Sales Terminology You Should Avoid Like the Plague
Slang, terminology, and tired old phrases (avoid like the plague) can step right into the middle of your sales pitch and kill the deal. Not that it’s offensive in some way but rather that it’s flat out boring and convoluted. Take our headline slang: to avoid like the plague. Other than in Africa and a few Australian leper colonies, are there really any plagues left to be avoided? THE plague, of course, refers to the Bubonic Plague, sometimes called the Black Death, that struck Europe in the Middle Ages. There aren’t many people walking around with a real fear of its return, so why still use the phrase?
But today we’re talking about sales terminology, a bland corporate-speak that too many real estate agents fall into when talking deals. Please, make it a point to not torment your clients in this manner any more. Sales terminology like the following list actually hinders communication, and makes your client wonder if you hit your head on the way to work.
Here are some cringe worthy conversation muddlers that begin with the letter ‘a’:
- absolutely (when used instead of “yes”)
- accountability
- action items
- actionable
- actualize
- address the issue
- all-hands meeting
- alpha office
- alternative
- analysis paralysis
- analytics
- aperture moments (as a synonym for media outlets)
- architect
- aspiration statement
- at the end of the day, or at day’s end
Had enough yet? We could go on to sales terminology that begins with the letter ‘b’. As a matter of fact, we will.
- back-end
- backward-compatible
- ballpark
- bandwidth
- been-there-done-that
- benchmark(ing)
- best of breed
- best practice
- between a rock and a hard place
- big picture
- bio-break
- blamestorming
- bleeding edge
- blue-sky thinking
- boil the ocean
- boilerplate
- bottom line
- brainstorm(ing)
- brick-and-mortar
- bucketize
- business case
- business silo
- buy-in
- buzzword compliant
See how much junk we’ve located in your sales spiel, and haven’t even made it to the third letter of the alphabet yet. There’s a good chance you won’t be able to eliminate all sales terminology from ever passing your lips again, but why not try to drop it when you can? You might notice a difference where it really matters – property closings and commissions in your pocket.
The Bonus Commissions Team
Flickr / Rob Boudon