The syntax of a sentence is the way in which the words are arranged to convey meaning. Why am I giving you a quick lesson in linguistics? Because the way in which you phrase your thoughts with clients and prospects will influence their understanding. Cold calling expert Wendy Weiss has some tips to help you phrase your words in a way that will close the deal!

Here are some sample questions you might be using that need a quick fix:

--Don’t you want another set of eyes to look at what you’re doing?
--Has that worked well for you?
--Is your vendor/advisor/broker showing you/telling you about (fill in the blank)?

There are several problems with these types of questions. The first is that the answer will either be ‘yes’ or ‘no’. A ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer will give you no additional information. In addition, these types of questions set up resistance from the prospect. They essentially set up a wall where none existed before.

Let’s look at the first question: ‘Don’t you want another set of eyes to look at what you’re doing?’

While the concept of having another set of eyes or another viewpoint can work very well, this verbiage is confrontational. Once you’ve asked the question you have nowhere to go except wait for the answer—which will most likely be ‘no’. There’s a very subtle bit of a subtext here: The prospect is making or might have made a mistake and thus needs another set of eyes. It puts the prospect in the wrong and will automatically create resistance.

Consider using, “It certainly never hurts to have another set of eyes looking at what you’re doing…” followed up by, “Right now, I’d like to introduce myself…” This changes the focus from whether or not the prospect has made a mistake to the caller’s actual goal for the conversation, which is an introduction. The concept of another set of eyes becomes the rationale for the prospect to schedule the appointment.

Check back in with us tomorrow for the fixes to the other two questions.

Wendy Weiss, The Queen of Cold Calling, can be reached at www.wendyweiss.com or wendy@wendyweiss.com

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