# The 26 Sales Words and Phrases I'm Banning in 2026 ## Метаданные - **Канал:** Art Sobczak - **YouTube:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8jThnY3iGc - **Дата:** 06.01.2026 - **Длительность:** 31:59 - **Просмотры:** 202 ## Описание (This is from Issue 3 of the Smart Calling Report free email newsletter. See this issue, the archives, and subscribe at http://SmartCallingReport.com) Salespeople don’t struggle because they lack tactics. They struggle because of the language they use—often without realizing what it reveals about how they’re thinking. In this episode of the Art of Sales podcast, Art Sobczak shares 26 sales words and phrases he’s banning in 2026. Not because they sound bad—but because they quietly lower status, create resistance, and sabotage confidence before the conversation ever begins. You’ll learn why phrases like “Sorry to bother you,” “Just checking in,” “Thoughts?” and “This is a cold call” don’t just hurt response rates—they signal insecure thinking that prospects immediately pick up on. This isn’t about memorizing better scripts. It’s about thinking, preparing, and showing up like a professional—so the language fixes itself. What You’ll Learn in This Episode Why weak, apologetic sales language is a symptom—not the real problem The hidden thinking behind permission-seeking and low-status phrases How certain “best practices” actually trigger resistance Why professionals don’t replace phrases—they replace standards How to start eliminating language that no longer belongs in professional sales Art groups the 26 banned words into clear categories, explains what each phrase reveals about your thinking, and shows how this language quietly holds salespeople back—often without them realizing it. Subscribe to the Smart Calling Report at http://SmartCallingReport.com Get more info on the Smart Calling Prospecting and Sales Coaching and Training app at http://Studio.com/Art ## Содержание ### [0:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8jThnY3iGc) Segment 1 (00:00 - 05:00) You are listening to the art of sales. Everyone sells every day and this is your source for conversational realworld sales and prospecting methods that you are comfortable using and that get results. You'll help people buy instead of pushing them into being sold. Here's your host, Art Subject. In a world where we ignore most of the noisy messages that are sent to us and at us, there's one marketing email that I open every time it hits my inbox. It's from Bill Mueller and he's a master storyteller and his emails feel like they're written to me personally. And if you're not in his list, you should fix that. You can subscribe at billstoryalesmachine. com. And that's bill@stoalesmachine. com. And he also has an excellent course on writing storybased emails that actually get read. And a couple years ago, Bill sent one that really resonated with me. And it wasn't a clever subject line or a hack or a new tactic. It was a simple idea and he executed it pretty well. And he had published a list of words and phrases to ban not improve, not tweak, but to ban and had the typical annoying corporate speak that you see all the time, things like circle back or synergy, you know what I mean? So, I remember reading that and nodding along and then filing it away thinking that, man, I should do one of these for sales someday. Well, fast forward to now. So first, why is this important for you as a sales pro? Well, language is a reflection of your beliefs and your beliefs drive your behavior. And after decades of listening to sales calls and reviewing emails and training and coaching sales reps and more recently noticing what's being passed around online as best practices, well, I kept hearing the same thing over and over again and even more so today. And that's weak language and apologetic phrases and status lowering openings and language. It not only produces bad results, but it squashes morale. It lowers self-esteem. Because here's what I've learned after over 40 years in sales. The salespeople who struggle the most aren't just really struggling with tactics. They're struggling with language that reveals amateur thinking before they ever dial the phone. In their own mind, they've already lowered their own status. They've apologized for existing and they position themselves as an interruption. So, I decided to borrow Bill's idea. Okay. Well, I stole it actually. Now, I published this first in my new Smart Calling Report newsletter. And if you're not now getting the smart calling report, it comes out weekly. It is free and it's full of this type of advice every week. And you could subscribe at smartcallingreport. com. Smartcallingreport. com and you'll see this issue there. So what follows now is what's in that issue and it's 26 words and phrases that I'm banning from sales in 2026. And oh, by the way, I'm not including a list of clever replacements or scripts to memorize. That is intentional on my part because professionals don't fix the results by just swapping phrases. They fix them by changing how they prepare and how they show up. So, this is a list about standards, about your identity, about eliminating language that no longer belongs in a professional sales conversation. So, I've organized these 26 words and phrases into categories so you can see the patterns. They are permission seeking language, weak conviction, excuse making, lazy email openers, and there's more. And for each phrase, I'm going to explain why it's banned and not just that it sounds bad, but what it reveals about your thinking. So, I'd like you to listen to this and maybe rewind it. Go back several times and ### [5:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8jThnY3iGc&t=300s) Segment 2 (05:00 - 10:00) notice what you say yourself out loud and notice what you're typing in emails without even thinking about it. And oh, I'm not just going to be the don't say this guy. There's enough of those people out there. I'm going to come up with great alternatives and examples. So, in our next episode, we'll talk about what replaces this language naturally when you're thinking and preparing like a real pro. All right, so for now, let's start by killing what's holding you