The 7 Phrases Buyers Completely Loathe

Ever had one of those days (weeks, months) where every sales call feels like wading through treacle?

And when you do get to speak to someone worth talking to - it appears every one of them has some kind of serious anger management issue - and leaves you wondering if it might be a more fulfilling life going out and filling potholes in the road for a living instead.

Thing is - if you think about the sales game from the other side of the table...

Buyers have pretty much heard all possible versions of sales B*** S*** from potential suppliers many, many time before.

And it would take an incredibly simplistic view of the world to expect anyone to show much patience, understanding or human kindness when the twentieth salesperson in a week starts spouting out the same cringe-worthy phrases - interrupting your already busy day - wasting your valuable time - and (in all reality) selfishly getting under your feet just to hit a target that doesn't benefit you.

The truth is, what you say - and how you say it - can make or break a sales call.

So, here are seven phrases your customers really hate to hear – with the reasons why you should banish them from your vocabulary for good - and a few pointers as to what to say instead.

1. "Can I speak to the decision maker?"

"I'm sorry. Who do you actually want to speak to?"

"I've just told you - I'd like to speak with the decision maker!"

"Do you have anyone's name?"

"Um - well - um - oh. Can I please speak to - Mr. Decision Maker?"

This one makes it so easy for your prospect to get rid of you without any feeling regret whatsoever.

Tell me something....

If your phone rang and the person on the other end said:

"You don't know me, I'd like your money - who are you?"

YOU'D HANG UP!

"Can I speak to the decision maker?" suggests you are calling blind, haven’t done your homework and don’t respect anything about the business you're trying to engage with.

In a world where the knowledge of the entire universe is but a click away, there’s no excuse for not knowing the name and role of the person you're trying to get through to.

A couple of quick questions:

When you picked up the phone or knocked on the door for this call - were you just hoping they'd be so desperate to get hold of what you were selling that they'd ignore every missing element of professionalism and courtesy?

Do you think this approach would lead to the sales director of this company offering you a place on their sales team?

Instead do this:

Dive into your list - find the people who will benefit most from working with you - engage with the people from that sub-division who will help you hit your target the quickest - split your outreach between EAR - FEAR & CLEAR groups.

Further reading: 3 Steps to Success in “Unwinnable” Key Accounts

2. "Let me know if you need anything."

You know what? I probably won't.

This statement is way too passive and puts the all responsibility onto the buyer to follow up, which...

IS - almost certainly - NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN!

I mean - they probably didn't want to see you in the first place.

A couple of quick questions:

Are you giving the buyer a reason to engage, or are you placing the burden on them to do your job?

While you're skipping from opportunity to opportunity seeding the world with cheerful conversation and friendship - who is pulling in the profit that pays your rent each month?

Instead do this:

I talk about Tolerable Intended Outcomes vs. Best Intended Outcomes at my sales training days - tolerable equates to the least that you are happy to walk away from each call.

Here's the definition of tolerable intended outcome:

At the end of the call, you know what happens next - and what happens next is down to you!

Further reading: What's Your Definition of a Brilliant Sales Call?

3. "We don’t usually do this, but..."

This just sounds like you're breaking your own rules.

And if you're willing to cheat to make me happy - I'm going to surmise that you'll probably cheat me some time in the future if it gets you what you want to get when I'm not your main priority.

No one trusts dodgy dealers in the long term - you just take advantage of them while you can - and then keep them at arms length until you can get them to break the rules for you again.

A couple of quick questions:

Are you maintaining professionalism or undermining your credibility?

How much respect do you think this kind of activity garners from your customers?

Further reading: Would Your Favourite Customer Give You a Sales Job?

4. "We're a one stop shop."

No your not - I bet there are loads of things your customers buy that you don't supply.

Do you supply wine, clean the windows, deliver fluorescent tubes and empty the sanitary bins in the toilets?

No?

