I was impressed recently by a powerful use of spin on an episode of Lie to Me, a weekly television show on FOX where the world’s leading deception experts study facial expressions and involuntary body language to discover not only if someone is lying, but why. One of the co-stars was alerting her boss that she did not appreciate him meddling in her personal affairs but she never said anything distasteful, accusatory, derogatory or inflammatory. She couched the conversation by discussing the skills that they possess in being able to read people and suggested that there are boundaries to how and when that skill should be applied. She tactfully and artfully implied that he shouldn’t be using his abilities to make assumptions about her challenging times with her husband.

She easily got her point across with carefully chosen words and walked away from the conversation the stronger person. It reiterated my belief in the power of words. We as sales people are confronted with countless opportunities to use words as an effective sales tool. It’s not enough to say “sell benefits, not features” or “pitch business fit, not product fit.” While useful advice, it’s the words that you choose to accomplish those two objectives that will dictate your effectiveness.

Learn the art of spin. While it may have a negative connotation from use in political circles, it’s not a bad thing. As the definition says, “give something a favorable or advantageous appearance.” That’s not lying. That’s recognizing the power of words and making an effort to be deliberate about saying the right thing, in the right way, at the right time, to produce your desired outcome. Learn the art of spin. It will make you a more effective salesperson.

Please let me know what you think. I’d love to hear how you have experienced a good use of spin or when spin could have been applied to realize a better result.

Happy sales,

David Thornbury