Sales Tips from Doug Fleener: Use Assumptive Language and Paint a Mental Picture

By Allan Pulga

In wireless retail, dealing with indecisive customers is an everyday occurrence. With so many product, plan and pricing options available to them, it’s natural for customers to feel overwhelmed.

When a customer is sitting on the fence, the sale is essentially hanging in the balance – this is a pivotal opportunity for the salesperson. What you say and do can either land or lose your sale. You need to be persuasive – but not pushy – to close the deal.

Sales and retail coach Doug Fleener, author of The Profitable Retailer, has two helpful techniques for bringing the customer to your side: using assumptive language and painting a picture for the customer. He says these techniques will help your sales effectiveness and ability to sell-through.

“This is a simple but very successful technique that will absolutely result in the customer buying more,” says Fleener. “If you listen to most salespeople, their language almost always conveys that the customer isn’t going to make a purchase.”

He is referring to the common use of the words “if” or “you could” or “you might,” which only add to a customer’s indecisiveness. Some common phrases include, “If you bought this one…” or “If you decide to go with this…”

Fleener advises using assumptive words instead, which subtly convey to the customer that you are assuming he/she is there to buy. These statements begin to transfer the ownership of the product to the customer; the customer imagines it as his/her own and decides to go ahead with the purchase.

Some of Fleener’s key assumtive words are:

when: “When you purchase this…” or “When your friends see you with this…”

will: “You will really enjoy this feature…” or “This will work great for you when you’re…”

use: “When you use this feature, you’ll be amazed at how much time it will save you.”

Fleener says one of the most effective ways to sell something is to ask the customer the right questions about how they will use the product. By discussing their personal likes and dislikes as a user, the customer again imagines the product as his/her own.

For cellular customers, he offers this example: (With the customer holding the phone) “When you’re driving, do you like to hold your phone or use a hands-free device?”

Other customer cellphone-use scenarios could include:

• Slide vs. Candybar/Flip design: “You’ll really like the slide design when you’re driving.”
• Text messaging/E-mail preferences: “Do you use a QWERTY device or basic keypad?”
• Video/Photo/Internet use: “When you use these features…”

Fleener says getting the customer thinking about how they will use the product you’re showing them is half the battle. “Just a few suble changes in the words you choose and the questions you ask will have a positive impact on your customers and their purchases.”