45 English for Sales Terms to Help You Close the Deal [With Quiz]
Knowing what to say, how to say it and when to say it can put you at the top of your sales team.
The following two English sales vocabulary lists are here to help. The first one gives you 30 handy sales words and phrases you absolutely must know.
The second consists of 15 additional phrases that are extremely helpful for those situations where you simply don’t have the time to think about what to say.
At the end of this article, you can take a quiz to check your understanding of your new English for sales vocab.
Let’s get selling!
Contents
- English Sales Vocabulary
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- 1. After-sales service
- 2. Client
- 3. Customer
- 4. Cold calling
- 5. Guarantee
- 6. To buy in bulk
- 7. To buy on credit
- 8. Prospect
- 9. Retail
- 10. Wholesale
- 11. Catalog price
- 12. Agreed price
- 13. Bargain
- 14. Payment by installments
- 15. Advance payment
- 16. Price conscious
- 17. Price reduction
- 18. Sales pitch
- 19. Price-quality ratio
- 20. Quote/Quotation
- 21. Faulty goods
- 22. Complimentary gift
- 23. Free trial
- 24. To submit an invoice
- 25. Recommended price
- 26. Terms of payment
- 27. Sales target
- 28. Sales volume
- 29. Supplier
- 30. To close the sale
- Phrases to Use for Making Sales
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- 31. I’m sure you’re quite busy at the moment, so I’ll be very brief.
- 32. I won’t take very much of your time.
- 33. Would you be interested in…?
- 34. With your permission, I’d like to ask you some questions.
- 35. The two most important things to remember are…
- 36. The best feature of the product is…
- 37. When I first started using this…
- 38. The price of this product is unbeatable.
- 39. Let me take care of that for you.
- 40. I’d be happy to solve this for you.
- 41. I’ll send you an update by…
- 42. I appreciate your business.
- 43. I know you’ve been a customer for a long time and your loyalty is important to us.
- 44. I really appreciate you letting us know.
- 45. Is there anything else I can help you with?
- English for Sales Quiz
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English Sales Vocabulary
Each of the following vocabulary terms below comes with a concise meaning, an example sentence and an explanation of how this word or phrase relates to working in sales.
Once you’ve learned them, you can use them in your English sales conversations.
1. After-sales service
Meaning: Regular maintenance (upkeep) or repair of products. After-sales service may be offered by the manufacturer (company who makes the product) or supplier, during and after a warranty period.
They promised after-sales service, but the warranty period was not specified.
You may want to use this phrase when talking to customers about specific products that may benefit from after-sales service.
2. Client
Meaning: A person who pays a professional person or organization for services. These services might be from a lawyer, an accountant, advertising agency, etc.
As an inexperienced employee in an advertising agency, it can be difficult to get new clients.
Clients are generally people who buy more intangible services (like advice, or other things you can’t actually see). Pay attention to the difference between this word and the next one.
3. Customer
Meaning: A person who buys goods or services from a store or other business.
New customers are tough to get in times of financial crisis.
Customers buy products and more tangible services (like a bank account, an insurance policy or a vacation). If you’re selling products, you’re dealing with customers, not clients.
You may have heard the sayings “the customer is king” or “the customer is always right.” Customers generally appreciate your respect, so you want to let them know that you value their decision to do business with you.
4. Cold calling
Meaning: A technique that involves contacting potential (possible) customers with whom you’ve had no previous contact. “Cold calling” generally refers to phone calls, but it may also involve door-to-door sales.
I always get annoyed when a cold caller decides to disturb my rest.
Cold calling is usually seen as a difficult sales technique because many people dislike being disturbed and are therefore hard to sell something to. The opposite is “warm calling,” in which the salesperson has already had some contact with the potential customer.
5. Guarantee
Meaning: A written assurance that a product will be repaired or replaced if it breaks down. “Guarantee” and “warranty” have similar meanings, but “guarantee” is a bit wider in meaning. “Warranty” is only used to refer to the written agreement, but “to guarantee” can mean “to ensure” (that something happens).
We offer a two-year guarantee for this phone.
I guarantee the weather will be fine tomorrow.
This is a word all customers want to hear. It may help you sell faster and more if you use it a lot, because people like having control over the things they buy.
6. To buy in bulk
Meaning: To purchase goods in large amounts, usually at a discount.
We bulk-buy office supplies because it’s a lot cheaper.
People can often be convinced to buy in bulk if you emphasize the lower price. This works especially well for non-perishable food (food you can keep for a longer period of time) or other products that last for a while. When customers buy in bulk, you sell more and they pay less. It’s a win-win situation (where everyone benefits)!
7. To buy on credit
Meaning: To purchase something and pay for it later, normally with interest (extra paid for the money loaned).
