The words we use can make the difference between landing a sale or getting kicked to the curb. When observing salespeople selling, I’ve found many phrases used over and over again causing negative reactions from buyers. Salespeople can ask a question and not get a truthful answer from the buyer–simply because of the way they phrased the question. Here are five examples of what not to say on a sales call. Some of them may surprise you.

Are you the decision maker?

Great question, but it’s worded poorly. Surprisingly, this question actually persuades your prospect to lie to you. Here’s how. The question is closed-ended, meaning it requires either a “yes” or “no” answer. This makes a non-decision-maker feel threatened. They don’t want say “no” and appear unimportant, so they will often answer, “yes”. What they’re not telling you is that their “yes” is a “qualified yes”. What they are really saying is, “Yes, I’m the one who decides who gets to present to my boss–the ultimate decision-maker.” You’re now attempting to sell to the wrong person. This is why so many sales reps lose sales when they discover late in the process that someone else makes the decision.

Better: “Who else is participating with you in making this decision?”

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