Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is one of several valuable reference books I have on my desk. Another useful book is, Rodale’s Synonym Finder. In the last blog I wrote about “Indifference” using my dictionary to define it. This entry is written with the help of my synonym finder.
Webster defines “synonym” as: one of two or more words or expressions that have the same or nearly the same meaning in some or all senses. For example synonyms for “Idle” include: loaf, lounge, laze, doze, and procrastinate. In casual communications any of these synonyms may work to convey your thought because they all have nearly the same meaning.
When you want to convey something important a “nearly the same meaning” won’t do. You need a specific word with a specific and focused meaning. Accurate communications is not about the game of horse shoes where close to the stake counts. Accuracy requires exactness and preciseness.
Take the word “Salesperson”. Synonyms include: clerk, drummer, coach, advisor, counselor, partner, and associate. While all of these words can be used to describe someone engaged in selling, they fail to capture the true meaning of a salesperson: “one employed to sell goods or services.” A salesperson’s job is to persuade a prospect to exchange their money for a product or service offered by the salesperson that provides mutual satisfaction to both parties. (See entry dated April 11, 2008, Symbiotic Selling). Professional salespeople have to sell just as a singer has to sing, an artist has to paint and an author has to write.
A true salesperson—man or woman—is a persuader, not an order taker or a casual visitor in the presence of their prospect or customer. A salesperson moves their prospect or customer to a course of action that is profitable for the prospect or customer. Are you prepared to persuade?
Before you attempt to persuade someone to buy from you, you should prepare yourself by answering these questions. When you can answer all six questions with a “Yes”, you know you are prepared to sell.
1. Do you really know your customer—who they are, their interests, likes and dislikes?
2. Do you know the guidelines they use to determine whom they buy from? Is price the real issue? What about quality, service after the sale, delivery policy, or credit terms?
3. Do you know why they buy from you or a competitor? What is their buzz button?
4. Do you know what problems they need to find answers for? People really don’t buy products; they buy the benefits of those products.
5. Do you know if he or she is really the decision-maker in regards to the products or services you are selling? You waste valuable time trying to persuade someone without authority to buy. Often different people within the same organization have authority to purchase different products and or services.
6. Do they know you really care about them as a person and not just a meal ticket? Someone has written that “people want to know you care before they care to do business with you.”
In Arthur Miller’s Pulitzer Prize winning 1949 play, Death of a Salesman, the hero, Willy Loman is described by his neighbor and friend, Charley as, “He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine…A salesman is got to dream, boy.”
Yes, a salesperson has to dream but the dream is always about providing solutions to customer’s problems and giving exceptional service. Do this and you can identify with the tribute paid to Willy by his wife. “Willy Loman never made a lot of money, his name was never in the paper, but attention must be paid to such a person.”
Be a professional persuader and you will receive attention and, unlike Willy, you may also make a lot of money. I can’t guarantee your name in the paper.
HOG THOUGHT: There are no synonyms for Hog. A Hog is a professional persuader who does whatever, wherever, whenever, however, to satisfy his or her customer. Competitors, be they coaches, counselors, clerks, drummers, advisors, or associates are only antonyms.
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