270 Words & Terms To Avoid When You Sell

To sell effectively, you need to communicate well and be remembered. Unfortunately, many sales and marketing professionals use terminology that make them sound like every content-free corporate weasel who trotted out a business cliche.

Here is a comprehensive list of 270 biz-blab words and terms that you should avoid in your sales pitches, sales presentations, and daily conversation. You might want to bookmark this post, because it's a useful list when you're reviewing documents that customers might end up seeing.

(Related post: Craft an Elevator Pitch in 6 Easy Lessons)

absolutely (when used instead of "yes")
accountability
action items
actionable
actualize
address the issue
all-hands meeting
alpha office
alternative
analysis paralysis
analytics
aperture moments (as a synonym for media outlets)
architect
aspiration statement
at the end of the day, or at day's end

back-end
backward-compatible
ballpark
bandwidth
been-there-done-that
benchmark(ing)
best of breed
best practice
between a rock and a hard place
big picture
bio-break
blamestorming
bleeding edge
blue-sky thinking
boil the ocean
boilerplate
bottom line
brainstorm(ing)
brick-and-mortar
bucketize
business case
business silo
buy-in
buzzword compliant

cash neutral
center of excellence
challenge (when used as a euphemism for "problem")
champion (used as a verb)
change agent (or catalyst)
chart it out
circle back
client focus(ed)
client-centric
closure
cluster team(s)
commoditize
communicate
communications channels (as a synonym for media outlets)
componentize
conceptualize
contribution, contributor
co-opetition
core competence
credibility
critical path
cross-platform
customer-centric
customer-focused
cutting-edge

deliverables
disintermediate
diversity
dog and pony show
downsize
downward trend
drill down
drinking the kool-aid
drop back and punt
dysfunctional

eat your own dog food
ecosystem
emotional leakage
empower(ment)
enable(r)
end-to-end
enterprise-wide
envisioneer
e-tize
event horizon
excellence
experiencing slippage
exponential(-ly)

facilitate
fact of the matter
fast track
flattening
flexible
flowchart (used as a verb)
framework
front-end
fulfillment issues
functionalities
future-proof

game plan
gap analysis
glass is half full
globalize
go the extra mile
goal-oriented
goal-setting
going forward
going forward (in the future)
granular
grow revenues
grow the business

half-pregnant
heads up
health break
heavy lifting
herding cats
high-level
holistic

ideation
impact (used as a verb)
implement
in the loop
incentivize
industry-leading
information superhighway
infomediaries
information logistics
infrastructure
in-market for (instead of "in the market for")
innovate
integrated
intellectual capital
involuntary retirement
issue

key (adjective)
knowledge base
knowledge management

leadership
leading-edge
lean & mean
leverage
literally (when incorrectly used in place of figuratively)
living document
logistically
long tail
long-term
low-hanging fruit
low-risk high-yield

management visibility
market segment
matrix (used as a verb)
mentor(ing)
methodology
metrics
mindset
mindshare
mission critical
mission statement
monetize
moving parts
multitask(ing)

nailing Jell-O to a tree
negative growth
network(ing)
new economy
next generation
next level
nimble
not rocket science

offline
offshoring
on the same page
open kimono
operationalize
opportunity (when used as a euphemism for "problem")
optimization
out of the loop
out-of-the-box
outside the box
outstanding
ownership
oxymoron(ic)

paradigm
partner (used as a verb)
peel the onion
performance-based
play hardball
position (used as a verb)
power shift
principle-centered
prioritize
priority (used as an adjective)
proactive
process review
productize
proprietary
push the envelope

quality vector

ramp up
reach out
reality check
recontextualize
reengineer(ing)
regroup
repurpose
resource constrained
result(s)-driven
revisit
rich media
rightshoring
rightsize
risk effect
risk management
robust
rounding error
rubber stamp

scalable
scenario
schedule compressed
sea change
seamless
secret sauce
siloed
singing from the same hymnal
skill set
slip/slipped through the cracks
smartsize
solutionary
solutioning
soup to nuts
stand-alone
state-of-the-art
strategic fit
strategic gap
streamline
stretch the envelope
suggestion box
sustainability
synergy

tactical
tail risk
take that off-line
talking points
task force
team (dynamics, player, building)
tee up
that said,...
think outside the box
third generation
tiger team
timely (especially "on a timely basis")
tip of the iceberg
top of the house
touch base
train wreck
transition (when used as a verb)
turn-key
turnkey solution

ubiquitous
user-centric
utilize

validate
value chain
value proposition
value-add
vertical integration
visibility
vision statement

whiteboard (when used as a verb)
win-win
world class

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