Words that sell are plain, specific words that let a buyer see their own problem and the result: their own terms, numbers, "you", "because" and a date on the next step. No single word closes a deal. These words work because they make the conversation concrete, and a concrete conversation is easier to say yes to.
Word choice is the smallest of the conversation moves in our guide to sales techniques, and the one people use on every call without thinking about it. This post covers what makes a word sell, a table of the words that work with an example of each on a call, phrases for every stage of a deal, the words to drop and a way to find the words that work for your own product.
What makes a word sell?
A word sells when it helps the buyer picture something real: their problem, what it costs, what changes, what happens next. The words that fail are the ones that could appear in any vendor's deck. Buyers have heard "streamline", "optimize" and "end-to-end solution" so often that the words no longer carry meaning.
Four rules cover most of it:
- Concrete beats abstract. "Cut onboarding from six weeks to three" gives the buyer something to check. "Streamline onboarding" gives them nothing.
- The buyer's words beat yours. If the buyer calls it "the Monday scramble", that is what it is called for the rest of the deal. Your product's terms make them translate.
- Certain, without hype. Say "it does" when it does. Skip "might", "could" and "potentially" for things you know, and skip "revolutionary" for anything.
- Short. One idea per sentence. On a call, a long sentence loses the buyer before the verb.
Words that blur
They sound like every vendor:
- "We streamline your onboarding process"
- "Our platform offers end-to-end visibility"
- "This could potentially help your team"
- "Best-in-class analytics"
Words that sell
The buyer can picture and check them:
- "New hires take their first call in week two"
- "You see every deal's next step on one page"
- "Your managers get back about three hours a week"
- "You'll know by Monday which calls went wrong"
You will find long lists of "power words" for ads and landing pages. Treat them with care on a call. A copywriting list is built for a reader skimming a page, while a sales call is a two-way conversation where the buyer can ask "meaning what?" after every word. On a call, the words that work are the ones that survive that question.
Which words work best on a sales call?
The words below show up again and again in calls that move forward. None of them is clever. Each one does a specific job: it keeps the focus on the buyer, adds a number, gives a reason or turns an intention into a date.
| Word or phrase | Why it works | Example on a call |
|---|---|---|
| "You" and "your team" | Keeps the call about the buyer. "We" in every sentence turns it into a pitch. | "What would your team do with the extra hours?" |
| The buyer's own term | They don't have to translate, and it shows you listened | "You called it the Monday scramble. How long does it last?" |
| A number | Makes the problem and the result real enough to price | "You said 40 double-bookings last month. What does one cost you?" |
| "Because" | A request with a reason sounds fair instead of pushy | "I'd like your CFO on the next call, because the payback math is hers to check." |
| "Specifically" | Invites the detail the buyer left out | "Which part of onboarding, specifically, takes the longest?" |
| "For example" | Moves you from a claim to something the buyer can picture | "For example, here is what the first month looked like for a team of 30." |
| "Compared to what?" | Turns a vague objection into a comparison you can discuss | "When you say it's expensive, compared to what?" |
| "What happens if..." | Lets the buyer state the cost of doing nothing in their own words | "What happens if this stays the same through the second quarter?" |
| "Walk me through" | Opens a story instead of a yes or no | "Walk me through the last time a deal stalled." |
| "So that" | Ties a feature to the result the buyer cares about | "The summary goes out Monday morning so that your managers start the week with it." |
| "Instead of" | Shows the change against today, which the buyer already knows | "Instead of three spreadsheets, your team updates one." |
| "That's fair" | Acknowledges the concern before you answer it, so the buyer keeps listening | "That's fair. What made you think of that?" |
| "Help me understand" | Asks for more without sounding like a challenge | "Help me understand how the decision gets made after this call." |
| "I don't know" | Honesty on one answer makes the next answer believable | "I don't know. I'll check with our security team and send it by Thursday." |
| "Decide" | Names the step openly, so neither side has to guess where the deal is | "What do you need to see to decide by the 30th?" |
| "Start with" | Makes the first step smaller and lowers the risk | "Could you start with one team for 30 days?" |
| A day and a time | Turns "let's talk soon" into a next step | "Can we hold Tuesday at 10?" |
Three patterns run through the table.
Most of these words are questions. Words that sell are as much about what you ask as what you say. "Walk me through", "compared to what" and "what happens if" all hand the call back to the buyer, who then describes the problem in their own words. A buyer who says "we lose about 40 appointments a month" has sold themselves on the problem more than any slide could.
