Margie Barkley: Your Tonality Is the Secret Weapon to Better Sales Success

Your voice can have a huge impact on your sales effectiveness. Sales reps tend to be focused on pitch perfection, but they don’t pay much attention to their tone of voice. It’s not surprising that tonality is often overlooked in a sales world. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t be mindful of how it is used. It doesn’t matter how you say it, but what you say is equally important. Many sales reps don’t know the value of tone because they don’t know how important it is to their sales success. Sales reps can begin to make conscious changes in their audio delivery if they become aware of the importance tonality plays for sales. This blog will provide examples and discuss the differences between tonality.

What is Tonality?

Tonality is simply the innations of how your voice sounds when speaking. It refers to the rise and fall or your voice. It is as simple as it sounds, but the right use of tone can make or break your sales pitch.

Why is it important to have tonality in sales?

Tonality is essential in sales, a field where sales representatives must present a compelling sales pitch. Your tone can either inspire and command attention or bore your audience. While most salespeople are motivated by an impressive script with persuasive words, Stanford research found that only 7% of people believe the words you speak. Over 90% of how people connect with you and whether or not they listen to your words is dependent on the sound you make. This includes your tone and body language. Truthfully, not everyone will remember what you said. But they will remember how it made them feel.

The various components of Tonality

Tonality is the art and science of effective communication. It is not just about the tone of your voice. However, that plays an important role. Tonality is complex. It involves many components such as volume, pitch and pace. This creates an effect that resonates far better than any one monotone delivery. It is important to have a customized framework that can be adjusted according to individual needs.

Let’s take a closer look at each component:

1. Pitch

Your pitch basically describes how loud or low you can speak. The pitch is a way of expressing your feelings and perceptions to others. While women tend to use a higher pitch than men, they are more likely to use it for their business pitches. However, sticking with the same pitch can make you seem boring and uninteresting.

# A flat or monotone pitch is when your voice sounds monotonous and boring. It lacks innation and leaves listeners struggling with identifying if you are asking them a question, or making a statement. This causes them to lose focus on what they’re saying, which ultimately defeats the purpose of the pitch.

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Inflections can be used to keep the listener’s interest by bringing out the key words in the sentence. Roger Love, a world-renowned voice expert, has shown how small changes in pitch can make a big difference to people’s emotions. If you use notes that go up (from low-to-high), it gives you a feeling of joy and friendliness. Conversely, if you use notes that go down (from high to low), it creates a somber and sad tone.

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These are just a few examples of situations where you could use this technique.

a. If you want to highlight important keywords in a sentence

“The reason why I’m calling you is because we help sales reps increase their response rates using videos and I thought you might also be interested.” By increasing and decreasing your pitch at the right times, you subconsciously signal to them that the italicized words are important.

b. Ask your listeners questions:

Inflected upward pitch is used at the end to communicate that the question is genuine and invites an answer.

When making a statement

To show confidence, tilt your pitch down.

2. Volume

Your voice can have a profound impact on how people see you. You might appear shy or timid if you are too quiet. This can make it difficult to gain credibility. If you are too loud it can cause others to distrust your words and create a feeling of hostility. You need to strike the right balance between being heard, but not overwhelming, in order to get your message across effectively.

The video below is from The Wolf of Wall Street. Leonardo di Caprio displays his remarkable vocal control. He changes his voice to create excitement at the right times and commands attention with his skilled use of words.

The video below will teach you a few things.

a. Start louder by referring to them and then lower the volume.

You can see that Leonardo di Caprio begins louder with “Hello John!” and then lowers his volume with “How’s your day?” to get attention. This creates a feeling of calmness, comfort, and security.

b. When pitching, use a louder volume and lower it when closing.

As you can see, using a loud volume to discuss the benefits of your product creates an atmosphere of excitement. However, when closing the sale, it is important to switch to a lower volume. As it shows that you care about your customer and are willing to offer them a high-quality product or service, this change in volume can help build trust. Low-volume speech signals that your offer is well-thought out and confident. This helps to build trust in their decision-making.

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3. Pace

It is important to speak at a normal speed when communicating information effectively. Research suggests that speaking at a rate of 2.6 words per Second (or 140 to 160 words each minute) will ensure that your listeners understand you well.

Speaking too fast can lead to sentences becoming too long and making them sound rushed. Talking too slow will also make it tedious and lose listeners’ interest. It is important to keep your presentation or speech at a moderate pace in order to ensure that your message is understood.

Here are some tips:

a. You can speak quickly to show urgency or excitement.

b. If you want to create dramatic effects, slow down or pause to allow the listener to understand what you are saying.

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How to improve your skin tone

Although it is obvious that we all have a unique vocal quality, it doesn’t mean that it can’t be improved upon. You can improve your tonality with practice. This will help you speak more charismatically and engage people. Here are some tips to help you get started.

1. Make the perfect script

Leonardo di Caprio used his script in “The Wolf of Wall Street” to teach his team how to pitch. This is our first tip. Instead of trying to wing it and thinking that you have years of experience, think of yourself as the sales rep in the movie. They memorize the script so well that it flows naturally while speaking with their clients.

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2. Intone the intonations

After you have the script prepared, it is important to pay attention to the intonations. Highlight each question with a different color to the statements. This will allow you to practice your lines and improve the pitch. When you’re rehearsing, be aware of the inflection at each end of each question. Also, keep statements consistent with your tone.

3. Record your voice to practice sessions

Self-criticism can be a key ingredient in becoming a better speaker. Recording your practice sessions will allow you to fine tune your pitch, volume, and pace. You can also get feedback. It helps you to improve your intonations and pauses so that your words can be heard clearly. Roger Love said it so well: “If you like the sound and feel of your voice, then others will also enjoy it.” Record yourself speaking to master the art.

4. Pay attention to any filler words

Not only do filler words detract from your delivery but they can also make your audience’s comprehension of what you are saying difficult. Make sure that every part of your speech is clearly stated and concisely explained. This will keep your audience interested and help them absorb the information.

5. Apps to reduce monotonous voice

Two great apps can help you improve your vocal tone and express yourself more. Vocal Pitch Monitor, and SingScope both work together to reduce monotone vocals by giving feedback based upon recorded readings. You can read aloud passages from your own writings or from other sources, and get real-time audio analysis that identifies areas for improvement.

Conclusion

Knowledge is power. This is especially true when it comes to sales tonality. I believe that half of the battle is won when you know your tonality in its original form. But that’s only half the battle. Mastering it takes time and effort. It’s not possible to be a great salesman by being born. Instead, it is about learning how to recognize areas that need improvement and then working towards them. Even the most introverted person can be a salesperson with dedication and hard work. You have the power to change your tone.