OH NOW I UNDERSTAND

As I travel around working with reps from different companies I hear terms that I am sometimes not familiar with. I always try and pick up on what they mean by the context they are used in, but sometimes it is impossible. Another problem is what one company calls something has a different meaning at another company.

So now not only do we have different terms being used, but different meanings for the same term, and we wonder why customers sometimes look at us like we are speaking a foreign language.

Imagine a customer’s confusion when a sales rep tells them they want to do a demo. The customer agrees and the sales rep shows the customer how a product or service works. Now the next sales rep comes in, sometimes at the same time and tells the customer that they also want to do a demo. This time instead of showing the customer how a product or service works they give the customer a sample and leaves it up to the customer to see how it works.

One word two completely different demos.

Examples of these misunderstandings go on and on in the sales world. What one company calls a prospect another calls a lead, a customer to one is a prospect to another. Some reps call them leads some prospects… HELP I am confusing myself!

So what can we do to help the buyer (buyer? Where did that term come in?) better understand us. Simple, never take anything for granted.

When I train a class, any class, I always tell the reps I am training that if I say anything they don’t understand to stop me and ask before I move on. This way everyone will be on the same page. Customers don’t know that they don’t understand until after the fact. They won’t know the difference between a demo and a trial until a rep has set the definition and another rep contradicts it.

So what we need to do is explain what we mean up front. If you tell a customer you are going to do a demo, say, “I don’t know what other reps have done  as demo’s for you, but what I do is…” and explain what you are about to do. If a new rep comes onboard your company and you are talking to them, as you use sales terms ask the new rep what their understanding of the term is. If it aligns with what you use great if not you now have the opportunity to explain how the term is used here at the new company.

Always remember, more sales are lost because of a buyer not understanding the sales rep than are lost due to price or function. A clear and concise understanding of what you mean will eliminate the confusion and be a driving factor to closing more sales.

Lorin