Quiz Time!
When you are making your prospecting calls communication is taking place.
What percentage of that communication is the words you speak? _____%
What percentage of that communication is your tone? _____%
The combination of the two needs to add up to 100%.
Come on – commit to an answer before you continue reading this blog post!
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Your attitude about yourself, your prospect, your job and your company is expressed through your tone of voice. Even in that initial conversation, prospects can feel whether you are interested and engaged.
Sure, sometimes the prospects themselves are disengaged, rushed and rude. However, you have the power to positively influence them just by the way you use your voice. It all comes down to how you are feeling at that particular moment on that particular day and whether you got a good night’s sleep.
Several components make up your vocal tone: things like articulation, word choice, pitch, volume, quality, rhythm, pausing and pace, as well as the non-verbals.
Articulation refers to how clearly you speak. Do you mumble and slur words, using lazy language like gonna, gotta or doin’? Another example is saying “Yeah” instead of a “Yes.” The goal is to speak crisply and precisely.
Word choice is important. Please don’t tell a prospect you are going to save them “tons” of money on a two-month rental at a storage facility, when in reality they will save the prospect about $15.
Pitch is the relative highness or lowness of tone, as perceived by the prospect. You may be surprised to learn that your emotions and mood can affect the pitch of your voice. The lower the pitch, the more credible a person is perceived to be in a business environment. People with high-pitched voices are judged as less powerful and more nervous. One exercise to help relax your voice to its optimal pitch is putting your lips together and saying, “Um hum, um hum, um hum.”
Volume is how loudly or softly you speak. If prospects consistently ask you to repeat yourself, it may be an indication that you are not speaking loudly enough.
Quality is how you sound. Fatigued? Bored? Hurried? This is the most important component, because the overall impression of your voice depends on its quality. What impression are you leaving on your prospect? Recently I was talking on the phone with a woman and she sounded exhausted. Not a very engaging tone and it leaves a poor impression.
Rhythm is the beat of your speech. Is it choppy or fluid, halting or flowing?
Pausing is an important technique that gives you the opportunity to listen while your prospect answers your questions.
Your pace needs to be slow enough to be clearly understood, yet rapid enough to maintain interest. It is possible to slow the pace of the conversation if your prospect seems to be hurried or not listening.
You may have noticed that it’s often the salesperson who is speaking too rapidly. It feels like they just want to spit out their spiel before you hang up on them. Modulate your pace to the pace of your prospect. They’ll feel greater connection with you, and connection is what makes them want to give you their business.
Non-verbals are the sounds that are not words: sighs, laughs, moans, hums, ums, ahs, huhs, and grunts – all of which can be incredibly distracting to a prospect. Have you ever spoken to someone on the phone who was not really paying attention to the conversation? All you heard were a lot of ums and ahs. You just knew they were checking email and attempting to speak with you at the same time. How did you feel? Please pay attention to your non-verbals.
Today I was consulting a woman and she said “uh um” so many times that I wanted to scream! She was the impatient type who wants to control the conversation. I wanted to get off the phone as quick and possible and will do my best not to talk with her again. She is clueless as to this habit.
Awareness is key! I highly recommend that you record your incoming calls and listen to how effective you are at handling the diversity of prospects. You will be duly impressed with a few conversations, and you’ll be slightly embarrassed by the way you interacted on others. A few will make you say, “Ugh!” or “Eek!” or “Yikes!” And guess what? You’ll quickly self-correct and become a more professional communicator who can influence the prospect in a positive way through your tone.
If you are not up to recording your calls, listening and analyzing your calls, start by listening to yourself. Be very aware of what you are saying and how you are saying it.
Posture affects tone. Stand up or sit up straight with your chest held high, you will have a much more upbeat tone. This may feel awkward, however, notice your current posture when you are on the phone. Many of us get sloppy with our posture and do not even notice. If you were meeting the person you are speaking to face-to-face, you would certainly have good posture.
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Now for answers to the quiz: In phone conversations, only 27% of the communication is the words you speak. The other 73% is your tone.
At the very core of your tone is how interested you are in engaging the prospect and whether you like them, your job and yourself. In this case, the old adage “Fake it until you make it” simply isn’t true – you cannot fake engagement and caring.
Your attitude speaks so loudly that I can’t hear what you’re saying. Work on your tone and you’ll be more successful at selling your products and services.