I usually buy a lot on credit because I tend to shop on impulse. (“on impulse” means without planning on it)
People can often be talked into buying on credit, especially when you’re selling expensive products that are still very good value for money.
8. Prospect
Meaning: Potential customer or client.
Salespeople can identify prospects by direct mailing, emailing or cold calling.
You’ll never actually call a potential customer a prospect when you talk to them. Customers like to be treated as individuals, not as potential sources of income for you. But you may want to use this word with your sales team, or you may come across it when researching the market.
9. Retail
Meaning: The selling of goods or services in small quantities to customers.
Retail sales are up three percent from last year.
If you work as a store assistant, you’ll want to understand the retail process and how buyers think. They want to make sure they get the best deal, but that doesn’t always mean the lowest price. Talk to them and find out what their needs are, and more importantly, what their wants are. Help them make decisions, because it can be tricky for them to decide with so many products to choose from.
10. Wholesale
Meaning: The sale of large quantities of goods (to retailers or to other wholesalers) at lower prices than in retailing.
Is that price retail or wholesale?
You may want to play the wholesale card (use wholesale as an advantage for you) when you want to focus on the low price you can offer. Customers are often instantly attracted to products sold at wholesale prices.
11. Catalog price
Meaning: The price shown for a product in a catalog, before any money is taken off or added (the cost of packing and shipping, for example).
This product is sold at 10% less than the catalog price.
Customers like being given discounts from the catalog price. You may want to use this to your advantage if you think the price might seem too high to them.
12. Agreed price
Meaning: Price which has been accepted by the buyer and seller.
I was so disappointed that they suddenly increased the agreed price.
Some salespeople can have a bad reputation for raising agreed prices. Sometimes they even lower prices at the last minute to secure a sale. While customers may like the latter one, pay attention not to be tricked into it.
13. Bargain
Meaning: A product bought or offered for sale at a much lower price than is expected.
The laptop was a real bargain.
Telling customers that a certain product is a bargain may win them over. You’ll want to present it as a good “price-quality ratio,” and not just as something cheap.
14. Payment by installments
Meaning: A system by which a buyer pays for a product in stages (rather than all at once), while being able to use it.
We couldn’t afford a washing machine at that point, so we paid for it in installments.
As a salesperson, you’ll have to be able to explain details to a customer wishing to buy in installments. During the repayment period, the buyer is not the owner of the product. When they finally finish paying for it, the ownership passes to the buyer. This can be thought of as an advantage because the customer can use a product they haven’t paid for yet.
15. Advance payment
Meaning: A system by which a customer pays part of the price of a product ahead of time. The balance (the remaining amount) is to be paid when the product is delivered.
We require advance payment for this car, as it is custom-made.
Advance payment is used as a guarantee that customers will pay at a later date when they get the product. Some may be reluctant to give money in advance, but you can explain that this is a system in which they can be certain they will receive the exact product they ordered. You’ll have to make sure they understand that they will only be billed the remaining amount when they get the product.
16. Price conscious
Meaning: Seeking the lowest prices.
Price-conscious customers are tricky to sell to because they will always look for a better deal. The best way to get them to buy from you is to convince them that their purchase is only valuable if they look for quality as well.
17. Price reduction
Meaning: A lowering of the price of goods.
After the huge price reduction, everybody wanted to buy the new model.
Price reductions almost make products sell themselves. However, some customers who are normally willing to spend more can become suspicious if a product is too cheap. They may consider it not good enough for them. At this point, you’ll have to emphasize the best qualities of the product.
18. Sales pitch
Meaning: A sales presentation that tries to persuade someone to buy a product.
Her sales pitch was so good that it convinced almost everyone in the room.
It’s good to have a sales pitch, but pay attention to your voice. Customers don’t like it when you learn sentences by heart (memorize them) and deliver them like a robot. You should make a presentation that’s more personal so that they actually believe what you’re saying.
19. Price-quality ratio
Meaning: A product’s ability to deliver performance for its price.
This product has such a good price-quality ratio that I simply have to have it.
When customers are not immediately drawn to a product because it’s on sale, you should emphasize the price-quality ratio. This doesn’t mean that a product is cheap, it means that you pay an amount that’s fair for what it’s worth. When a product has a good price-quality ratio, it means it has great quality for a reasonable price. A less technical way to say this is that a product is “great value for the money.”
20. Quote/Quotation
Meaning: A formal statement setting out the estimated cost for a particular product or service.
This company gave us the lowest quote, so we chose them.
A quote or quotation is a formal document that you can give to prospective (possible) customers to inform them about the price you can offer. It may also contain the terms of sale and payment. If a buyer accepts the quote, this represents an agreement to buy the product.
21. Faulty goods
Meaning: Defective goods, imperfect products.
Their bad reputation was a result of having sold several faulty goods.