Numbers do the heavy lifting. A number gives the buyer something to check and something to repeat to their boss. Use the buyer's numbers first. Your own claims ("teams save 30%") are easy to doubt, while the buyer's own figure ("you said 40 a month") is hard to argue with.
Small words carry trust. "Because", "that's fair" and "I don't know" are tiny, and they change how everything around them is heard. A seller who can say "I don't know" without flinching sounds more credible when they do know.
If you have read about mirroring, you'll notice the buyer's own term is the same idea: our post on mirroring in sales shows how repeating their exact words gets them to say more.
What are some effective selling phrases?
Effective selling phrases are short lines built from the words above, matched to the stage of the deal. A phrase that works in discovery sounds pushy in the first minute of a cold call, and a closing phrase used too early does the same. Here are two for each stage.
| Stage | Phrase | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Cold call | "I'm calling because you're hiring four account executives. Is ramp time on your list?" | Gives a reason in the first sentence |
| Cold call | "This is a cold call. Do you want to hang up, or can I take 30 seconds?" | Names the situation and gives the buyer the choice |
| Opening a call | "What would make this call useful for you?" | Puts the buyer's agenda first |
| Opening a call | "I'd like to ask about how you run onboarding today, then show two things. Anything to add?" | Agrees on the plan in one sentence |
| Discovery | "What have you tried so far?" | Finds what failed before, and why |
| Discovery | "Who else feels this the most?" | Finds the rest of the buying team |
| Demo | "You said onboarding takes six weeks. Here is the part that changes that." | Ties each screen to something the buyer said |
| Demo | "How does this compare to how you do it today?" | Stops the demo and gets a reaction |
| Objection | "That's fair. What's behind that?" | Asks before you answer |
| Objection | "A team your size had the same worry. Here is what they did." | Answers with a story instead of an argument |
| Closing | "You need it live by March, your CFO signs, and IT is the risk. Did I miss anything?" | Summarizes the deal so the buyer can correct it |
| Closing | "Can we hold Thursday at 2 to walk your CFO through it?" | Ends with a dated next step |
Two notes on these. First, the cold call line that names the situation is the "accusation audit" from negotiation training; watch the session FBI-inspired cold call opening line to hear it used. Second, the objection story only works if it is short and true. Our guide to storytelling in sales shows how to tell one in under a minute, and for full calls with these phrases in context, see our sales conversation examples.
Which words should you avoid in sales?
Some words cost you trust every time you use them. Most are habits: filler you add when you're nervous, softeners you use so you won't sound pushy, or marketing words you've heard so often they feel normal. The fix is to notice them, then swap each one for something specific.
| Avoid | Why it hurts | Say instead |
|---|---|---|
| "Just" ("I'm just following up") | Shrinks your own reason for calling | "I'm calling about the pilot dates we discussed." |
| "Honestly", "to be honest" | Suggests the rest wasn't | Drop it and say the sentence |
| "Might", "could", "potentially" for things you know | Sounds unsure about your own product | "It does" when it does. When it depends, say on what. |
| "Solution", "platform", "end-to-end" | Says nothing the buyer can picture | Name what it does: "It books the follow-up call for you." |
| "Best-in-class", "revolutionary", "cutting-edge" | Every vendor says it, so buyers discount it | A number or a customer example |
| "Trust me" | Asking for trust makes people withhold it | Show the proof, or offer to connect them with a customer |
| "Touching base", "checking in" | Tells the buyer you have no reason to call | State the reason: "You mentioned the board meets on the 12th." |
| "Does that make sense?" | Can sound like you doubt they followed | "How does that compare to what you do today?" |
| "Any questions?" | Easy to answer "no", which ends the conversation | "What would you change about what you just saw?" |
| "We" in every sentence | Turns the call into a presentation about you | Start sentences with "you" or the buyer's team |
For two longer lists from experienced sellers, watch the sessions stop using weasel words and 7 words to avoid in sales. Both suggest recording your calls and listening for these words, which is the fastest way to find your own habits.
Which words help when you talk about price?
Price is where word choice shows most, because a nervous seller fills the space around the number. The words that help here are the plainest ones, said once, followed by silence.
