Top 5 Words to STOP Using in Sales

By Chuck Terry, Executive Vice President and CSO, Carew International

The language of sales has always been rich with metaphors in terms of how we describe the process of selling. Terms such as driving sales and winning the deal conjure up visions of a high stakes game where fame and fortune is only a good roll of the dice away. However not all of the metaphoric language we sales professionals use conjures up such exciting visions. It is high time we take a good look at some words we need to STOP using to describe our selling process.

Mark Twain had a great quote, "The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug." With that in mind, here are the top five commonly used words which should be stricken from the vocabulary of sales professionals.

• 1. PROBE- In sales parlance it is generally used to describe the process of uncovering a potential customer’s needs. Webster’s dictionary defines a probe as "a slender surgical instrument used for exploring the depth and direction of a wound." I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound like much fun to me! How about substituting something like needs analysis or exploring? Just about any word would be preferable to describe something we do to our customers.

• 2. COLD CALL- (OK, technically this is a phrase, not a word) In the world of sales, we generally use this phrase to indicate the process of makingcalls to prospects we haven’t met. But I have to wonder if the term describes the process so much as our feeling about performing this task. And if that is the case, perhaps we are inflicting a self-fulfilling prophecy. Try using any sentence that contains the word "cold" to describe a positive sales outcome! Finding new sources of business is the most important function of many sales jobs, so let’s call this something else. How about introductory calls, marketing calls, prospecting, or something else more engaging and less frigid. Cold calling sounds like something The Terminator might do!

• 3. OBJECTION- This is one of my personal favorites. Usually followed by a phrase such as objection handling, it couldn’t sound more clinical or impersonal. Webster’s defines objections as "a feeling of dislike, disapproval, or disagreement." Numerous studies on sales effectiveness have found that a sales presentation with one or more objections is much more likely to result in success than one where none are raised. Most successful sales professionals agree that an objection can also be a buying signal (don’t get me started on that phrase), so why not refer to it as something more hopeful than objection? How about unanswered opportunity, point of clarification, or request for additional information?

• 4. PITCH- Most commonly used in a sales reference as the act of presenting a proposal to a potential customer, it is better used to describe the act of erecting a tent. Not just any tent, but a carnival tent; because pitching something is what I would expect from a carnival barker, not a sales professional. The literal definition of the word is "to throw, hurl, fling, or toss." The last time I hurled a sales proposal, it rightfully ended up in the trash can! How about something more professional like solution presentation or solution proposal?

• 5. CLOSE- Here is a very common term typically used in a sales reference as the act of asking for, and getting, the business after a solution presentation. The dictionary describes close as follows: "to put (something) in a position to obstruct an entrance, opening, etc." I don’t know about you, but I am not too comfortable using a word with a technical definition like that to define the act of asking a potential business partner to enter into a relationship. We aren’t closing anything. In fact, we are opening a mutually beneficial business relationship! How about some terminology that reflects the reality of securing new business?

There you have it. My "Five Least Wanted List" of sales terminology. I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. Selling is hard. It isn’t made any easier when the words we commonly associate with the process create conflicting or negative messages. Try some of my suggestions or come up with alternative sales language of your own. The key is to rethink the words you use to describe the selling process; particularly those that have incongruent or negative definitions. A positive attitude, supported by positive language, will generate more positive outcomes in your selling process.

Are You Ready for the Gold Rush?

By Chuck Terry, Executive Vice PResident and CSO, Carew International

In January 1848, James Wilson Marshall discovered gold while constructing a saw mill along the American River northeast of present-day Sacramento. The discovery was reported in the San Francisco newspapers in March, but caused little stir as most did not believe the account.

The spark that ignited the gold rush occurred in May 1848 when Sam Brannan, a storekeeper in Sutter's Creek, brandished a bottle filled with gold dust around San Francisco shouting ”Gold! Gold! Gold from American River!” The residents of the city now had proof of the discovery and the stampede to the gold fields was on.

It is now May 2009 and there are once again rumors of gold in the hills. Everyone wants to stake their claim. But is your company ready to cash in on the opportunity? Among the many signs of optimism and financial recovery -- the stock market (DJIA pictured below) has begun a slow but steady climb after bottoming out at around 6500. Ironically, as the signs of spring are all around us, the first signs of the economy emerging from a cold hard winter are beginning to bloom as well.

