Words That Work
July 13th, 2009
It has been a while since I have blogged. I am sorry about that. It is very easy to get so caught up in everyday life that time goes whirring by.
We have really been closing deals lately. Just today we closed one short sale and got an approval on another. When I think about my rise to success, one of the things that come to mind is the whole fascination with scripts. While you often end up saying the same things over and over to different people and creating something like a script in your head as a result, the truth of the matter is that the script that you create is yours. It has your style, your personality, and other qualities that make it your trademark. In that sense I like scripts. But when it comes to using a written script, especially one written by someone else, I truly dislike them.
As someone who has to listen to them when people call sometimes, I find I dislike them even more. If you don’t want me to listen to you, call me and read from a script. You can tell callers are reading from a script. I have finally gotten to the point where I simply ask if they can jump to the end of their script because I am getting impatient.
But words are important. And using the right words can make or break a deal. So if you are new at something, how can you make sure you are using the right words or not? Well as it turns out, it is a matter of perspective. Are you genuinely providing a valuable service to serve someone else or are you providing a valuable service to serve yourself? If you are truly serving someone else, then your words need to reflect that. Let me give you an example:
It seems that just about every retailer on the planet has some rewards program. The purpose of the rewards program has nothing to do with rewarding you, but is designed to track your spending habits so they can use that information to maximize profits. To make the rewards programs more convenient, they started giving you a little barcode you could carry on your key chain to ensure you have it with you when you go to check out. It was supposed to be a matter of convenience. The more convenient you make it the more likely someone is to use it. Well, as it turns out, if you are like my wife you have a separate keychain just for those little bar codes because you have so many of them. Now what was convenient is no longer.
Personally, I really dislike these programs and pretty much refuse to participate in them. Most of the time I get to the check out and am asked if I have a rewards card, or a gold card, or a V.I.P. card, or whatever they decide to name it to make it sound special. When I tell them no, they ask if I would like to join. When they ask me that question, I always say no. I know for a fact that they will give me some form to fill out that will take more time out of my day to apply for some "privilege" that I will never use in the future. So my answer is always no. But pay attention to the words they normally use: "Would you like to join?" That implies work or effort on my part to do something I don’t want to do.
Yesterday, I went to see a movie with my daughter and her friend. When I got to the ticket booth, the girl asked, "Would you mind if I signed you up for a rewards card? It will take less than a minute and it won’t cost you a dime." Before I realized it, I had said yes and less than thirty seconds later she had written down my name off my credit card, and the last 5 digits of the rewards card, and I had the tickets and rewards card in my hand.
So why would someone like me who hates these programs say yes this time? Well, let’s take a look at her words. "Would you mind…" She is asking for permission. "I signed you up…" She is doing the work or putting forth the effort. "less than a minute…" I won’t waste your time. "It won’t cost you a dime." You won’t feel any financial pain. She was using words that work. She was saying she would serve me so I won’t be inconvenienced. No wonder she had pages and pages of rewards cards she signed up that day.
What do your words say? Are you using words that work?
Bruce..
