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5 Phrases That Kill Trust In Sales

Alex Edson

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Throughout my career, I've made thousands of sales calls and have had the unique opportunity to train nearly 2 dozen sales professionals (most of which are now millionaires today).

I've seen every mistake you can make ...


And in my experience, these are the top 5 phrases that kill trust in sales.

Avoid these like the plague!

#1): “Honestly, …” or “In all honesty, …”
This phrase implies that you’ve been dishonest and subsequently destroys trust and rapport that you’ve established with your prospect.

It also begs the prospect to ask the question;

“Wait, everything you previously said wasn’t in all honesty?”

#2): “As far as I know, …”

Imagine boarding an airplane and having your captain announce over the plane’s speakers:

“The plane is fueled and the cabin is pressurized … as far as I know.”

(I don’t know about you, but I’m getting the heck off that plane!)

The phrase “as far as I know”, breeds uncertainty in the mind of your prospect.

And when your prospect feels that you are uncertain about your product or service, you dramatically reduce the odds of closing your sale.

For instance, you would (hopefully) never say to a prospect:

“The product has a 30-day refund policy, as far as I know.”

Instead, you would simply say: “The product has a 30-day refund policy.”

To sell more, show certainty.

#3): “I’m pretty sure …”
At the end of the day, people buy from you because they trust you.

And trust is only developed through certainty.

As mentioned above, your prospect must feel 100% certain that you know what you’re talking about.

When you are certain about what you are selling — when you know that what you represent is the best and that your product or service can help the other person — you’ll feel energy and confidence in every fiber of your body.


“I remind myself that clients and customers buy the salesperson
as much as they buy the product.”
— Robert Herjavec

Ask yourself, which of the below phrases will help you sell more?
A: “I’m pretty sure our widget is the best for you.”
B: “I know that our widget is the best for you.”

Obviously, the clear winner is option B!

#4): “To the best of my recollection …”
Again, this phrase creates immediate distrust because it indicates you’re uncertain.

When you’re uncertain about what you’re selling,
your prospect will be uncertain about buying!

#5): “To tell you the truth, …”
Just like the phrase “In all honesty, …”, you’re implying that everything you’ve said prior to this point hasn’t been completely truthful.

These are the 5 phrases that kill trust in sales! Use them at your own peril!

[This post originally appeared on our company's blog].
 
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p0stscript

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I use 1 & 5 daily and they usually work for me.
Some people may not notice what is actually being said, we've got so use to the phrases. @Alex Edson made me smile since I've often thought
"Wait, everything you previously said wasn’t in all honesty?”
and have made it personal when I've found myself saying "in all honesty" and " to tell you the truth" smilingly adding the question "err does that mean I've been lying up to now?"
 

Lord Business

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The worst turnoff for me: I so effing hate when shtty salespeople start repeating my effing first name like a parrot before and after and in the middle of every sentence. Instant lost sale on my part. You don't interact with people that way in any kind of situation, do you. Natural is best.
 

p0stscript

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The worst turnoff for me: I so effing hate when shtty salespeople start repeating my effing first name like a parrot before and after and in the middle of every sentence. Instant lost sale on my part. You don't interact with people that way in any kind of situation, do you. Natural is best.
I'm so 'old skool' that if a salesperson uses my first name in the first place it's a turn off. I still prefer to be asked if they may.
 

Xeon

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The worst turnoff for me: I so effing hate when shtty salespeople start repeating my effing first name like a parrot before and after and in the middle of every sentence. Instant lost sale on my part.

Good day, John! You seem to be a regular gym goer, your V-taper looks impressive!

John, I can help you increase your gains twice as fast. Make all those guys in the gym look like prepubescent boys with 3 times less effort. You'll be the only man walking around the gym while those tanned, voluptuous latinas in pink yoga pants steal glances at you.

In case you're wondering, John, I'm Ed from XYZ Active; we were featured on Channel 9 last week with Smallville basketball star Kayne East.

You see John, this is the latest protein supplement for active, young working professionals like you. John (leans in and puts hand on your shoulder), not only does each tablet comes with 53g of high-C protein, they are also choke full of 83 amino acids! Isn't this wonderful , John!

Here's the thing John, I had a heated argument with my boss just now over whether to give you a discount.
John, I see lots of potential in you. Good thing is, I managed to convince him at the risk of jeopardizing my own career.

John, if you invest in this supplement today, I can give you a 25% discount. But wait, there's more. Each bottle comes with a free US$50 voucher for Above Armour sports apparel!
Let's do this, John! Later, I'll also try asking our vendor if they can throw in a free 50g bottle of Creatine for you.
 
