Here's the deal, words and word choice matters in B2B sales and a huge part of having a strong executive presence and building trust with your buyers is your language and communication style.
I've put together a short list of phrases that lower your status and weaken your posture with buyers (especially true with sr. execs). I'm also sharing some ideas for what you to say instead.
*Note there may be some situations where you'll still have to use some of these phrases. My aim here is not for you to fully erase these, but to help you think about your word choices so you can be more thoughtful about what you are communicating to your buyers.
1. I'm Sorry - Unless it's a real apology for your actions, stop saying sorry. "Sorry to interrupt," "Sorry for the repeat follow-ups," "Sorry for the delay," you don't need to apologize for doing your job or existing or taking "too long" to respond. Using this in written or verbal communications will immediately lower your status and weaken your posture.
What to say instead: Just omit it and see what happens. Again unless you are truly needing to apologize for something, it's not usually necessary to say sorry in a business communication.
2. Thank You - Overusing "thank you" may cause you to be perceived as lower status. "Thank you for your time," "Thanks for sending that over," etc. you don't need to grovel in tech sales and if you are saying thank you all the time it might be sending a message that you feel like you don't deserve to be on equal footing with your buyer.
What to say instead: Stop and think about what you are trying to communicate with a thank you. Is there another way to say what you are trying to say? Instead of "Thank you for your time," try saying: "It was great meeting with you today," or "I enjoyed our conversation." Instead of "Thanks for sending that over," try: "I'm confirming that I received the XYZ you sent over."
3. Just Checking In - This is an annoying phrase and is way overused by reps. "Checking in," will no doubt lower your status with a buyer and may even result in them going out of their way to avoid or delay a response (seriously).
What to say instead: Be more direct. If you're checking in on getting a meeting scheduled, just say that. "Hi John, Let's get a half hour this week to regroup. How does Tuesday afternoon look for you?" If you're checking in on an order form, try: "Hi John, When can we expect the order form to get signed? I want to be sure our implementation resources are aligned on timeline."
4. Does That Make Sense? - This is a hard one to stop using since everyone does it. It's condescending and can make your buyer feel stupid (posturing/status is about having an even playing field with buyers). If you have a meeting recording tool, go back and watch how people respond to "Does that make sense, ya dummy?," poor form and shows a lack of Executive Presence.
What to say instead: So many better phrases to say: "Does this resonate?" "Any questions on what we've covered so far?" "Is that clear"?
5. Let Me Know If You Have Any Questions - This is one that was drilled into me early on in my career. I spent years thinking that this had to be posed at the end of every email or meeting. I put this one in the same category of condescending or talking down to your buyer. Don't you think your buyers already know that they can ask you questions? Don't patronize people...
What to say instead: You really don't have to say it at all. Again your buyers know they are allowed to ask you questions if they have them. If you have a hard time cutting this one out, you could say something like: "Let me know if there's anything else you need for your evaluation." At least with that it's more actionable and can lead to next steps. An example would be "Actually, Jesse speaking to a current customer is something we'd need as part of our evaluation." See what I mean about actionable? Rather than asking an open-ended question you now have an action item: Set up a customer reference call.
Well there you have it folks, 5 phrases to reconsider in your communication to avoid lowering your status.
What others would you add?
-JW