back. So, here is my list of banned words and phrases for 2026. So, first we have that permission seeking and apology-based language. Number one is sorry to bother you or is this a good time. So, why? Well, both of those phrases ask for permission before you've established any value. Sorry to bother you apologizes for calling before you've done anything worth apologizing for. Is this a good time? Ask them to qualify your call for you. Professionals don't beg for permission. They create relevance that earns attention. Number two is I know you're busy or I'll be brief. So why? Well, thanks Captain Obvious. Who isn't busy? Right? These both acknowledge that you're an interruption while also you're interrupting at the same time. I know you're busy translates to I know you don't want this call, but I'm doing it anyway. I'll be brief signals the call is going to be painful and that they're going to know it. Plus, just by saying it, you're not being brief, right? You're already taking their time. Professionals respect time by being prepared and by being relevant, not by promising to hurry up. All right, next category is the just language and diminishing your purpose. So number three is just checking in, just touching base, just following up. I'm just calling to. So why is this bad? Well, just makes everything smaller, right? It signals that you have no real reason for contacting them and you're hoping that they'll do your job for you. Professionals don't just do anything. They have legitimate reasons and they own them. So, eliminate just and your purpose becomes clearer immediately. Next, we have the category of low status sales language. Number four, one of my favorites, which has become popular more recently. This is a cold call. So, what's wrong with that? Well, you just triggered their threat detection system and you labeled yourself as unwanted. What do people hate receiving the most? That's right, a cold call. and you've just told them this is what you hate the most and you're getting it right. So why would you announce that you're a stranger with an agenda? This is self sabotage in your own words. Next number five, you don't know me or you weren't expecting my call. So again, you're stating the obvious in the worst possible way. The prospect already knows you're a stranger, right? Saying it out loud just reminds them that they didn't ask for your call. Number six. Oh my god, I just got to shake my head at this one. Don't hate me. This strikes me as something that the most insecure adolescent would say. You're begging for sympathy before you've said anything meaningful. This positions you as expecting to be hated. If you believe that you deserve to be hated, why would they think otherwise? Next. Number seven. I'd like to learn more about your business. Seriously, you have a super computer in your pocket. Where's mine? Right here. Right. So, this is lazy. You should have learned about their business before you ever ### [10:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8jThnY3iGc&t=600s) Segment 3 (10:00 - 15:00) picked up the phone. Don't make the prospect do your research for you. Professionals come prepared with insights, not questions that Google could have answered in a few seconds. So, a replacement phrase could be, "Hey, in looking at your latest report or project or white paper, it seems that you're focused on and then you can mention a specific goal or an initiative. " Next, number eight. May I ask you a question? H, let me think. That is a question and you just asked it. This is unnecessary permission seeking that wastes time and it signals insecurity. Professionals don't ask permission to ask. They ask strategic well-prepared questions that create value. So just ask the actual question. Number nine, the words screener or gatekeeper as they refer to assistance. This language, I mean, it shows disrespect and adversarial thinking. They're not blocking you. They're deciding whether or not your message is relevant enough to deserve the decision maker's time. So in that sense, they really are buyers. Professionals call them and treat them as assistants because they're the buyer's assistant and they're yours as well. Next category is weak conviction language. So number 10 is to be honest with you. Why would someone say this? Doesn't it imply that you might not always be honest? It's a terrible signal to send. If you need to announce your honesty, you've already damaged your credibility. Number 11. I was hoping to. Hey, hope's not a strategy. Professionals don't hope. They plan. They prepare and they execute. Hoping signals that you have no real plan and that you're just winging it. Number 12. I was wondering if Stop wondering and start asking. Indirect language creates indirect results. I was wondering if you'd be open to is weaker than would you be open to. So say what you mean. Next, the next category is combative or adversarial language. So 13 are the terms objection rebuttals and overcoming objections. Both of these frame sales as war, as combat. Rebuttal assumes that you're arguing with the prospect. It actually is telling them they are wrong. How did that work out last time you told your spouse or partner that they were wrong? Overcoming assumes that you're defeating their resistance. Professionals don't argue or overcome. They question to understand the reason behind what someone believes. Then they question more to help them perhaps see another perspective. So you're not battling objections, you're exploring their thinking. Big difference there, right? Next, we have desperation and something where you're lowering your status. For example, can I send you some information? Translation: stuff you won't read so I can feel like I did something? This is permission seeking disguise as helplessness. is your if your information is relevant, send it with context. Don't ask permission to clutter their inbox. Number 15. Oh my gosh, one of my favorites. I'm calling to get some time on your calendar. Never ask for time in your opening. Time is somebody's most valuable resource, their most guarded asset, right? And if you haven't established any relevant any relevance yet, why would someone why in the world would they give