---
title: "Ten Phrases That Are Wrong the Moment You Say Them in Business Visits (Complete Version)"
description: "This article lists ten common phrases that salespeople often say during store visits that are counterproductive, categorized into 'three shows of weakness' and 'three shows of strength', and provides better alternatives and underlying principles for effective communication with distributors."
author: "黄润霖"
publisher: "New Distribution"
email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com"
telephone: "+8615854817671"
published: "2018-06-22"
language: "en"
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# Ten Phrases That Are Wrong the Moment You Say Them in Business Visits (Complete Version)

> This article lists ten common phrases that salespeople often say during store visits that are counterproductive, categorized into 'three shows of weakness' and 'three shows of strength', and provides better alternatives and underlying principles for effective communication with distributors.

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Introduction: The mistakes salespeople often make in their speech are not limited to the ten phrases mentioned in this article, but these ten phrases are more insidious in the logic of the mistakes.
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During training, my favorite saying is that the biggest difference between a good salesperson and a bad one is that a good salesperson, when expressing the same thing, even if time, place, and audience change, his method and logic remain basically the same; while a bad salesperson, when expressing the same thing, even if returning to the same time point, the same scene, and the same audience, **his logic and method may be vastly different, and the effectiveness of the expression depends entirely on the bad salesperson's mood and performance at the time.**
I am not a rigid person, nor do I like to follow rules, and those who have spent time with me probably know my personality. However, in my over ten years of sales career, I personally feel that in store visits, especially for frontline salespeople, without strengthening the control and optimization of sales behavior and language, and without deliberate reinforcement day after day, relying only on insight and luck, the growth rate of salespeople would be at least halved.
The mistakes salespeople often make in speech are not limited to the ten phrases mentioned in this article, but these ten phrases are more insidious in the logic of the mistakes.
First phrase: "Boss! How's business lately?"
Many salespeople like to start their daily business visits with this phrase, thinking that this kind of small talk can bring them closer to the store owner. But the biggest problem with this phrase in terms of logic and syntax is that it is a summary-type question, equivalent to the questioner asking and answering themselves, making any response from the other party seem redundant, and easily leading the conversation into an awkward situation. So in actual situations, if a salesperson asks this, either the store owner will respond with a blank expression: "Not bad!" or simply ignore you. In fact, whether it's a visit to a familiar customer or a cold visit, this is not the best opening line.
Asking a familiar customer this question makes it seem like you didn't do your homework before entering the store, and you haven't even carefully studied the store's inventory and sales data, so you're just doing a walk-by visit, disrespecting both them and yourself. If it's a cold visit, asking about business right away might be inappropriate because some things are not convenient to discuss casually until you're familiar enough.
When choosing an opening line, if it's a familiar customer, it's better to use topics outside of business for small talk than to use such a clumsy question, or you could go straight to the point: "Mr. Zhao, last month you were short 20,000 yuan on your new product order, which cost me my bonus. If I don't get to eat your boxed lunch today, I'm not leaving!" For a first visit to a new customer, instead of asking about business, it's better to go into the store and ask for a glass of water in a humble manner, which gives you more time and opportunity to sit down and chat with the target customer.
Second phrase: "You can't put other people's products in our display area!"
For certain exclusive or even exclusive display products, when salespeople visit stores, they often find that distributors have placed other brands' products in their display area. Salespeople with strong brands may directly point out that distributors shouldn't do this or that; salespeople with weak brands may turn a blind eye and pretend not to see. It should be clear that unless it's direct operation, the decision on how to display in the distributor's area is always in the hands of the distributor. **Even if the manufacturer provides some decoration subsidies, compared to the annual rent of hundreds of thousands of yuan in some places, it's just a drop in the bucket.**
If other people's products are placed in your brand's display area, it's either because your product category is less competitive than other brands in that store's area, or because the salesperson's daily category maintenance work hasn't been consistent. When competitors' products appear in your brand's display area, the salesperson should never accuse the distributor: "You can't put other brands' products in our display area!" The wisest response at this time should be to "do" rather than "say."
