Sales Training Tactics

“Proper grammar is power.”

-Dianna Booher
Author of Rules of Business Grammar
101 Fast and Easy Ways to Correct the Most Common Errors

R U Amazed at the affect email and texting has had on the way we use grammer and how we spell in our electronic communication. It ain’t right that you and me have been slackin’ off with our spellin’ and such in emails.

In fact, sentences with spelling and grammar errors like the one you just read are littering emails that we send everyday. For many, the speed of an email has become more important than the content and the grammatical correctness. So what’s the big deal with a few misspelled words and an occasional misuse of the English language, you ask?

Truth is, your prospects and peers will judge your ability to serve them by the words you use. Which means every email you send that looks like the neighbor’s first grade kid wrote it tells the recipient that accuracy is not important to you. It also says that you DON’T pay attention to detail. Now let me ask you something. Are accuracy and attention to detail important qualities in a salesperson, an operations manager, or a sales leader? Of course they are! So understand that every email you send is like a brochure that represents your ability to perform. So here are some email tips that will help you show others that you are PRECISE:

• Use Spell Check with every email
o It takes 20 seconds and will save you from looking unprofessional.

• Read your email back to yourself before pressing the send button.
o More than half the time you will make a correction.

• Make your point once, and be DONE with it.
o Use as few words as possible to convey your message. Not only will this minimize your chances of making a grammatical error, but will also help your message “stick.” (works with voicemail as well)

• Take 15 seconds to think about the OBJECTIVE of the email before you write it.
o Email should be a tool for ACTION. After the recipient reads your email, what do you want them to do? If the email isn’t getting them to do something, perhaps it isn’t necessary to send it.

So this week, let’s get back to English (and Action) class. And while it might not be necessary to start diagramming sentences, it could be time to be more PRECISE with one of our greatest sales and service weapons…our written word.

To listen to Brian discuss communicating with power with author Dianna Booher (www.booher.com) on his weekly radio show, go to www.preciseselling.com/Radio.htm. As president of PRECISE Selling, Brian Sullivan helps improve sales, customer service, negotiations, leadership, and presentation skills through seminars and internet training programs. He is also the author of the book, 20 Days to the Top-How the PRECISE Selling Formula Will Make You Your Company’s Top Sales Performer in 20 Days or Less. To learn more, go to www.preciseselling.com.