Well, those are some of the things a restaurant group needs it's purchasing team to be on top off - so, don't tell me you're not a one stop shop if you just sell the wine!

Sure you might also do beer, spirits and soft drinks too - but can you advise me on a new oven?

Thought not.

This single line nonsense - drilled into young salespeople by marketing bods who think it sounds clever - is a fast way to lose credibility when your products and service inevitably don't solve every problem a modern business faces.

And trust me - you don't want to hear a professional buyer explain all of the above to you in a gruff voice - when all you were doing was trying to be nice - and thought reciting the first page from your induction training manual was actually doing him a favour.

A couple of quick questions:

What sets you apart from the people who deliver the exact same solution as you?

Ask yourself - does my customer actually benefit from getting absolutely everything from me? And is what I'm trying to do here good for their business - or just mine?

Further reading: "That Man Could Sell Anything to Anybody"

5. "I’ll be honest with you..."

Why? Were you not being honest with me before?

You know, that sentence almost always gets followed up with one of two things....

Either you're going to talk down your own business - or you're going to slap down your competition.

"I'll be honest with you - I don't think this is as good as the presentation says it is - but it's better than most!"

"I'll be honest with you - I've heard my competitors are having some problems and they might not be around next year!"

Instead do this:

Avoid the phrase entirely, be straightforward from the beginning - and lead with the single thought that you're doing the things you do - 'cos they're the right things to do.

A couple of quick questions:

When you put this at the beginning of a sentence - where are you hoping it will put the prospect emotionally? What actions could you take to get them there more authentically?

6. "Let me explain why you're wrong."

Excuse me - what?

Actually, my friend, what you've got there - is a customer who has a MISUNDERSTANDING...

And the thing about misunderstandings is that they can never be the customers fault.

As an example, if your delivery time takes less than a week – but your customer says the reason she can’t buy off you is because;

“Your lead time’s too long. I need it in a week.”

You probably won’t win the day if you get all indignant and say something like;

“No – I’ve told you already – you can’t have heard me properly – we always deliver in less than a week.”

Because here’s the thing about misunderstandings….

Nobody likes to be told they’ve got an ugly baby.

Even people with ugly babies, don’t like to be told they’ve got an ugly baby.

Instead do this:

You have to...

Take the Blame and You Re-explain

With regard to - Your lead time is too long I need it in less than a week - you say something like;

“I’m terribly sorry. I should have explained that earlier. My fault! We pride ourselves on getting all our deliveries out within 48 hours.”

It's not a sign of weakness to accept the responsibility for the conversation - especially if you pull your prospect out of hole that they dug for themselves - it's empathy.

A couple of quick questions:

Are you trying to be right - or be effective?

How much respect do you think you being "right" (and proving them wrong) garners from your customers?

Further reading: Overcoming Objections – #3 Misunderstandings

7. "Sorry it's just company policy."

OK then - how about I don't work with your company!

Nobody likes to be told that there’s no flexibility - especially when it comes to the uniqueness of their business.

This phrase screams bureaucracy and a lack of personalisation, leading to customers feeling undervalued.

Actually what you're really dealing with here is something called a DRAWBACK.

Essentially a Drawback is a thing you can’t deliver – something you can’t do.

You can’t do it, the product doesn’t do it, your company doesn’t (or won’t) do it.

The thing is, every sales person has drawbacks in their portfolio and your competition really doesn’t have the perfect solution to every customer problem either.

The answer is to outweigh the importance of the drawback with the heavier tonnage of all the benefits that your product or service can deliver.

Treat it like a set of scales - the weight of everything you can deliver on one side - versus the weight of the things you can't do on the other.

If all the good things your product does fails to bring the scales crashing down towards a close – then this probably isn’t your prospect, or worse, you haven’t grasped how you really help your current clients.

But if it does - then it's your duty to help them see that - and paint the picture of their future - with all the honesty of what's possible and what's not.

Love to hear what phrases you've found customers hate to hear in the comments below.

To your success,

Chris

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