you more time? So lead with possible value first. By the way, for more information on that, see issue number one of the smart calling report uh in the archives there ### [15:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8jThnY3iGc&t=900s) Segment 4 (15:00 - 20:00) smartcallingreport. com for the framework on exactly how to do this. So, you earn the right to ask for time. Then the media request comes after you've created interest, not before. Next, we have fearbased thinking. And here for number 16, I have just the word rejection. Probably the thing that salesp people fear the most. But here's the thing. Rejection does not exist. It's a story that you tell yourself about something that happened. So the facts are maybe okay, they said no, that happens. They didn't respond. That happens. And that's probably your fault, by the way. They went with somebody else. So, your interpretation of all of this, if it's I was rejected, that's what creates the emotional damage. Ultimate sales professionals control the story they tell themselves. So, you got a decision. And then you should have learned something. So you got a win, but you were never rejected unless you tell yourself that you were. Number 17. I don't want to be pushy. You're pre-apologizing for doing your job. Selling professionally is not being pushy. Bad selling where you're trying to talk about something that they don't want, that's being pushy. Now, if you have genuine value and if you've earned the right to ask, there's nothing pushy about it. So, this phrase reveals the fear of being perceived negatively, which guarantees that you're going to act timidly. The next category falls under excuse making or limiting beliefs. So, have you ever said this before? Oh, no one answers the phone anymore. So the translation here is I'm not good enough to get people to answer the phone. This is victim language. People do answer the phones for calls that sound relevant, prepared, and valuable for reps who have targeted the right people. And they use perhaps a multimodal approach if necessary. If no one's answering your calls, the problem isn't phones. It's your approach. Professionals earn answers. Next one. Number 19. No one reads books anymore. I cringe every time I hear this. This is categorically false and reveals intellectual laziness. Books are written by people who've actually accomplished something and invested years distilling their knowledge. The smartest, most successful people read constantly. What they don't do is take all their advice from social media influencers who maybe have 16 months of experience in one industry. If you believe that no one reads books, you're surrounding yourself with the wrong people and you're limiting your own growth. Number 20, this has been around forever. It's just a numbers game. No, it's a quality game. Yeah, of course you need activity and we use numbers to measure that activity. But bad activity for the sake of motion, being busy, that's just destructive. Making 100 poorly planned or prepared calls is worse than making 10 or 20 well researched, strategically placed, relevant calls. is an excuse that amateurs use and many managers as well to avoid doing the hard work of preparation and targeting and skill development and coaching by managers. Professionals understand that quality activity creates better numbers. Number 21. I got ghosted. This is also victim language. Ghosted implies something was done to you, that you're powerless and the prospect is the villain. Hey, if you can't reach them, own it. Question, what could I have done differently? What was missing maybe from your followup? ### [20:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8jThnY3iGc&t=1200s) Segment 5 (20:00 - 25:00) What was missing in your first conversation? Did you get a commitment on the next steps as to what they were going to do? Did you give them a reason to be excited about the next call? There are lots of possible ways that you can make sure that follow-up call is productive and they're going to be there for it. Okay? So, professionals ask, "What did I miss? " Amateurs say, "I got ghosted. " Next number 22. Oh, I don't have time to do research. Well, that's a lie and a tell. Basic research doesn't take much time. And if it feels time consuming to you, what might be really happening is called avoidance. Salespeople who say this aren't short on time. They're trying to protect themselves from the discomfort of calling someone that they know nothing about. Here's reality. 2 minutes of preparation beats 20 generic dials. A relevant call is always more interesting than a smile and dial one. Prospects can hear unprepared in the first couple seconds. And if research truly feels slow, automate it, systematize it, create templates, use tools. Professionals don't skip preparation. They remove friction from it because relevance earns attention. Generic earns dial tones. Okay. Now, something most people can relate to, many as senders, almost everybody as receivers, and that's lazy email language. So, number 23 is, I reached out because your profile looks interesting. Well, this is the standard AI generated LinkedIn or email opening and it means nothing. It's the digital version of a cold call with no research. Interesting is vague and it's lazy. So, a good replacement could be where you cite a specific quote or a past action that they took or a post that they had written. Show that you actually paid attention to them as a human, not just their profile picture or their name. All right, 24. Oh my gosh, this one. Hey, I'm bumping this to the top of your inbox. This screams desperation and assumes the problem is inbox placement, not relevance. Has anyone in the history of email after reading this said, "Oh, yeah. Oh, I'm glad that got bumped. Now I'm going to act on it. " If your first email didn't get a response, bumping it is not going to help. Trash is still trash regardless of its geography. So, you need new value, new relevance, or new insight, not a reminder that they ignored you the first time. Number 25, just the word thoughts as [snorts] a question. This is the ultimate lazy email message or subject of mine. It puts the burden of work on the prospect to figure