These 14 words have lost all meaning to me.
It has been said that cursing shows a lack of vocabulary. Maybe so, but I find buzzwords to be even more uncreative and obnoxious. Sales buzzwords are as abundant as bees in summer, and they’re so overused that they’ve lost all their sting.
This buzzword definition from Merriam-Webster cracked me up: “An important-sounding usually technical word or phrase often of little meaning used chiefly to impress laymen.”
Impressive sellers aren’t recognized for their buzzword knowledge, but for the ability to make connections, solve problems, and close deals. Sales buzzwords are meaningless at best, and annoying at worst.
Here are 14 buzzwords I’m tired of hearing:
- Trigger events: Overused and tired, this phrase is not even about a gun, so I find the analogy disconcerting.
- Disrupt, disruptive innovation, disruptive technology: These seem to be the fashionable phrases from 2013, and I say we leave them there. What does disruptive innovation really mean? Innovation is something new, something we haven’t seen before, so tacking an adjective before it is redundant and nonsensical.
- Lift: In many parts of the world, this is an elevator. In sales, it’s nonspecific and ineffective.
- Alignment: Sounds like a really nice idea, but I doubt it will ever happen, so maybe it’s time for a new goal (and a new word).
- Low-hanging fruit: Unless you’re a farmer, this makes no sense. It’s also more than a little insulting to your prospects.
- Value-added: I have no idea what this means. Each customer makes that determination for herself. And shouldn’t all of your products and services add value?
- Pivot: To what? This overused buzzword reappeared during the pandemic.
- Totally: This is not a math exercise, but modern slang.
- Sales hack: Hack used to mean danger and criminal activity. In many ways, it still does. It also makes salespeople lazy. Sales is about making connections that count. There is no “hack” to circumvent that.
- Literally: Considering most people literally misuse this word, I suggest we stop using it.
- Crushing quota: A sales quota is either achieved, or not. You crush grapes.
- Be strategic: As opposed to what? Would you rather be expendable?
- I’d love to meet you: I bet you would, but I have no idea who you are. (This isn’t technically a buzzword, but it’s thrown around as frequently as one and has thus become just as meaningless.)
- Drinking the Kool-Aid: I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I remember the tragedy that happened in Jonestown all too well. The poisonous drink that killed more than 900 people was referred to as Kool-Aid. Our California Rep., Jackie Speier, was shot five times in an ambush by Jonestown cult members in 1978. That was a terrible time in our history and using the phrase “Drinking the Kool-Aid” is gruesome and still raw to many of us. Find another word, please.
I admit that I’ve been using some of these sales buzzwords. I’m going to stop right now. How about you?
Which sales buzzwords are you sick of hearing? What others would you like to contribute? Join the conversation on LinkedIn.
(Image attribution: Liza Summer)