Now before you pack up and head out to pan for gold, you might want to make sure you are up to the task. Many companies are in a weakened state of readiness after the layoffs, cut backs, and belt tightening that was required to survive the last year. If your team has suffered staff, training and travel cuts, do they now stand ready for the task ahead?

One of the many services offered by Carew International is a “Sales Force Audit,” which allows companies to assess their readiness to strike gold in the coming months. Through a combination of predictive assessments and analysis of such things as pipeline strength, you can determine how well your firm is positioned to capitalize on future opportunity. Do you have enough people? Do you have the right people? Are your team members’ skills up to the challenge? Do you have enough in the pipeline? Are you mining in the right place? Answering these and other questions are the first steps to striking gold in the near future.

If you analyze any gold rush in history, you will discover a few common denominators. Those who “struck it rich” combined the ability to get there first, pick the right spot, and work the claim hard in order to maximize the opportunity. It took vision, resilience, perseverance, and a little luck back then. It will require no less today. Will you be ready for the 2009 gold rush?

Sales Performance Guarantee… Why Not?

By Jeff Seeley, CEO, Carew International

Return on investment. ROI. The business world likes to look at investments in terms of their ROI. Not coincidentally, training and development firms like to talk about ROI. Attaching ROI to training helps properly position it as an investment. It also makes tangible what can seem nebulous.

Where the training industry falls short, however, is in not guaranteeing the ROI on their programs and services. My question is, “why not”? Why should sales training and development be exempt from ROI evaluation? Certainly, there is enough science behind the sales process to generate annual sales/revenue plans. Why then, would the training and assessment programs utilized to elevate sales not be subject to ROI scrutiny? Because that would require accountability at many levels for sales, training and the content provider.

The results of investment in human resource development over the long term are indisputable. What makes training/assessment a “soft investment,” and arguably creates the single largest barrier to employee development and training initiatives, is the training industry’s resistance to providing guarantees. Particularly in this tough economic climate, supporting training initiatives with a sales performance guarantee would be extremely popular in the business community. But it won’t happen; at least not as a common practice among training providers, because most simply aren’t willing to put a guarantee to the “art” of selling.

In fact, there is most definitely is a science to selling, and a specific process which will ensure the results of training and assessment. Talent assessment, skill development and new talent selection can be applied in a systematic, quantifiable and measured program. Sales improvement becomes a science with very predictable outcomes. Applied in the current market, improved sales effectiveness can garner huge market share gains. And there is at least one sales training firm willing to guarantee the results of its programs. I will never understand why more training providers won’t step up to ensure success for their clients and put their money where their mouth is.

The Things You Do...

By Jeff Seeley,
CEO, Carew International Inc.

“Actions speak louder than words”…. That saying has been around forever; and still, it has to be one of the most astute observations about human behavior. I’m sure whoever coined that phrase had no idea its implication in the business world. But if I could ingrain in every sales professional one key premise by which to conduct their business, this would be it. ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.

Whether in business or in our personal lives, we have all gotten a bit skeptical of what people say. However, people care (and our customers care) a great deal more about what we DO! Are you doing things in your day-to-day business life that could be undermining your relationships with your customers, peers and others? Consider the possibilities…

• How often do you argue with your customers, instead of searching for ways to delight them?


• Do you say, “I’ve got it covered,” and then forget to follow-up?


• When you network… is it to give or to get?


• Do you tell your boss, “it is done,” and then ignore the request?


• Do you embrace change or manage to the status quo?


• Are you using your personal customer contact goals as a tool to grow your business, or just filling out the CRM information to cover your behind?


• How often do you reassure your peers and teammates, versus question their actions and performance?


• Are you really in tune with your customers’ needs, or just trying to sell something to somebody?


• When you offer “solutions”… are they really well thought out solutions or volumes of “stuff” that you throw against the wall and hope something sticks?


• When the going gets tough, do you increase the energy and push for success, or try your best to “stay under the radar”?


• Do you view yourself a risk taker, but inevitably end up following the pack


• Are you consistent in how you talk about customers, colleagues and supervisors (i.e., to their face versus behind their back)?


• Do you operate in a world where there is always more than one version of the truth?

Remember, you’re only as good as your actions. WHAT YOU DO IS WHO YOU ARE. Do something great today.