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10 sales team clichés you need to stop doing, today

Posted by Claire Rowe
Speed Reading Mode

Hello, there!

I’m Claire from Articulate Marketing. I was wondering whether you could spare ten minutes of your t-

Enough of that. You already know the drill.

After all, we’ve all been on the receiving end of many sales emails and calls. Some communications are astoundingly captivating, and some - well - not so much. It’s all down to the approach a sales team takes.

There’s a fine art to crafting the right words and dialogue. The sort of words that’ll hook your prospects, incite action, and set you miles ahead of your competition. But, in order to get your sales communications right, you’ll need to first avoid the absolute no-gos.

With that in mind, here are seven sales team clichés you should stop doing, today.

1. Un-personalised emails

Personalised outreach emails have a 32.7 percent response rate. That’s a very promising statistic.

Yet, many sales teams still stick to dry, generic templates and limited personalisation. These predictable emails can turn your leads off, particularly when they get hoards and hoards of them each month. To avoid this situation, set yourself apart and show your prospects you genuinely want to talk to them. Go off-script, be inventive!

Use a tool like HubSpot to automatically add personalisation, such as the recipient’s first name in the opening line.

2. Weather talk

As a company brimming with Brits, this may be a self-inflicted cliché. We’re well-acquainted with discussing grey clouds and (rare) sunshine spells.

While weather talk is of course okay, it can wear thin after a while. So try to discuss something else, perhaps more personal to your prospect. Ask where they’re based, and what their town/city is like. Try to build commonalities that’ll nurture your relationship.

HTG - HubSpot Impact Award case study

3. Cringey jokes

Listen, we can’t all be as quick-witted and charming as the writer typing away at this blog post. (Cue tumbleweed.)

Jokes will always have their place, but just make sure they’re inoffensive and, well, funny. Consider testing out your joke with a hard-to-crack colleague first.

4. Panic-inducing openings

It’s fair to say, email is already stressful enough as it is. So, we’re begging you, don’t add to your prospect’s anxieties.

Refrain from scare tactics. Titling your email as ‘Meeting with Sam’, or starting the body copy with ‘just pinging this to the top of your inbox’, will only cause needless stress. Hook your prospect in other positive ways. For instance, consider opening with a compliment, such as: ‘I loved your post on the top 10 automation use cases in finance’.

5. Vague promises

We’re willing to bet your product or service saves time and money. But, then, so does every other product or service. And your leads will know this.

Try to be more specific. How much money can you save your prospect? How many hours a week can your prospect’s business gain back? Can you make your prospect a specific guarantee that could drive them to book a meeting? A concrete figure or promise will always hold more weight than empty words.

6. Not doing the leg work

Do you often end a sales email with the words, ‘Get in touch if you’d like to find out more’?

While it’s a perfectly innocent suggestion, it places an obligation upon your sales contact. Ideally, you should make the process as simple as possible. Offer an integrated calendar where prospects can book a time that’s convenient for them.

7. Trying to build trust too soon

Remember, B2B typically has a longer sales cycle than B2C. Bigger transaction values and big changes (like a cloud migration) will take thorough vetting and a lot of building of trust.

Therefore, it’s important to warm up your leads, not only through content marketing, but with small talk, business questions and a decent joke or two. Enjoy the relationship-building period!

Sweeten your sales team communications

Much like an over-brewed cup of tea, some sales emails and calls can leave a bitter taste. Whether it’s pushy sales hype or vague promises, there are a plethora of clichés that can turn your prospects off.

So, flip the narrative. Get creative. Consider your prospects needs, demographic, and time. How would they like to be spoken to?

I’ll leave you to brainstorm your fabulous cliché-busting ideas. But, if you’d like some more sales tips and tricks in the meantime, check out our inbound sales playbook.

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