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5 Words to Avoid in Your Sales Pitch

5 Words to Avoid in Your Sales Pitch

Words matter, a lot. Especially in sales.

September 03, 2024

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Good Morning! Happy first business day of September. Somehow, August is already over, and now we’re on to the final month of Q3. Pretty soon we’ll start hearing: “can you check back after the Holidays”. As they say, time flies when you’re working in sales having fun.

In today’s Follow Up:

5 words to avoid 🤯
Text your prospects 📱
Google’s new email open tracking 🔎
Sales jobs, LinkedIn & a meme 😂

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5 Words (& Phrases) to Drop From Your Sales Pitch

Words matter, a lot. Especially in sales.

The language you use can make or break your pitch faster than you can say "You’re going with someone else?"

Just like copywriting and marketing, the words you choose to use in your pitch can change the way someone feels about the message you’re trying to get across. And us humans are emotional creatures.

So, we sent the intern out to review 1,000 sales calls and 20 cold call scripts to find the top 5 words (or phrases) that you should avoid in your sales pitch.

Let’s take a look. 👇️

1. "Just"

Using the word ‘just’ is an easy way to undermine whatever you put after it.

You're not calling to ‘just’ check-in or ‘just’ for a quick chat. You're calling because you have a solution that could be the answer to their problem.

If a house was on fire and you had a fire extinguisher, you show up and say “I’m just here to put out the fire”. You’d show up and say “I’M HERE TO PUT OUT THE FIRE!”.

That example is a bit extreme, but you get the point…

You’re giving them a solution that deserves their full attention. Drop the "just" and own your value.

2. "Does that make sense?"

This seemingly innocent question is a double-edged sword.

It either makes you sound unsure of yourself or puts your prospect in an awkward position to say “yes”, even if it doesn’t make sense. Because who wants to admit that they don’t understand the thing you just explained?

Instead of: "Our platform increases efficiency by 40%. Does that make sense?"
Try: "Our platform increases efficiency by 40%. What are your thoughts on that?

Pro tip: In most situations, open-ended questions give you the best results.

3. "I'd love to"

The unfortunate reality is…. your prospect doesn't care about what you’d love to do. They care about what you can do for them.

Sales is about providing the prospect with value, not getting what you want.

Instead of: "I'd love to schedule a demo with you next week."
Try: "The next step is to schedule a demo next week. How does Thursday work?"

Be confident, and focus on the value you're bringing to the table.

4. "Kind of" or "Sort of"

These wishy-washy phrases are the verbal equivalent of a limp handshake.

They scream uncertainty and undermine your credibility by showing a lack of confidence in what you’re saying.

Remember: Your product doesn’t "kind of" help your prospect. It either does or doesn’t.

5. "I'll try"

Yoda said it best: "Do or do not. There is no try."

When you say "I'll try," you're giving yourself permission to fail – and your prospect permission to doubt you.

Instead of: "I'll try to speak with my manager and see what I can do."
Try: "I'll get a meeting with my manager later today and update you either way.”

Be specific and committed. Your prospects will respect you for it.

Which word or phrase do you use the most?

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