Meet the Enemies: Fluff, Guff, Geek, and Weasel

Sales is a profession of words. How you choose your words, written or spoken, will directly influence whether you get the sale. Use the right words and you’ll impress your prospect with your clarity, brevity, and precision. Pick the wrong words and customers will be checking their watches and looking at each other in confusion. Unfortunately, the sales profession abounds in the latter, warns Tom Sant, cofounder of Hyde Park Partners and author of The Language of Success (AMACOM, 2008). Specifically, there are four nonfunctional languages that often rear their heads in the sales business. Sant calls them Fluff, Guff, Geek, and Weasel, and he warns reps to be aware of and avoid them in their communications. Here’s a look at each one:

Fluff. Fluff is any word or phrase that sounds grand or impressive, but in reality means nothing at all. You often see it in marketing materials or on Web sites, but it has become so commonplace that many reps use it in their PowerPoint slides or emails without even being aware of it. Phrases like "leading edge," "state of the art," "robust technology," "best of breed," "committed to excellence," and so on are all fluff, as are words such as "innovative," "synergistic," "compelling," and "seamless." Reps who use fluff have good intentions – they want to impress their prospects and put their product or service in the best light. But the result of fluff is that it merely puts prospects on their guard and, as Sant puts it, gets their "built in B.S. detector clanging like a fire alarm." The solution: be specific. Use details. Back up specific claims with numbers and facts.

Guff. This is the language of the bureaucrat, says Sant. It is pompous, dense, and complex. It is often used by people who have bad or uncomfortable news to deliver and hope they can cushion the blow by padding it with verbose language. "The writer proficient in Guff," he explains, "writes long, long sentences, uses big words, including undefined technical terms, and constructs his or her sentences in the passive voice." Here, he says, is a prime example of a simple idea written in Guff: "The dimensionality of expected project problems coupled with the limited time available for preparation means that choices will have to be made to assure viability of the most critical analytical processes." Huh? Exactly.

Geek. If you have ever tried to purchase a piece of electronic equipment and felt utter confusion at the salesperson’s explanation of its features, you’ve encountered Geek. It is language that is too technical and "insider" for the average person to understand. It often includes jargon and acronyms. Sales reps tend to use it when they haven’t fully considered their audience or when they want to impress their audience with their technical know-how. So how do you fix this communication killer? "The best way to drop the Geek and start using the language of success is to simplify constantly," suggests Sant. "Remember: if your message is too simple and clear, no real harm is done, but if it’s too complex and difficult, you may lose your readers [or audience]. You might even alienate them. And that’s extremely harmful."

Weasel. This is language that is wishy-washy and avoids saying anything definitively. It qualifies every assertion with words like "may," "might,”""could," "can be," "virtually," "as much as," "help," "like," "believe," and "possibly." For instance, "We believe we would add significant value to this project" isn’t assertive enough and specific enough to mean anything at all! Or take this one: "Based on the information we have at this time, it should be possible to meet the projected timeline." Again, it leaves so much room to wiggle out of the responsibility of actually meeting the timeline that the sentence is weak and meaningless.

When you eliminate Fluff, Guff, Geek, and Weasel, your communications – whether spoken or written – become clearer and more forceful. As a result, you’ll see prospects respond more positively. They will be more interested in what you have to say, will understand it, and will be more eager to work with you. And there’s nothing unclear about that!

For more ideas on communicating with clarity, visit www.tomsant.com.