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Chapter 16 - Watch Your Words
Some time ago in England, a test was conducted to measure the vocabulary of certain groups of individuals. This group included top executives of successful business companies, graduate engineers, graduates from liberal arts colleges, and college professors. The test was based on 150 words, and the results were as follows: graduate engineers averaged 120 correct definitions; liberal arts graduates averaged 129 correct definitions; college professors averaged 142 correct definitions; and the top executives averaged 143 correct definitions. Thus, the top executives averaged one word higher than college professors; 14 words higher than liberal arts graduates, and 23 words higher than engineers. It might interest you to know that
most of these top executives had the ability to sell their ideas to their
associates. In order to do this, it was necessary for them to develop a
very extensive and exact vocabulary. They had to be able to choose the
correct word at the correct time. The most potent tool in a salesman's kit
is a good vocabulary. Words are the tools to describe, define, explain,
illustrate, and visualize the ideas of the product to the prospect. Words
open the interview, and words close the sale. Therefore, it is wise for a A salesman can function more accurately if he takes time to improve and enlarge his vocabulary. Any salesman can accomplish this by devoting a few minutes each day to the suggestions outlined in this chapter. The Importance of Your Vocabulary A vocabulary is a stock of words used in a language, by a class or individual, or in any field of knowledge. Vocabularies vary with the profession or business. As a salesman you do not need the vocabulary of an anthropologist, but you do need a vocabulary that includes a group of words with color and meaning to help you describe, explain, define, illustrate, and visualize your products. A group of words of this nature will certainly qualify you to portray the advantages and benefits the prospect will derive from your product. In the United States today there are about 160 million people, and they are all subject to the power of words. Words move, impel, and influence. The salesman who has at his command a choice stock of words is the one that takes the lead, and picks the choice plums in the field of selling. A large stock of words gives a wide range of knowledge and helps the salesman to develop more tools with which to think and with which to demonstrate the power of creative selling. Men could communicate with each other by sounds and signs long before they invented words with which to talk and write. Their basic nature was attuned to sound. That basic nature remains, and even today men will respond more quickly to the spoken word that they will to the written word. Spoken words are sound signals that touch this basic nature, and they are a sure means of getting the quickest reaction and the most favorable response. All ideas, according to Professor James, the celebrated psychologist, are instantly associated with words. Therefore, words play an important part in selling, and it is essential to use the best ones at the right time. Prospects will react more quickly and more favorably to the stimulus of words than they will to that of pictures or colors. Since words play such an important part in selling, let us stop for a moment and analyze them. What is a word? A word is a definite unit of intelligence. It is a symbol that means or signifies something. It is an utterance implying the faith or authority of the person who utters it. Without meaning, it is a noise or just a sound. With meaning, it is a complete unit of speech that signifies and communicates an idea. Therefore, as a salesman you employ words to convey your message to the prospect. To do this successfully you must think, reason, and visualize the words which will do it. Words are the wings of thought—choose words that make thought fly. In the last analysis, there are
only two intelligent ways to communicate thoughts and ideas. One is oral
and the other is written. To make these two methods more vivid and
elastic, words are incorporated in the different parts of How to Use Key Words Every industry abounds with certain key words; around these key words most industries are built. A key word may be compared to a master key that unlocks a building. The master key that unlocks the Empire State Building takes up very little space in your pocket, yet that key permits you to make a complete inspection of everything in that building. In the same way, key words will open the door to knowledge about your product. They will reveal all its hidden merits and will give the prospect a complete and comprehensive picture of its many values and advantages. A salesman has five key words. They are: Describe. This word comes from the Latin word "describere," which means to write. Writing down the words that give a full description of the product will enable you to select the ones that are the most adaptable and most accurate in describing your product. These words will convey more meaning and more color. They will make the prospect sit up and take notice. Learn to describe your product. Explain. This word means to make plain. The best fellow in the world to explain your proposition is yourself. Make a thing plain and clear to yourself, and it will be easy to make it plain and clear to everyone else. Learn to describe it forward and backward; you will be known as a salesman that knows his "stuff." Define. This word means to set forth the meaning of words or terms. A precise definition of a word distinguishes it from all other words. It is wise to define every word that you do not know; your progress will be amazing. Illustrate. This word means to enlighten or to illuminate. When you illuminate your proposition you throw colorful and meaningful lights on ideas and thoughts that are new to the prospect. You make the proposition clear, intelligible, and apprehensible. A chart, a picture, a map, or some other visible means may be used to make the presentation even more effective. Visualize. This word means to form a mental image of something before the eye. To create a mental picture of your proposition is to make it talk and reveal itself to the prospect. It is like draping a life insurance policy around the prospect and revealing what it can do for him and his family. These five words are applicable to any industry, and the salesman who applies them in a sales presentation will find himself making many more sales. To illustrate this doctrine, I have selected five different industries. Let us observe three key words in each one. First: Steel.
