Use Your Voice to Sell Anything

By Nancy Daniels
The official guide to Public Speaking

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Do you know what is the least developed tool for people in sales? If you are familiar with Zig Ziglar’s Secrets of Closing the Sale, you probably know what I am referring to. If not, you would be wise to pick up Mr. Ziglar’s book the next time you are at a bookstore because in it he talks about the power of the voice and how, with the right inflection, you can overcome price objections and close more sales more often.

While those in sales are obviously selling a product or an idea, the job interview deals as much with selling yourself and your ability as does the lawyer, trying to convince the jury of the defendant’s innocence.

We are all concerned with the image we project and yet we fail to recognize that the sound of the speaking voice accounts for more than a third of that image. If you would like to know exactly how you sound, trying recording yourself in a mock sales presentation. Then play it back and listen to it.

Chances are that you will not like what you hear. Bear in mind that how we perceive our own voice is how we hear it inside our head – distorted sound that is vibrating in the liquid and solid of the brain. How others recognize our voice, however, is what you just heard on that recording.

Once you have gotten over the actual sound quality of your voice, play the recording again and listen to how you speak. What does the actual tone of your voice say? Does it display warmth and interest? Does it show any passion for what you are trying to sell? Do you speak with inflection? Does the pitch go up and down or does it stay relatively flat? Are you understandable? Do you speak with enough volume? Maybe you are too fast or too slow.

Your voice, your tone, your speed, and your inflection speak volumes about you. So, too, do your facial expressions and body language. You may be enthusiastic and excited about your product and looking forward to that next sales presentation; but, if your voice fails to deliver the enthusiasm and your facial expression and body language give the impression that you are bored, then your prospective client will not become a customer.

Those who are most successful in sales are not only aware of their words, they know exactly how to deliver those words. Look at the following example. Say the words, “This is the best value for your money” several times, emphasizing a different word each time you say it. The change in the emphasis gives a completely different meaning to those words. You could be telling the client that your product is the best they can do for their money or that their money can only get them this product. Said another way, you might be telling the client that they have a lot of money and can afford your expensive product. It is amazing what affect inflection alone can have on the outcome of your sale.

The economy today is in flux. People are losing their jobs and without a doubt, competition for new jobs will be much greater than it has been in the more recent past. Perhaps you are being interviewed for a new job. Can your voice sell you over the competition? Ask yourself that question honestly bearing in mind that not only will the competition be greater in number but undoubtedly fiercer in ability.

If the choice is between two candidates, both possessing equal education and experience, and one has a more dynamic vocal delivery, who gets the job? The answer is obvious. Now look at the situation a little differently.

Candidate #1 is slightly better educated and slightly more experienced than candidate #2 but the latter is more personable and more expressive with his/her voice. Who do you think gets the job in this particular situation? Chances are excellent that the more expressive candidate lands that position.

What does your voice and your vocal delivery say about you? With good voice training, you can discover a powerful sales tool that you never knew you had.