Shut Up: Three Phrases that Plague Salespeople  

Art Sobczak, of Smart Calling Blog, recently published a post on three phrases that all salespeople should avoid like the plague. He describes a few situations which can either make or break a deal and suggests alternate phrasing to try instead.

• Negatives. Don’t point out the negatives your client probably wouldn’t notice. Forcing your OCD perfectionism on another person doesn’t make you a more honest salesperson, just an unnecessary one.
• Have to/Need to/Must. Rather than saying, “Molly, you have to stay over at Grandma’s tonight,” try, “Molly, you get to stay at Grandma’s tonight!”
• TMI. Art gives three awesome examples of this:Instead of,

  “I’m just calling today …”, use,

  “I’m CALLING today …”.

  Instead of,

  “I’ll have to check on that for you.”, use,

  “I’ll be happy to research that for you.”

  Instead of,

  “I’ll try to get to that,” use,

  “I will personally get that done by tomorrow morning.”

  Even in my own interactions, I’ve learned the value of positioning things in a certain light and what a different reaction someone might have if you change just one word in your explanation. I’m excited to apply these tips from Art for fewer blunders and more successful conversations.