Sharing Some Sales Clichés

Most people are collectors. While some collect sports memorabilia, stamps or rare coins, as a student of sales I instead collect “Sales clichés” or truisms as I refer to them. Such as sales lines your mentors may be known for, or sayings you have heard over and over in the sales field.

According to our friends at Wikipedia: “A cliché is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, rendering it a stereotype, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. The term is frequently used in modern culture for an action or idea which is expected or predictable, based on a prior event. In printing, a cliché was a printing plate cast from movable type. This is also called a stereotype.[6] When letters were set one at a time, it made sense to cast a phrase used repeatedly as a single slug of metal. "Cliché" came to mean such a ready-made phrase.”

The interesting thing about “Sales Clichés” is that they are Clichés for a reason. (I think that was one!) While they are predictable ready-made phrases, there is usually some truth or guiding principal behind them. As such they have a tendency to be repeated over and over again with the hope to instill or teach a lesson. It is the philosophy behind each Cliché that appeals to me and drives me to really ponder the meaning and impact it offers.

Following are a few of my favorites or most popular ones I thought I would share with you:

“Activity Breeds Activity” Such as when you hold an open house and you find that the more people there, the more people it attracts there at the same time.

“It’s a numbers game” meaning that statistically, success comes from following a process and the more people you help through that process then the greater your odds of success. Which reminds me of: “Plan your work, and work your plan!”

“People don’t care about how much you know, till they know how much you care.” Again, a one-liner that we have all heard, yet still rings true to this day.

So what is your favorite Cliché to share and the lesson it offers? What would your friends say you are known to repeat over and over?

Please take a brief moment and add yours in the comments below so everyone’s collection may grow!