It’s amazing what a difference one word can make when it comes to getting people to sign on the dotted line and close a sale.
As I share in the video accompanying this post, I was reminded of this fact when my husband Saul and I met with Enrique, the gentleman who meets with us annually to discuss our ownership of vacation weeks with a Mexican resort company.
Several years ago when Enrique and I were chatting together, he mentioned that many times he would meet with people who appeared ready to invest in some weeks with the company, but that they often got cold feet and backed out of the deal when he mentioned that it was time to sign the contract.
I suggested that he substitute the word agreement for contract. Contract implies obligation and even pressure, while agreement implies doing something that has already been agreed upon.
The power of this word shift for Enrique is such that his success rate went way up and he increased his income and has been promoted as a result.
Most people wouldn’t consider a sales conversation to be a type of public speaking; but it requires, among other aspects, as careful a use of words as any well constructed speech.
I invite you to share your own experiences with the word contract; and your thoughts about replacing it with the word agreement (if you have not already done so).