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Lord Business

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Good day, John! You seem to be a regular gym goer, your V-taper looks impressive!

John, I can help you increase your gains twice as fast. Make all those guys in the gym look like prepubescent boys with 3 times less effort. You'll be the only man walking around the gym while those tanned, voluptuous latinas in pink yoga pants steal glances at you.

In case you're wondering, John, I'm Ed from XYZ Active; we were featured on Channel 9 last week with Smallville basketball star Kayne East.

You see John, this is the latest protein supplement for active, young working professionals like you. John (leans in and puts hand on your shoulder), not only does each tablet comes with 53g of high-C protein, they are also choke full of 83 amino acids! Isn't this wonderful , John!

Here's the thing John, I had a heated argument with my boss just now over whether to give you a discount.
John, I see lots of potential in you. Good thing is, I managed to convince him at the risk of jeopardizing my own career.

John, if you invest in this supplement today, I can give you a 25% discount. But wait, there's more. Each bottle comes with a free US$50 voucher for Above Armour sports apparel!
Let's do this, John! Later, I'll also try asking our vendor if they can throw in a free 50g bottle of Creatine for you.

LOL, John, where's that one from? Hopefully not your own pitch, John :D
 

Knugs

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Didn't realise this website was in fact a blog.
@Andy Black
I thought self-promotion/ self-advertising on this forum (especially by new members) is frowned on.

Top 1 Reason ## that killed your Sales-approach with me ##

When you joined TMF to promote your own blog and indirectly/directly advertise your own product which is blatantly directed at the people in this forum.

You see this forum as an advertising platform and the people as your clients. Every single one of your post-thread was created to market your own product.

 

Danweebly

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@Andy Black
I thought self-promotion/ self-advertising on this forum (especially by new members) is frowned on.

Top 1 Reason ## that killed your Sales-approach with me ##

When you joined TMF to promote your own blog and indirectly/directly advertise your own product which is blatantly directed at the people in this forum.

You see this forum as an advertising platform and the people as your clients. Every single one of your post-thread was created to market your own product.

I don't think that's his intention. I get lots of value from all his thread. His blog was very instrumental in the growth of my business as all the lessons there were applicable to real life situations especially this article 9 Life-Changing Business And Life Lessons – MailTag
 
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Knugs

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I don't think that's his intention. I get lots of value from all his thread. His blog was very instrumental in the growth of my business as all the lessons there were applicable to real life situations especially this article 9 Life-Changing Business And Life Lessons – Mailg

You can wrap up self-promotion and call it value.

Why didn't he join before launching his new product?

All 6 Threads and half his posts promote his blog and or product.
 

minivanman

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Some people may not notice what is actually being said, we've got so use to the phrases. @Alex Edson made me smile since I've often thought

and have made it personal when I've found myself saying "in all honesty" and " to tell you the truth" smilingly adding the question "err does that mean I've been lying up to now?"

Me: We have this $599 Kenmore washer & dryer with no agitator and this $699 Whirlpool set with no agitator and it has a see through top on the washer.

Customer: So what's the difference?

Me: To be honest with you, nothing except the glass top. If you are just looking for a washer with no agitator I also have this Maytag set for $450.... they all do the same job when washing your clothes. I know a good salesman would try to talk you in to the higher priced set but I'm not that type of guy, I'm just trying to be honest with you.

9 times out of 10 the customer says: Let's go the $699 Whirlpool set.


I used to do basically the same thing with cleaning. We had a Silver Plan, Gold Plan and I forget what the other plan was called. They would atleast go with the Gold Plan and most times with the other plan I can't think of the name of but it was the highest priced plan.

I really am being honest..... water washes the damn clothes.... the $450 set is going to do just as good of a job as the $699 set but since I'm not pushing that $699 set it is more attractive to them..... apparently.... because that's how I train my sales people to do it and it works all day every day. lol
 
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Angelic

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Don't see why saying the clients first name is a bad thing. I do it all the time, it makes the experience personable and keeps the clients attention to where you want it. Never had a negative experience doing that.
 
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p0stscript

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Don't see why saying the clients first name is a bad thing. I do it all the time, it makes the experience personable and keeps the clients attention to where you want it. Never had a negative experience doing that.
I believe the original post was bemoaning those who use your name over and over again too often, thereby coming across as false. Making the experience personable is very important, hence my dislike of someone using my first name without permission, I expect the courtesy of being asked and will offer the same courtesy when roles are reversed (note this could simply be an age or English thing)
 

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