Do you recall, when you were traveling overseas for holidays, there would be also be fellow travelers from other parts of the world, meeting them and chatting with them ? What languages were they influent in ? Were you able to speak in their language and vice versa ?
Even though it is a great skill to master another language and be multi-lingual, speaking the other person’s language is not about mastering another language, it is about HOW you use it and WHEN you use it. These two situations can determine and make the difference between good commuincation and failure in communication. This form of failure not just affect their process to sell themselves, it also affects their relatiomship with people and it usually boils down to the correct usage of words, the RIGHT WORDS at the RIGHT TIME.
Every salesperson must remember this golden rule – You don’t sell a thing/product/service, you sell the BENEFITS of the thing/product/service.
There are 8 invaluable tips to sell yourself successfully –
(1) Use “move foward” words – use words YOU, WE, SORRY, THANK YOU, EXCUSE ME, these are attention getting words, make it a part of your vocabulary and it would help to sell yourself successfully.
(2) Drop the “hold back” words – avoid using I, MYSELF, LATER, MAYBE, these words mean you are communicating on your terms and not on the other person’s.
(3) Use simple words – Don’t use the big words and those words that are hard to understand, a golden rule is Keep It Simple and fit the correct words to the occasion.
One of Winston Churchill greatest speeches, “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”
(4) Don’t wave “red flag” words – “Red Flag” words can trigger off the wrong side of things in the other party. Avoid “Red Flag” categories such as Religion, Race, Politics or Ethnics Background. Be tactful in the language you communicate to the other person.
(5) Go easy on the slang – Using slang is a cultural aspect in your life, however, we need to be careful on how we use slangs in our daily life.
(6) Say what you mean – Don’t use words that sound like one thing but really means something else.
(7) Mean what you say – Don’t end up doing what you say you’ll would be doing or going yet there is no intention to do it at all. Ensure that the your word stands for something and that you can accounted for.
If You Don’t Mean What You Say, Don’t Say It At All
(8) Forget the profanity – Don’t do it, don’t use it, it degrades yourself. It is not needed and it can’t help you, therefore don’t do it. You do not want to end up offending or embarrassing the other person.
Speaking another language is not just about being mulit-lingual, remember the 8 invaluable tips above!
(Adapted from “How to SELL Yourself”, Chapter SEVEN: Speaking Another Language, by Joe Girard)