Sir, we are a bit more costly yes, however, we speak English. If you have a problem you simply call us. If you need assistance hooking it up or want us to help you, simply call us. Surely the fact that we speak English is worth something to you, is it not?”
He had you at “we speak English.” He was right, the fact that he spoke my language and was able to communicate with me was worth the extra cost.
This story illustrates the importance of communicating with your prospects in their language. Every day we talk in our language to each other, our customers and our prospects. A good portion of the time the information we share like acronyms, technical terms, and sales speak is not fully understood by the people you are talking too. Yet we continue to communicate in that way.
When the Doctor told me my son was experiencing Supraventricular tachycardia, I asked what in the world is that? You see the Physician had to break it down for me to understand the problem, the symptoms or causes, and the options for a solution. I don’t speak doctor, so the discussion had to be in my language, one that I understand.
As a sales professional, it is critical to communicate with your prospects in their language, a language they will understand. When talking to the C-Suite you will be required to talk to them in their language. Just like when you are in a foreign country trying to survive, the person that spoke your language was the person you decided to buy from. It is also the person you were willing to spend more money with.
Here is the bottom line. If you expect to be successful selling now and in the future, it is critical to learn the language of your prospects. Learn to ask your discovery questions in a manner that will facilitate your prospect to better explain their issues, pains, and goals. In addition, learn to communicate your value as it relates to the issues outlined by your prospect. Remember communication is a two-way street and is about sharing a message both parties will understand and respond too.
ROI4Sales is a division of Technology Finance Partners. Please visit our website at technologyfinancepartners.com