out what to do next. you're asking them to guide your next step. So, a good replacement would be ask a specific closed ended question or suggest a clear next step. Do the thinking for them. And finally, number six, I hope this finds you well. Every time I see this, I think about Red reading Andy's letter at the end of Shaw Shank Redemption. And no, I won't even try to do Morgan Freeman's voice here, but he closed it with, "I will be hoping that this email finds you and finds you well. " And actually, that was Andy's voice, I think, when they played it in the movies. And that was probably the only time anyone ever thought it was a good idea or line. This is the most insincere and overused opening in the history of email. It's filler that screams, "I'm sending a mass template. " Nobody believes you actually care how this email finds them. So, a replacement would be jumping straight into the reason for the email or making a specific observation about their business. Okay, so that's the list. Now, I had a few others that could have made it and maybe they will next year when we ### [25:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8jThnY3iGc&t=1500s) Segment 6 (25:00 - 30:00) expand to 27. And if you caught yourself nodding along to any of these, well, you're not alone. Many salespeople use this language every single day. They learned it from managers, I'm guessing. Oh, from training programs, from marketing, from watching other reps, from LinkedIn experts who learned from other influencers. But now you know. And once you know, you can't unhar them, right? You'll catch yourself midsentence. You'll hear teammates saying it and maybe you'll read it in emails from vendors and think, "Oh no, they're doing it, too. " You'll see people on LinkedIn trying to get their likes and shares, posting some of these things and watch as scared, timid followers who are avoiding placing calls themselves, by the way. They chime in with their approval. And so your awareness is the first step. So the real question then is what are you going to do about it? So here's an idea. Start with just one. You know I just used just right but it is appropriate here. So pick the category that hits closest to home. Maybe it's permission seeking language. Maybe it's the just language, the weak kind. Maybe it's excuse making. Eliminate those phrases from your vocabulary this week. That's it. One category, one week, then move to the next. You don't change identity overnight, but you can change one habit this week. Right? All right. So, now I'm not leaving you hanging. So, in the next episode, we're going to have when you stop saying these 26 things, what do you think instead? instead. But I'm not going to give you just 26 replacement phrases to memorize. That's just trading one script for another. Instead, I'm going to give you a framework, the way that professionals think, the way they prepare and then speak so they never need these amateur phrases again. So, it's about principles and not scripts. All right? So, hey, if this resonated with you, chances are someone on your team or in your network needs to hear it as well, if you would repost this on LinkedIn or your other socials. And let me ask you, which phrase hit closest to home? Which one do you hear most often? Which one have you successfully eliminated? And the more people who eliminate this language, the more professional our entire profession becomes. So let's raise this bar together. All right. Hey, you know what time it is. — Your attitude will be every [singing] quote of the day. — That's right. It's time for the quote of the day. Today's quote is very appropriate for what we just covered and it comes from Tony Robbins. And Tony said, "The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives. " All right, one last thought here. As the new year begins, this is the perfect time to draw a line. Not a line between last year and this year, but between the old version of you and the professional that you are choosing to become. Because nothing changes when the calendar flips. Things change when you do. The language that you tolerate is the identity that you reinforce. The standards that you set are the results that you earn. And that's what being an ultimate sales professional is all about. And that's why I built the smart calling prospecting and sales coaching and training app for businessto business professionals. This is daily coaching and training and practice and interaction and review and accountability and is like having me with you 247. And this is not just more content to consume or just something to listen to, but it's a way to practice and reinforce and install the habits and language and thinking of a true professional every day, one day at a time. And so if you're serious about finally ### [30:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8jThnY3iGc&t=1800s) Segment 7 (30:00 - 31:00) trying to make this the year that you stop trying just trying to sound confident and start being confident. And if you want to eliminate these phrases and get rid of them not just from your vocabulary but from your thinking then the coaching app is for you. And the reason I created this is that I was frustrated over the years because there was really nothing available that helped salespeople become the fearless, rejectionproof, disciplined, confident sales professional they needed to be as their identity in order to get the results that they wanted. Sure, they can memorize techniques, but it requires changing your identity and it requires that practice and accountability every single day. So that's why I built this coaching app, which is the app is really a term that does it a disservice because it is nothing like anything that's on your phone. So when you're ready, I would suggest you check out the app. You can get it at studio. com/art. All right. So, finally, change doesn't happen because you read or you listen to something powerful. It happens when you change. And that decision can start now. So, thank you so much for investing your valuable sales time with me today. Until next time, go out and make it your best sales day ever. I'm Art Subcheck. --- *Источник: https://ekstraktznaniy.ru/video/51236*