Crucible. A crucible is a pot. Crucible steel is a superior steel made by melting steel, or by fusing iron, carbon, and flux in a crucible. Tensile. Tensile means capable of tension. Therefore, the tensile strength of steel means resistance to stress. This property allows the steel to stretch and bend without doing injury to its own "muscles." In other words, steel can take it. Durable. Durable means able to endure. Durable steel is long-lasting and can withstand the wear and tear of the elements. Second: Oil. Lubrication. This word comes from the Latin word "lubricare" which means to make smooth or slippery. Lubrication reduces friction, increases efficiency, and lengthens the life of any machine. It lessens costs. Density. This determines the thickness of the oil. It is either light, medium, or heavy. Viscosity. This determines the body of the lubricant, or its wearing quality. Two surfaces coming together in motion set up friction. The resistant quality of that lubricant to encounter the friction determines the viscosity or what we call the body of the oil. Third: Paint, roofing, and allied industries. Waterproofing. Prevents leaks and preserves interiors. Protection. Keeps surfaces intact. Anti-corrosion. Prevents the eating away of the surface by the chemical elements in the air. Stops disintegration and deterioration. Fourth: Household appliances. Convenience. Enhances personal ease and comfort. Pertains to the easy performance of some act or function. Comfort. Provides relief, cheer or consolation. Affords contented enjoyment and frees from care, worry, and anxiety. Efficiency. Gets things done around the house with the least possible amount of effort and turns hours of drudgery into hours of enjoyment and relaxation. Fifth: Life insurance. Estate. An estate includes the possessions of a man and represents anything of value, including lands, stocks, bonds, cash, insurance, or any other holdings. Life insurance creates an estate immediately in event of death and gives the insured the opportunity of paying for it on the installment plan during his life. At his death, the life insurance he carries will become his estate or a part of it. Savings. You save money now to
have it later to cover Income. Man is cautious and wants to make provisions for the future. One way to do this safely and systematically is to buy a life income plan with a life insurance company. These five industries and the three key words representing each one are given to you to illustrate the tremendous possibilities hidden in the power of words. You get a keener insight into the product, and into the industry that produces it. Thus you have more confidence in the product and more faith in yourself to sell it. Following the suggestion of picking key words in your industry will enable you to master any sales technique and put the product at your command. It Pays to Know Your Words As an insurance broker I try to know the full meaning of every word connected with my business. Does it pay? Listen to this story. I was talking over the telephone to a man whom I had never seen about insurance. He asked me the difference between insurance and assurance. This is what I told him: "Insurance is the act of insuring, whereby one party undertakes to indemnify or guarantee another against loss by a contingent event. A fire-insurance policy, for example, is based on an event that may not occur. In fact, a fire insurance policy may be in force forever and never be a claim. "Assurance is the act of assuring, whereby one party undertakes to indemnify or guarantee another against loss of life, which is based not on a contingent event, but on an event that is certain. All 'life insurance' policies are really life assurance' policies. If kept in force long enough, they become a claim, either as an endowment when the proceeds are paid to the assured in cash, or as a death claim when the proceeds are paid to a beneficiary. Therefore, all fire policies are 'insurance' that depend on a contingency for fulfillment, and all life policies are 'assurance,' which is predicated on a certainty." The man was so well pleased with this simple explanation that the commission for the business he gave me amounted to over $1000. One hundred words one thousand dollars. Does it pay to know your words? A mathematician would be lost without digits. A musician would be in a quandary without notes. A salesman would not reap any sales without words. Therefore, the moral is, increase your word power. How to Use Words Effectively A lot of words thrown together may be only a noise, but if placed in the proper combination and spoken with the right pitch and tempo, they become notes and tones of power. A carpenter would not attempt to drive a nail with a saw, nor would he attempt to saw a plank with a hammer. In order to do the job well, he must keep a close check up on the tools he uses. In dealing with a prospect the salesman must check up on the words he puts into his Sales Plan. The words he uses are the tools that make the prospect act. It is very essential to get the correct meaning and the real significance of each word. Words used by the salesman must be of such nature as to carry the real meaning of the product over to the prospect. The prospect must understand what each word refers to. When the salesman successfully carries his point to the prospect there is a meeting of minds. There is an understanding and an agreement. This instantly establishes confidence and makes it possible for the salesman to amplify the value of his product or proposition to the prospect. Get the prospect to agree on things to