Different People Hear Differently

Different People Hear DifferentlyAt the Sales Machine 16 conference this morning it was inspiring to hear from both Seth Godin and then Simon Sinek. Many takeaways will be in future posts. For now the big one Seth talked about that really struck home for those in sales and sales leadership is this post’s focus.

It’s one of those phrases that you can say four times, each time emphasizing a different word, like:

DIFFERENT people hear differently.

Different PEOPLE heard differently.

Different people HEAR differently.

Different people hear DIFFERENTLY.

Think about it – your company pitches what it does and trains sales reps to say the same thing – that value proposition and the basics about your company that you want grilled in their heads.

Now I believe most of your reps (if you are a sales leader) have DIFFERENT value propositions because you have not discussed it enough so that the entire company is on the same page with it. Even with fractured value props, many reps say the same things that don’t resonate with everyone.

A company I know tells everyone they have “zero debt” as one of the first sentences talking about who they are. This is a fact that is true but not important to most companies initially. It is something the CEO is proud of so it has been ingrained into the reps repertoire.

Have you ever heard several reps writing or saying the same message and getting different results? That’s because different people hear (and absorb) the very same words differently.

So what do you do to better resonate with more people?

DIVERSE TEAM MEMBERS SPIN MESSAGES DIFFERENTLY

Have different types of sellers on your sales team. If all of your reps are young, male, and played lacrosse at prep school, they will most likely have similar messaging.  Make sure you learn how to hire for diversity of all types so that your messaging and prospect connections will be varied too.

OFFER STORIES AND EXAMPLES TO YOUR SALES TEAM

Show how a prospective buyer decided to be a customer because of sharing another company’s experience in the same industry and tell what exactly you said to create the atmosphere to make that happen.

LISTEN TO VOICE MAIL and READ EMAIL then TWEAK IT

One of the best things I’ve seen done over the years is to listen to what you are saying and what you are writing – evaluate it and alter words because every word you write has power.

What will you do to make your message bigger?


Lori Richardson - Score More SalesLori Richardson  helps mid-sized companies grow revenues by solving key issues in their sales department - like recruiting issues, retention issues, diversity hiring, process, pipeline and leadership. She speaks at CEO groups on topics of sales growth. Clients include companies in the technology, telecom, manufacturing, distribution, and professional services industries. Subscribe to the award-winning blog, follow her on Twitter
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