When dealing with customers who have purchased faulty goods from you, you have to try to put yourself in their shoes (imagine yourself in their situation) so that you can be truly helpful. If there’s warranty coverage, helping them will probably be easier. If there isn’t, you’ll have to make sure you only promise to do what your company can do for that customer.
22. Complimentary gift
Meaning: A free gift offered to you when you purchase something or when you visit a store.
She received a complimentary gift with her purchase and was very pleased.
Everybody loves free stuff! Once word gets around that you offer free gifts, your sales may suddenly go through the roof.
23. Free trial
Meaning: A product or service that is offered to customers for free for a short period of time so that they can try using it.
Customers like to try out things for free. It’s a good way to start a connection with them and even to try to sell them other related products.
24. To submit an invoice
Meaning: To send or give a bill for a purchase.
They submitted the invoice late, so I assumed the product wouldn’t arrive on time.
Be sure not to talk about payment documents before the customer is fully convinced, as this may make you look too eager and unprofessional. Invoices are official documents that are very important, but only talk about them after you’ve closed the deal.
25. Recommended price
Meaning: The price at which a manufacturer suggests a product should be sold. This price may be changed by the retailer.
You should know if there’s a recommended price for the products you’re selling, and have an explanation ready if your price is different.
26. Terms of payment
Meaning: Conditions of payment agreed on by the buyer and seller for goods or services.
Once the customer has made up their mind and is willing to buy a product, you have to discuss the terms of payment. These may include:
- How long the buyer has to pay the amount due.
- Whether they have to pay in advance (before they get the product).
- Whether you require cash on delivery (full payment when the goods are handed over) or accept deferred payment (let the customer pay later).
27. Sales target
Meaning: A goal set for a salesperson.
The sales target was so high this month that nobody in the team managed to reach it.
Your sales target is your personal mission, and you should think of it as a motivation to sell more. In times of recession (economic crisis), sales targets can be discouraging, as it’s difficult to reach them. However, in times of economic growth, you may even exceed your sales target!
28. Sales volume
Meaning: The amount of goods or services sold by a company in a specified period.
Good sales reps can help increase the sales volume.
Sales volume is one of the key factors in how successful a company is. To increase sales volume, a company must make sure its salespeople are motivated and take care of a lot of other essentials like a marketing plan, advertising and customer care, to name just a few.
29. Supplier
Meaning: A person or company that provides goods or services.
We stopped working with our supplier because he was late delivering the products.
A good supplier needs to communicate well and be flexible. They must also be reliable and have good prices.
30. To close the sale
Meaning: To complete the transaction, to close the deal.
Jack was very good at presenting products, but he simply couldn’t close a sale.
Closing is very important in sales. Without closing, you have pretty much wasted your time. You have an informed customer who will probably be buying from somewhere else. In order to close a deal, you need to help the customer make a decision.
Phrases to Use for Making Sales
Reluctant customers can be intimidating. But try to think of them as customers you just haven’t had a chance to win over yet. People never have time to listen to long sales presentations, so it’s essential to assure them that you’ll be brief. You can use the following two introductions for that.
31. I’m sure you’re quite busy at the moment, so I’ll be very brief.
32. I won’t take very much of your time.
Once you have their attention, it’s a good idea to involve them in what you’re saying, so ask them questions. They will probably answer. Here are a couple of ways to start:
33. Would you be interested in…?
34. With your permission, I’d like to ask you some questions.
You can maximize the time they give you by being brief. That may sound strange, because you might think that the longer you have, the better your chances are at selling.
However, as we’ve talked about, customers don’t have a lot of time to listen to you and they can be reluctant at first. So by being brief, you actually show them you respect them and the time they give you. Here are some phrases you could use to help you structure your pitch:
35. The two most important things to remember are…
36. The best feature of the product is…
37. When I first started using this…
38. The price of this product is unbeatable.
Customers like it when you take care of them. They will be returning to you if you give them the feeling that you’re doing your best to meet their needs. Here are a few wonder sentences to bring across the feeling that you’re there for them no matter what:
39. Let me take care of that for you.
40. I’d be happy to solve this for you.
41. I’ll send you an update by…
42. I appreciate your business.
43. I know you’ve been a customer for a long time and your loyalty is important to us.
44. I really appreciate you letting us know.
45. Is there anything else I can help you with?
English for Sales Quiz
To practice the words and phrases from above, take this quiz without looking at the definitions! If you need some more practice, just keep reviewing the terms and retake the quiz until you get a perfect score.
Sales is a tough field, but it can be so rewarding!
Beyond the benefits of closing sales and making commissions, it’s a great way to practice interacting with English speakers.
And if you say the right things at the right time, it can make all the difference in the world. So keep practicing these terms and phrases until you feel comfortable with them!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
