Soft sales language is for the customers ...not for us.
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We often swap out sales terms. We sub out words like
“Sale” for “Partnership”
“Closed” for “Finalized”
“Opportunity” for “Conversation”
That makes sense from a client-facing perspective. No one wants to feel sold to.
But here’s the catch: When we do this, we risk losing sight of the fact that we are in a sales process. We start thinking of calls as “partnership discussions” instead of “sales calls.”
Why is this a problem? Because at some point, the conversation does need to become a sale. If we’ve avoided that moment for too long, transitioning back into a sales mindset—both in our heads and with the prospect—can feel abrupt.
How do we make the close seamless?
You need to prime for the ask at each interaction. What does that look like? Take a moment in every call to mention the fact that they will be spending time and money to use your services.
Ex scripts you can use throughout the process:
I know you have limited resources and I want to make sure that this partnership will be the best allocation of those resources
This type of investment usually effects multiple departments. Are there any other stakeholders who would interact with this service/product?
Once we identify the scope that fits your budget, what are the final steps to finalize the contract?
Summary: Integrate small, but explicit mention of the upcoming transaction throughout your process. Once you get to the final closing step, everything is out in the open, no one is caught off guard and you’ll be surprised how little hesitation you’ll feel in closing the deal!
Side note: Be mindful about how you phrase statements re: cost before you’ve discussed pricing. The last thing you want is to bait the “how much does this cost?” question before you’re ready!