If Buddha Was A Salesman – Right Speech – Think Big, Speak Big, Be Big

Everything you say can express how you feel and how you are on the inside. Your words are the windows to your thoughts and your worldview. This makes everything that you say and everything that you don’t say extremely important. Everything matters – every breath, every syllable and every sentence. Nothing is meaningless. With words we confirm to the world and yourself what you think is important. Words have power and more specifically your words have power. Choose them carefully since to examine your words is to examine yourself.

The best insights about watching what we say should be obvious:

• Don’t lie. Even the slightest mistruth undermines your credibility. Trust and credibility is everything in sales.
• Don’t over exaggerate. Again, credibility and trust.
• Don’t speak poorly of others – “Those in glass houses should not throw stones.” When you point the finger at another, you have 4 fingers pointed back at yourself.
• Know when to say something and when to stay quiet – “We have two ears and one mouth for a reason.” Silence is deafening.
• Don’t gossip or tell tales

I would like to focus in on one thing in particular – Think Big, Speak Big, Be Big. I made that one up.

Think big, speak big, be big is my theory that everyone loves a winner. Everyone wants to be associated with the best. Be the best. Be the champion. Speak like the champion. Your product/service is in business for a reason. Let people know what that reason is and why you have successful clients/investors/founders. Don’t lie or exaggerate to make yourself into something you are not but know your strengths and communicate that to your client. If you are not the best answer for your client on any level, you are speaking to the wrong client/prospect.

To paraphrase Sun Tzu:

“You can’t make your enemy conquerable; you can only make yourself unconquerable.”

Be the best by being the best. Don’t be the best because everybody else is worse. Know your competition’s strengths and accentuate them in order to draw a line of differentiation between your companies. Then, emphasize how your strengths better fit the needs of the prospect.

This week I had separate conversations with two sales execs from the same company and asked each what made their company different from their competitors. Both gave the same answer, their technology. The difference was that one just talked about their technology and the bits and bytes and efficiency and ROI. The other acknowledged the competitor and pointed out their strength. He then talked about the strength of his company and how his solution is better for a defined (but very large) segment of the market. He acknowledged the weaknesses of his solution as compared to his competitor’s but followed up that it was something they are working on and are able to overcome while still emphasizing how his current strengths are providing immediate value to his clients.

I was extremely impressed by the second approach. The second sales exec acknowledged his competition, built them up and then put himself over the top with his competitive advantage. He demonstrated why he is the champion by being the best of the best and not by being better than competitors that are worse.

In 1990 the commissioner of baseball said that the city of Atlanta could not support a baseball team. The Braves had just finished in last place after years of never fielding a winning team. Then, in the offseason Atlanta signed a high priced free agent, Terry Pendleton, and their young pitching staff came together and they finished in first place in 1991. They went on to the playoffs for the next 14 years and are now looked upon as a model baseball franchise. The fans came back in 1991. The city was always there to support a team, but the city wanted to support a winner. Be that winner.