Developing a Common Sales Language

May 2nd, 2011

Last weekend, my son raced at the New Castle Motorsports Park.  It is a tough track to race all on its own, but as the site of our first race in 7 months, the difficulty is compounded.  Many of the kids we race with have the means and time to travel to warmer climates and race year round.  They come to this first race ready to go.

As I watched my son on the track, I realized that he was taking it easy.  The cobwebs were playing out right in front of me.  The saying “out for a Sunday drive” kept popping into my head.  He went through the turns carefully and slowly, taking very little risk.  As I watched his competitors “racing” the track, I became even more frustrated.  It isn’t that my son can’t be competitive; it’s just that things weren’t clicking that day.  He either didn’t know how to go faster, or wasn’t willing to do it.  When I asked him what was going on, he was more frustrated.  He knew he could be better, but couldn’t verbalize what he needed, and I felt powerless to give him guidance.

A sales manager faces the same situation. As they observe, manage, and coach their salespeople, they can sometimes have that helpless feeling,  sometimes managers can’t convey what they would do in similar situations.  Despite telling how they would handle situations, giving advice about what their “gut feelings” are and what to do, the results just don’t happen.  The salespeople don’t want to upset the boss by telling him that his advice is not working…and the circle continues.

One of the keys to solving all of this is to have a common language.  That language forms the foundation for the sales system.  If we are all able to talk about a sale using the same language and sales system framework, then communication flows freely, coaching and mentoring happens more naturally, and the positive results soon follow.  The Sandler system provides both the language and system to foster this environment; you just have to use it.

Brian Kavicky

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