A Few Dirty Words: As Salespeople, Our Words Define Us

By Jerry Stapleton, Stapleton Resources

When working with a group of salespeople, I ask them to complete the following logic: Accountants have numbers; chemists have molecules; salespeople have ________? By far the most common answer is "relationships." I believe the best answer is words!

Like all professions, selling has evolved with its own language.

Unfortunately, the native language of salespeople—even a single word like "needs"—unwittingly and insidiously, defines them as "Traditional Salespeople," making it impossible for them to be viewed as a Business Resource or Trusted Advisor by customers, and, more importantly, hindering results.

That's why I like to say that words are to selling what numbers are to accounting and molecules are to chemistry: the building blocks of the discipline.

An Example: The Cold-Call Killer

Traditional selling has its own language. Unfortunately, some words and phrases—no matter how hard we try, no matter what our intentions in using them—will always prompt customers to put us in that "Traditional Salesperson" box. We must avoid these words for that reason alone.

The most prominent example of this association is the words salespeople use when making cold calls. Let's face it, there's no more common way of opening a cold call than with some form of "How are you?" And frankly, there's no more unsuccessful way to open one than that.

The problem is not that it's a disingenuous question. The problem is that cold calls by traditional salespeople have been opened with "How are you?" (or equally bad, "Did I catch you at a good time?") since, well, forever. Nobody takes it as a friendly way to break the ice by this nice salesperson. In Pavlovian fashion, upon hearing these three words, the prospect's guard goes up...and usually, the phone receiver goes down.

Words To Avoid

What follows is a list of words that can—emphasis on can, not always do—send a Traditional-Salesperson signal to customers. It is not an exhaustive list, but it hits many of the biggies.

• "Decision"...Traditional salespeople are always looking for the close. This word is associated with closing pressure.

• "Decision-maker"...Associated with "the transaction." Shows lack of political insight.

• "I know you're busy"...Classic master/servant relationship language of traditional selling. Intended to show respect. Instead, it diminishes value of salesperson's time.

• "Thanks for your time"..."Thank you" is not dirty language, except when it's in the context of thanking customers for their time. Subconsciously, traditional salespeople believe customers are doing them a favor simply by meeting with them. "Appreciate the time" is the same.

• "I'll let you get back to work"...Umm, what was the last hour we just spent together? Play? Another subservient phrase that implies customer is doing me a favor by meeting with me.

• "Opportunity"... Associated with your looking for "the deal" or "the transaction."

• "Quote"... "Would you like me to quote that?" Please! Quoting is not selling! This is the height of traditional sales language. Business Resource salespeople never use "quote" as a verb.

• "Bid"... See "Quote."

• "Needs"... Guilty by association with traditional selling. For millennia, traditional salespeople have been telling customers how they want to "find solutions to meet your needs." Yawn!

• "Relationship"... Overused. Too often used in a presumptuous way. Edges too close to schmoozing. "The business relationship between our two companies" works nicely, though.

• "Contacts"... Ouch! It's like "I'm a sales guy looking for other contacts I can pitch."

• "Who else should I be talking to?"... Not only is this a potential slight to the person you're talking to; it also shows an incredible lack of organizational savvy.

• "What's your timing on this decision?"...See "Opportunity."

• "Partner" or "partnership"...Do we really think customers will see their business relationship with us as a partnership just because we suggest it? It's kind of like expecting to be perceived as a Business Resource just because you've printed it on your business card.

So there you have fourteen words and phrases to jettison from your vocabulary to avoid being seen as a Traditional Salesperson. If you want to be seen as a Business Resource, the first thing you must do is stop talking like a traditional "vendor" or "problem solver" salesperson.

Would you like to know more? To hear Jerry Stapleton’s commentary on this column, click here. Jerry's audio appears at the top of the linked page and can be downloaded as an MP3 file.

Jerry Stapleton of Stapleton Resources is author of "From Vendor to Business Resource", a ground-breaking book that encourages salespeople to move away from traditional selling based on product, price and personality. He can be reached at jstapleton@stapletonresources.com, or go to his website, www.stapletonresources.com.

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