When cold calling there are a couple of speech factors can alienate you from your prospect. Many salespeople are either not aware of these or, they like to pretend they don't exist. Either way, they WILL affect your selling.

2 Speech factors to watch out for when selling.

1) Accents - Obviously, if you've spent your entire life in one part of the country, it's more than likely that you have developed an accent. If you have a different accent from the person you're talking to when cold calling, it can become a negative differentiator. If you believe a heavy accent may be holding you back, you can work on it yourself or with a speech therapist.

In certain cases, an accent can be a benefit. People seem to be intrigued with certain foreign accents. French, British, or Australian accents always seem to catch people's attention-in a positive way. If you have a foreign accent and it seems to be of benefit-wonderful! Use it. Just be sure people can understand you. Also, be cautious when using any slang terms that "foreigners" may not understand.

2) Speech extremes and impediments - Two examples of extremes are very high voices and very low voices. Speech impediments include stuttering or talking with a lisp. Whatever speech issues you have, they can usually be improved or eliminated altogether either through self-help, by recording and listening to your voice and practicing corrections, or with the assistance of a speech therapist.

The most important speech aspects of cold calling

• Make sure people can understand you.
• Talk without any speech impediments.
• Talk without an accent that differs from that of the prospect.