You have two wonderful tools right that you may not have tapped into to improve your sales that you may not have ever thought about. You can make more sales and serve your clients better by utilising and improving your voice. I’ve seen agents tap into the power of their voice and been amazed at how something so simple made such a huge difference. No matter what you know, says public speaking expert Tracy Goodwin, if people cannot listen to your voice, they are not going to listen to anything you say!
It’s essential your voice is interesting, engaging, persuasive and enjoyable to listen to. To get this type of voice you want to make sure your utilising all the components of your voice which include: rhythm/tempo, tonal quality, accent, articulation, and these are followed up with components of interest which include value/operative words, speed, pitch play, volume, pausing and revealing the images with the help of sensory description. It sounds like a lot, but there are really a few simple techniques for each component that can make a huge difference in your overall success.
In this article, I will discuss what I like to call the ‘Big Three’, which can dramatically change your life, for the better!
The ‘Big Three’ are volume (high/low), speed (fast/slow) and pitch (high/low).
Why are these important? These three things are important, in fact crucial, because they have the power to make you real, unpredictable and fascinating. Think about it, in real life, when having conversations with friends, family, love interest, you use a combination of these components. Example: When your excited about something, your pitch goes up, perhaps your speed increases. In real life, we tend to automatically use the Big Three, but often times when presenting or selling, we lose all of these qualities that make us so vocally interesting. Think back, if you went to college or even sat through a class and the professor, teacher, instructor never changed anything about their voice…what happened? They lost you, you tuned out. Now, think about the dynamic speakers that you’ve heard and been affected by over the years. What makes them interesting? Dynamic speakers are interesting, alive, vibrant, captivating and most of all unpredictable; you don’t know what they are going to vocally do next. As you can see, so much of the dynamic speaker’s power comes from what he/she is doing with their voice.
- The first component of the Big Three is speed. When you are selling or presenting, what part of that pitch could be made more interesting by speeding up? What part could be made more interesting by slowing down? Shake it up a bit and use speed throughout your presentation to keep your audience interested and curious as to what you’re going to say and do next. When you first enter a property, it might be to your advantage to speak at a slower pace so allow the consumer to digest what you’re saying and what their sensory environment has just impacted them with upon entry. It takes time to digest another voice and/or a change in environment, so the first things you say about a property upon entry, may be completely lost if you speak with to fast a pace. At the end of the tour, there may be more sense of urgency where a faster pace is more beneficial.
- The next component is volume: loud and soft. If you always speak at the same volume, the listener will adjust to that volume which makes it easy for them to tune you out. If your always loud, I’ll immediately tune you out, if you always talking soft I’ll have to strain to hear you and that will make me tired so I’ll stop listening because it’s just too much work , and if you maintain a medium level of volume, you won’t be interesting so it’s easy for me to not hear you because everything you say sounds the same. Shake that volume up and watch how quickly people become intrigued with you, anxious to find out what you’re going to say and do next because you’re so unpredictable and fascinating, an AWESOME quality in general, but essential in sales.
- The last and perhaps the most complex: pitch play. Pitch play is harder for men because they work in a lower range to begin with but it is completely achievable with a little training and practice. A large amount of pitch play is not necessary; in fact you don’t want to overuse this component. But, you can benefit by adding pitch play at times. A higher pitch is associated with a sense of urgency, a lower pitch conveys power, confidence and is a sure fire trust builder.
If you’d like to find out more please feel free to check out my website at www.theredsweaterlady.com or email me with direct questions, [email protected], I’m happy to help!
