4 Things You Say that Make You Sound Like a Salesperson

You hear it over and over: the best salespeople are the ones who can make a sale without ever making the customer feel like they are being sold. But how do you do it?

The soft sell is easier said than done because it requires you to really know your stuff. Not only know YOUR stuff, but know THEIR stuff as well. The secret to the soft sell might surprise you because it’s something not often associated with sales guys: authenticity.

Sales guys get a bad rap for being full of it, a rap we don’t deserve. The best sales guys I know didn’t get where they are by lying through their teeth. They got there by developing genuine relationships with their prospects and customers, and relating to them on a personal level.

So what’s the key to getting the big deals the pros do? Well, besides using an AI-Powered CRM, like Spiro, it’s this: stop sounding like a sales guy.

Here are four things salespeople say that make me want to sound the time out buzzer:

“Honestly, Jane….”

This one always seems to pop up toward the end of a good conversation which is absolutely THE WORST place it could be. If you’re just coming clean with your opinion or disclosing some hidden information you might as well kiss trust goodbye.

This tactic is often used by sales guys who underestimate how much their prospect really knows. If you use this on a quality prospect, you’ll just end up insulting him or her.

“We Can Help You by X%”

Can you, really? And where are your numbers coming from? The team statistician? Listen, the buyers don’t want to hear false statistics.

A lot of sales guys think shooting off bogus percentage numbers makes their pitch meatier, but they’re most often meaningless. It sends up red flags, and it just sounds like BS.

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“Do You Have 90 Seconds…”

I know it’s hard to pick up the phone and call someone you’ve never spoken to before, but come up with a better ask. Be direct, say who you are, try to establish value and just start talking.

Do you call your friends and say “Do you have 90 seconds to talk about going to a movie?”

“What Are the Primary Business Problems You’re Facing?”

You might as well ask me how much money I have in the bank. Be prepared for an evasive answer because it’s none of your business!

A prospect, especially one you don’t know well, might naturally be hesitant to expose all the company’s pain points to someone who they don’t trust yet. A better option is to discuss some problems that you’ve solved for other similar companies as a starting point.

There’s something you have to do before all this can click. It’s simple:

Stop Swimming in the Sales Fishbowl

If you want to stop talking like a salesperson, you need to quit immersing yourself in the world of sales. It’s so easy to swim around in the same little fishbowl with other salespeople, reflecting back on each other and affirming each other. The only thing that will get you is learning how to impress other salespeople.

Instead, focus on being a genuine person and speak the customer’s language. Focus on understanding your prospects and really getting to know them, then stay on top of your relationships.

Don’t ask your prospects questions just so you can get closer to the sale. Ask your prospects questions because you are genuinely interested. Stay in touch by sending an email about something that interests them personally or might be relevant to their company or industry, even news of something nearby.

When you show genuine interest in someone else, you will begin to sound like a genuine person and not like a salesperson.

Use Simple Psychological Techniques

Sales is all about psychology. We’re not emotional bullies beating people over the head with the hard sale, we’re working as their friends. Trust me, you get a lot more with honey in the long term than you do with vinegar.

In the ideal sales relationship, the prospect or customer looks at you as a trusted source of information. A person with the solutions that are a perfect fit for them, the one who knows their needs as much, or better, than they do. People are more inclined to scratch your back if you scratch theirs.

This is the new era of sales. When our prospects see us as resources and not as bobble-headed sales guys, we all win.

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This post was originally published on the HubSpot Sales Blog.