which your words refer and he will act. In selling, it is best to eliminate big words. In most cases big words and technical phrases are only verbal ghosts, full of sound and fury, which signify nothing to the prospect. To direct the thoughts and actions of the prospect successfully, the salesman must use plain words that the prospect can understand. As long as the salesman presents his product or proposition in a sincere, old-fashioned way, the results will speak for themselves. In discussing verbal ghosts and high-sounding phrases, I will contrast them with simple ones. Which one of the following sentences is likely to produce the greatest response? "There is a decrepit mendicant at the door who is mendacious," or, "There is an old beggar at the door who is lying." Here is another pair: "The spectacular conflagration was caused by the instantaneous combustion of phosphorus," or, "The fire was caused by a match." A final example: "He was performing the act of deglutition with lightning rapidity," or, "He was eating quickly." No one needs to tell you which sentence of each set has the most appeal. In selling, therefore, study and analyze each word you put in your Sales Plan. Say the words out loud to yourself. Speak to someone about them and find out what the words mean. Endeavor to find out if what you are saying is being understood the way you want it to be understood. The words that refer to your product or proposition and words that have a full meaning are the words you want to use—words that simplify meaning and amplify your product or service. Use little words with hooks that catch the prospect's attention. Use apt words, and they will nail your message to the prospect's mind. Selling starts with an idea in
your mind. The words you use are the tools to get that idea over to the
prospect. As a salesman, you live in a practical world, you deal with
practical people and for their sake and for your pocketbook's welfare, it
will pay you to use plain, popular, everyday words with a real meaning. No
one can prevent you from using big words and high-sounding phrases, but
they may prevent you from making a sale. You are not selling words, you
are selling the product that your words signify. The words you use are the
only means the prospect has of knowing about your product. Use solid
words—words with plenty of "sell" that fall upon the prospect's ear and
goad him on to buy. The How to Increase Your Word Power How can you increase your word power? You can improve your word power by knowing the derivation, meaning, usage, and correct definition of every word you use. If you are doubtful of a word's meaning, or of its usage, by all means consult the dictionary. The "dictionary habit" is a good one to form; it will add many useful words to your vocabulary. Another suggestion that might
prove helpful is to put these words down alphabetically in a loose-leaf
note book. Be sure that you include the definition, derivation, and
pronunciation of each word. This record will give you an opportunity to
review these words occasionally. You can establish them in Another suggestion is to buy the "Reader's Digest" every month. It contains an article on word power by Wilfred Funk. This is a test on 20 words, with the correct definition for each one. Add 20 new words each month, plus the ones that you will have from your own research, and at the end of one year you may have over 500 new words. Each one of these words should eventually be worth at least two dollars. So, you have made $1000 for enriching your vocabulary. Another means of increasing your word power is by working crossword puzzles and all kinds of word games, which are published every day in the newspapers. Form the habit of increasing your vocabulary, and you will find many available means to help you. How Word Power Will Mean Money in Your Pocket Therefore, in conclusion, let me suggest that you analyze yourself, analyze your selling position, analyze your product, and analyze every word you use in your present field of selling, especially the words in your Sales Plan. Put yourself in the prospect's shoes: Do these words appeal to me? Would they make me act? Would they persuade and convince me? If you think they would, they will have the same effect on the prospect. Words usually react on all of us the same way. When you study words, they will talk back to you and reveal many hidden secrets that will mean much to you. Knowing the full meaning of words helps you to pronounce them clearly. They become magnets to attract the prospect. A robot or parrot never varies. They put no sense into their words. You can put both sense and feeling in them. Like music, when words are harmonized, they convey not only meaning, but feeling. The prospect will wilt in the heat of good words, when spoken softly and gently. A command of words qualifies you to present thoughts and ideas clearly, forcefully, and convincingly. They are the tools you use every day. Correct words qualify you to do this with efficiency, grace, and charm. God gave man the power to invent and create words, so he could identify and classify all things in nature and communicate thoughts and ideas. You have an inviolate interest in words. They are your property to use wisely. A head full of words, correctly used, can always fill your pockets with money. Words are tools that may be used over and over again. The more you use them, the more potent they become. They do not wear out and will last forever. They are your best friends. They are always where you are. It will pay you to watch your words.
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