- Say the number, then stop. "It's $24,000 a year for 40 seats." Then wait for the buyer. Adding "but we can probably do something" before they react means negotiating against yourself.
- Tie it to their number. "You estimated the scramble costs about $8,000 a month. This is $2,000 a month." The buyer's own figure does the persuading.
- Give a range early. "Teams your size usually spend between $15,000 and $30,000 a year. Is that what you expected?" A range in discovery means no surprise at the proposal.
- Trade every concession. Use "if" with every concession: "If you sign for two years, the price drops to $21,000 a year." A discount with no reason teaches the buyer to ask again.
- Use "investment" only when there is a return to point to. If the buyer has their own payback number, "investment" fits. With no number behind it, it sounds like a sales word, so say "price" or "cost".
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| "It's only $2,000 a month." | "It's $2,000 a month." |
| "We could maybe look at a discount." | "If you start this quarter, I can hold last year's price." |
| "Pricing is pretty flexible." | "The price depends on seats. For 40, it's $24,000 a year." |
| "Is the price going to be a problem?" | "How does that compare to what you budgeted?" |
"Only" is the word to drop first. It tells the buyer how to feel about the number, and buyers rarely agree. The price objection that follows is covered in our guide to common sales objections, which has what to say when a buyer says it costs too much.
Do the same words sell in an email?
Most of them do, with two changes. In writing, the buyer can't ask "meaning what?", so every vague word costs you more. And a buyer reads an email in a few seconds on a phone, so the first line has to carry the reason you wrote.
- Lead with their words. "You mentioned the Monday scramble" in the first line tells the buyer this email is about them.
- Put the number in the subject or first line. "40 double-bookings a month" stands out in an inbox. "Following up" doesn't.
- One ask, with a date. "Can we hold Tuesday at 10?" gets a yes or a new time. "Let me know your thoughts" gets nothing.
- Skip the techniques that only work live. A mirror ("Stretched thin?") reads as rude in writing, and so does most humor without a voice behind it. Our post on humor in sales covers where a light line fits in an email and where it doesn't.
How do you find the words that sell for your product?
The best words for your product are already in your recorded calls. Your buyers say them when they describe the problem, and your best sellers say them when a call goes well. A word list from a book can't give you those, because it doesn't know your buyers.
Collect
Pull buyer phrases from ten won calls.Compare
Check what your best sellers say that others don't.
Write it down
One page of words to use and words to drop.Practice
Use three of them in role play this week.
Collect. Take ten recent calls that led to a closed deal. Write down every phrase the buyer used to describe the problem: "the Monday scramble", "nobody owns follow-up", "we find out at the end of the quarter". These are the words to put in your emails, your demos and your one-page summary.
Compare. Listen to two or three calls from your best performer and two or three from someone who is still ramping. Look for differences in a few places: how they open, how they answer the price question and how they ask for the next step. The gap is usually a handful of phrases.
Write it down. Put the results on one page: buyer phrases, phrases that worked for your best sellers, and words to drop. Keep it short enough to read before a call. A 40-page script nobody opens doesn't help anyone.
Practice. Pick three phrases and use them in a short role play, with a peer playing the buyer. Then listen for them on your real calls the following week. A word that only exists in the doc never reaches a buyer.
The same review often turns up more than words. You may find that your best seller tells a short customer story before every price discussion, or uses a light line to get past an awkward pause. For calls by type of sale, see our selling examples. And if your team has learned language patterns from NLP training, our post on NLP in sales separates the parts that hold up from the ones to drop.
Frequently asked questions
What is a slang word for "sell"?
Common slang words for sell include move, push, hawk, peddle and flog (more British). Most of them sound pushy or shady, so they are fine among colleagues and best kept off a call with a buyer.
What is the word for when you sell something?
The general word is a sale. The exchange itself is a transaction. In B2B, a signed sale is usually called a closed deal or closed-won, and selling off stock in bulk to raise cash is called liquidating.
What are the different definitions of sales?
Sales can mean the act of selling, the team or department that sells, the revenue a company books in a period ("sales rose 8% this quarter") and, in retail, a period of lower prices. In B2B, it usually means the team and the process it runs to win customers.
Where to start
Record your next three calls and listen for two things: the words the buyer used to describe their problem, and every "just", "might" and "solution" you said. Use the buyer's words on the next call and drop one habit word at a time. For the other techniques that work at each stage of a deal, go back to our guide to sales techniques.