It has been said that cursing shows a lack of vocabulary. Maybe so, but I think buzzwords are even more uncreative and obnoxious. And there are far more of them than there are curse words—especially in sales.

More and more buzzwords are flying around these days, as numerous as bees in summer. The newest litany is “account-based”—account-based marketing, account-based selling, account-based everything.

There’s nothing new here. Anyone who’s ever had a list of named accounts did account-based selling. And the smart sales reps adopted a referral program as their #1 way to land and expand within existing accounts.

Use Your Words

A buzzword (a term first used in 1946 as student slang) is a word or phrase used to impress, or one that is fashionable, according to Wikipedia. But sales reps don’t need buzzwords to impress clients. In fact, your prospects are probably as sick of hearing them as I am.

Just because a well-known business leader coins a new phrase doesn’t mean we have to use it … ad nauseam. Why would you want to sound just like everyone else anyway? Success in selling is all about relationships, which means your personality is an asset. So be unique. Or at the very least, don’t be boring.

Back off on the Buzzwords

Some sayings get worn out more than others. Here are seven buzzwords I’m particularly tired of hearing:

• Trigger events: Overused and tired, this phrase is not even about a gun, so I find the analogy disconcerting.

• Disrupt, disruptive innovation, disruptive technology: What does disruptive innovation really mean? Innovation is something new, something we haven’t seen before, so tacking an adjective before it is nonsensical.

• Lift: In many parts of the world, this is an elevator.

• Alignment: Sounds like a really nice idea, but I question how frequently sales and marketing will play nice. A new breed of consultant has emerged to tackle this sticky issue.

• Low-hanging fruit: Unless you’re a farmer, this makes no sense.

• Value-added: I have no idea what this means. Each customer makes that determination for herself.

• Drinking the Kool-Aid: I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I remember the tragedy that happened in Jonestown all too well. That was a terrible time in our history, and using this phrase is gruesome. Find another way to make the point, please.

Sales leaders, it’s not enough to coach your team on boosting numbers and closing deals. Even the most effective sales techniques fall short if your team sounds like everyone else. This isn’t high school; it’s the business world. And it’s time for sales leaders to pay attention to the words their sales reps use when communicating with prospects and clients—especially when they’re asking for referrals.

Joanne Black is America’s leading authority on referral selling—the only business-development strategy proven to convert prospects into clients more than 50 percent of the time. She is a member of the National Speakers Association and author of NO MORE COLD CALLING™: The Breakthrough System That Will Leave Your Competition in the Dust and Pick Up the Damn Phone!: How People, Not Technology, Seal the Deal. To learn more, visit www.NoMoreColdCalling.com. You can also follow Joanne on Google+ or Twitter @ReferralSales, or connect on LinkedIn and Facebook.