When a Gift Becomes a Gaffe

Current events are a great source for sales tips, insights, and lessons learned. Political preferences aside, there’s a lesson to note in Mitt Romney’s recent explanation of Obama’s win being the result of “financial gifts” the government made to special interest groups, who then, in turn re-elected the President. The most irate critics of these comments came from Republicans themselves, who recognized A. The inflammatory word choice and B. The error in Romney’s argument. I will leave the politics to them (and to you), but for selling, the lesson is clear.

Words make an impact on a business relationship. They can be benign or antagonistic, sensitive or incendiary, friendly or lethal.  Simple examples:

• In negotiating: “I can give you X, if you can give me Y.” Vs.  “You can have X, if you can do Y.” The former sets up a power relationship. The latter keeps the seller neutral and puts the buyer in the driver’s seat.
• In presenting: “We beat the competition every time.” Vs. “Clients love the fact that they can get X, which they can’t get anywhere else.” The former is chest-beating. The latter lets the buyer know he will be in good company with your unique service.
• In closing: “All I need you to do is…” Vs. “To get started, all you need to do is…” The former is control by the seller. The latter gives control to move forward to the buyer.