How to Sell Better – Techno Babble vs. From the Heart

We’ve all been in those situations where someone was trying to sell us something. They talked faster and faster about all the features and benefits as they went more red in the face, and you started drifting off, thinking about what you had for supper last night and wondering why you’re still standing there listening.

Unfortunately, we’ve all done this to people as well – and it doesn’t work.

We don’t resonate with tech talk. It simply isn’t something that does well when converting us into customers.

The frame of mind to keep ourselves in is to remember what got us excited about the thing we’re selling in the first place. What is it about that thing that got us intrigued enough to make it our business to sell it?

This is how to sell better.

Think about a commercial for maybe the new Chevy Silverado. Does it talk about the 5.3L V8 and how a combustion engine works? Or does it maybe talk about the SAE OW 20 fully synthetic motor oil the engine requires?

Does it talk about how it has dual-overhead camshafts, four-valves per cylinder, tripower valvetrain with continuously variable valve timing, variable valve lift and Active Fuel Management?

No – no it does not.

A commercial for a new truck usually shows a guy, and a girl. Maybe sometimes with kids, but usually just a young couple.

They’re maybe hauling a boat or a camping trailer.

Or maybe the truck is kicking up dirt, off road. Maybe you’re plugging a saw or a light in, or you’re using the tailgate as a step.

These trucks are being sold by telling a story and eliciting a feeling in the viewer – that is all. There is no techno babble. The most techno babble you’ll hear is the fuel economy, or the price for leasing. That’s. It.

Now, when bringing the focus back to your business, if you’re a contractor – are you selling the 2x6x8 wall studs and 14/2 wire being used in the remodelling of someone’s home? Or are you selling the way they’ll use it when you’re done?

This is akin to selling the destination, not the travel. If you’re a travel agent, you’re selling the vacation on the beach. You aren’t selling the plane ride there.

So, as you move through your selling processes, and as you’re customizing your messages to your audience and potential customer base, make a point to make them feel the way you feel about what you do.

Keep the techno babble internal, talk about it with your employees and enjoy what you do in that way – but when it comes to your customers? Sell from the heart.

To Your Success,

Jay Ashcroft

Ashcroft Media Co.