J
J

Juancallclose

Director

Catalyst
Opinionated
Valued Contributor
+3

accents helpful?

I worked with a British lady and she said her accent helped in building trust, both in prospecting and account management.  

honestly her voice did make you want to let your guard down.  

how about from your experience?   relevant at all?
✍️ Sales advice
13

14 comments

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jefe
Arsonist
5
🍁
In North America a British accent works wonders. Have had a few colleagues benefit from that.

I remember having to talk to one about different vocabulary though - he kept asking if people had their 'diary' in front of them and not their calendar/schedule. It really threw them off.

I also know someone who was doing some B2B work in the Scotland/England with a Canadian accent (not the Letterkenny kind though) and it apparently helped.

Unfortunately, accents from some parts of the world can work the opposite way. Especially when calling the US. There's a lot of bias out there.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
2
🦊
British folks shady as hell throwing cows and shit 😆
Pachacuti
Politicker
4
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
Ever watch an old infomercial? The pitch person was always some British dude. That’s because Americans automatically relate a British accent to someone who is smart.
medhardwaredr
Politicker
3
Director of Sales NA
It’s a good conversation piece that gets people talking and to open up
cw95
Politicker
2
Head of SDR
Brit here - I’ve worked with American colleagues for years and they have always said we sound sophisticated in our approach. It definitely does help. However, if I were to get a cold call from someone up north in the UK such as Liverpool or Manchester you naturally presume they are selling insurance etc etc.

To sell in the UK, unless you have the ‘queens tounge’ accent then it’s hard. But selling abroad with the British accent does work wonders. BUT - when ringing the French, Belgians, Spanish, Italians…they don’t care. It’s all politics but the American to British side works really well.

I’ve never really had American people sell to me so can’t answer this in reverse!
Epad
Executive
2
Snr Business Development Executive
My Irish accent has always been very warmly received in N.America which has been great, but on the flip side sometimes it can be a little harder to understand for some. I definitely use Irish phrases that make no sense also from time to time 😂
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
2
☕️
My North East attitude usually helps people ignore me out of fear.
Justatitle
Big Shot
2
Account Executive
Brits all proper and such... BS
Juancallclose
Catalyst
2
Director
I'd like to add this lady was a smoke show. I had a colleague at one of the major hardware providers and he was British. He was the best sales rep now that I think about it. And he said his accent was a major plus
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
1
ERP Sales
I have read for the most part ascents do not help, as there a lot of prejudices or preconceived notions about people from that area
Gasty
Notable Contributor
1
War Room Community Manager
Natural accents help. The communication should just be clear.

Fake, made-up accents are the worst! Getting calls from Robert in an Asian accent just throws me off!!
MRK47
Tycoon
1
Head of Growth
I'm a brit - people think I'm way smarter than I really am....plus you call tell someone to f'off and they'll often thank you for it as it sounds much nicer.
kzmt
Contributor
1
Founder
I worked with some folks from UK and South Africa at one of my old jobs, and they could get away with murder in America.

Most of the times, their advise was not very different or even bad for the customer, but even hard boiled guys (and gals) would just melt and give them their money. It was a while back, so things may have changed now, but some of these accents get a lot more traction in America than others.
NoToBANT
Catalyst
1
Senior Account Executive
British guy currently working in N.A.

Can confirm - it’s a conversation starter and often helps break the ice

Does it help close 100-250k SaaS deals? Absolutely the fuck not

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