What does salesy mean? (with salesy words and phrases)

The other day I was speaking to one of my friends who’s a startup owner. She was infuriated speaking to people who sounded too salesy. 

As a startup owner, she was looking for a solution to streamline her business operations. Sadly not even one sales rep showed interest in understanding the problems she was facing. All she could hear was self-centric sales pitches. 

Potential buyers often repel when they are pressurized or manipulated by sales reps. They don’t like self-absorbed blabber. Prospects tend to avoid salespeople who talk at length about their company and product. 

So sales reps need to stop being salesy and start thinking about the clients. 

Well, but what does salesy mean exactly?

Salesy meaning 

Salesy is a term used in the business world for the salesperson who sells aggressively and superficially.

The high-pressure “salesy” approach often makes the prospect uncomfortable and unresponsive. 

Businesses hate to deal with such salespeople who are pushy and who do not listen to the prospects. Hence they fail to convert prospects into paying customers. 

“Great salespeople are relationship builders who provide value and help their customers win- Jeffrey Gitomer   

Words and phrases that make you sound salesy 

In sales, you need to be careful with what you say, or you might end up giving an unpleasant experience to a potential prospect. 

17% of salespeople think they’re salesy or pushy, while 50% of prospects think they are. 

Below is a list of words and phrases that make your sound salesy. 

“Cheap”

Most sales reps feel using the word cheap can help capture the interest of the prospect. Unfortunately, it does the exact opposite. 

People lose interest as they relate “cheap” with “low-quality”. So, they do not purchase the product.

Therefore, avoid using the word cheap while selling. 

“Buy” 

People hate to be sold to. Think about this, don’t you say no to salespeople who ask you to buy something. 

The word “buy” won’t help you persuade the prospect to make a purchase, so consider avoiding it. Instead, use words like “own” or “invest”.

People feel happy to own things when they get a lot of benefits. Potential buyers don’t even mind investing in a solution if they get the best returns

“Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”

Modern buyers are well-informed and smart. They start doubting sales reps when they use phrases like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

Prospects might have probably heard this sentence from many sellers before, so they wouldn’t trust you easily.

Besides, they might even become suspicious about everything else you’ve said. So, don’t take the risk of using this phrase. 

“Guarantee” 

Nowadays, there is nothing guaranteed. Even the prospects know that. So such words won’t help in closing a deal.

Prospect know when the seller is overpromising; they don’t fall into the trap. In fact, you lose credibility. So avoid it. 

“Feature”

Prospects aren’t interested in your product’s features.

They do not want to hear all good things about your product, so stop bragging about the amazing features. 

Instead, speak about the benefits the prospect will receive from using your product. Prospects are interested in knowing how the product will help them.

“Excellent”, “top-notch”, “cutting-edge” etc

Sales reps use adjectives like excellent and top-notch to describe their product. 

Well, the prospect feels that if the product is so good, then the seller doesn’t need to wrap and present it with such words.

So, you choose your words carefully to maximize the impact of your message. 

“I wanted to/ I’d love to/ I’s like to 

Any statement that begins with what you want is a big no-no. It makes you appear self-centric. Sales is about the customers; it is important to focus on what the potential buyers want. 

Adopt a consultative sales approach and guide the prospect to address the ongoing business problem. Find ways to provide value and build a healthy relationship. 

Shift your focus to your clients 

If you continue being salesy, you’ll keep losing lucrative opportunities. Put yourself in your prospect’s shoes and think about them. Focus on helping, not selling. 

“Approach each customer with the idea of helping him or her solve a problem or achieve a goal, not selling a product or service.” – Brian Tracy 

Here is how you can apply the non-salesy principle and close more deals. 

Find out your prospects needs  and challenges 

To create win-win situations in sales, you need to establish and maintain a healthy relationship with the prospect. Make the potential buyer comfortable and build a level of trust. Once you break the ice, try to discover the needs and challenges of your potential prospects. 

Ask probing questions to uncover the prospect’s business pain points. 

Here are a few questions that you can ask 

• What’s holding you back from achieving your business goals?
• Could you please give me a background on this?
• Can you elaborate on the current situation/problem?
• How much longer can you have the problem go unresolved?
• Is this problem causing more problems?
• Are you looking for any solution to resolve this problem?
• Have you set any time frame to resolve this problem?

Educate instead of pressuring 

Demonstrate your understanding of the prospect’s current situation. Guide them on how they can resolve the problem. 

Present your product as a solution is a very smart way. Make the prospect visualize the benefits of using your solution. 

Earn trust by giving real-life examples 

Success often comes easier to the seller, who focuses or earning the potential buyer’s trust. To gain trust, give proof that whatever you are saying is true. Give real-life examples. Share the case studies of successful customers with them. 

Be explicit about how you helped your customer solve a similar problem that the potential buyer is currently facing.

Conclusion

When you stop being too salesy, you’ll see a huge difference in your results. When a prospect has a good buying experience, they share it with others. So this positive word of mouth will acquaint you with new potential buyers. Besides, they satisfied clients happily give referrals. So focus on helping your potential prospects. Understand their needs and requirements. Ask relevant questions, and try to build a lasting relationship with your potential prospects. 

You can take the help of a smart tool like Salesmate CRM to nurture and convert potential prospects into paying customers. With Salesmate, you can increase your productive hours using its sales automation, track your sales performance with the insightful reports, manage your deals with a clear pipeline view, and do many more things. It is an all-in-one sales solution that is simple to use.