In my early years leading salespeople in areca nut distribution, we provided counters and shelves to stores, and we often saw other brands' areca nuts placed on them. Moreover, areca nuts are a product with a high proportion of impulse purchases, and the brands placed at the front are more likely to be bought by consumers. Also, since areca nuts are FMCG, they are generally placed in street-facing stores and counters, so the products are more or less dusty. Some smart salespeople, every time they entered a small store, would first take a cloth and chat with the owner while wiping the dust off each pack of areca nuts on the shelf, and as they wiped, they would subtly change the order of the products. **When leaving, they would deliberately remind the owner: "The cleaner the product, the better it sells. Remember to wipe off the dust often!"**
Third phrase: "Don't tell anyone else, this month I'll apply for some special policies for you, but you need to cooperate with me to complete the task!"
Pushing inventory at the end of the month or year is a nightmare for many salespeople and distributors. In my early years in regional markets, on the last day of the month or year, my phone would ring non-stop for 24 hours, and it would get hot against my ear, all calls about pushing inventory and completing tasks. It was a blessing to have my first meal before 9 PM. Some salespeople, in order to complete tasks, would use special policies and verbal promises to exchange for sales, which is not uncommon. What I want to say is that using special policies to exchange for sales is at least immature in business thinking.
First, there is no wall that doesn't have cracks. Favoring some over others not only makes distributors who complete tasks voluntarily feel cheated, but also makes those who enjoy special policies think, "This guy can get special policies every time, so he probably does the same for other distributors. Good thing I held out, otherwise I'd be at a loss."
Second, the "promotion dependency" where no promotion means no sales, and sales only happen with promotion, is mostly formed under such circumstances. For distributors who don't stock up without policies, using special policies to exchange for sales is like drinking poison to quench thirst. In the end, the pit will only get deeper, and the distributor will drift further away from the manufacturer.
In fact, for brands with relatively healthy market sales, for those distributors who stubbornly refuse to stock up without policies, it might be better to just ignore them for two months, give no policies, reduce visits, and apply external pressure to make the distributor reflect. If they fail to complete tasks for three consecutive months, many distributors know what that means. **For brands in the early stages of market creation, if there are individual distributors who use their sales volume as leverage, even less should policies be given. Instead, those distributors who actively complete tasks should receive more resources and policies, using model examples to drive the laggards.**
Fourth phrase: "I'll visit you another day (next time)!"
Many salespeople, when leaving the store, out of politeness, will use this phrase to say goodbye to the store owner. This is a seemingly polite but actually dangerous phrase for store visits. Our salespeople can think about it themselves: when this phrase comes out of your mouth and enters the distributor's ears, how much do you both take it to heart? **Some might say, "This is just a polite remark; whether I come next time and when depends on the timing!"**
So putting this phrase in the list of ten wrong phrases might seem too nitpicky. I need to remind salespeople that if this phrase is used as a polite remark among friends, it's fine, but the problem is that it's used as a closing remark in a business visit, and to some extent, it constitutes a commercial commitment. In a sales visit, what does the distributor remember more firmly? The first words, the last words, and the response to the most important thing to them.
As the last sentence left when leaving, a vague "visit another day" will leave the distributor with an impression: first, don't take this to heart; this guy is just saying it casually; second, who knows when he'll show up again; anyway, he doesn't have anything important. Now why do many companies implement SOP for store visits? It's to eliminate this unplanned visit, both to constrain salespeople's behavior and to let distributors in each store know what to expect. **So the standard usage of this phrase should be: "Mr. Zhao, my next visit will be around [date] to [date]. I'll call you in advance to make an appointment. I'll also give you a definite answer on the expense reimbursement issue you mentioned this time. I'll be going now, so I won't disturb you!"**
The so-called "three shows of strength" mostly refer to salespeople from strong brand companies who, to achieve sales goals or other purposes, hope to force distributors to comply through severe warning-style verbal language.
Similarly, the so-called "three shows of weakness" mostly refer to salespeople from weak brand SMEs who, to complete sales tasks, adopt a low-profile language model to seek cooperation and coordination from distributors.
**Today, let me first introduce the three phrases of "showing weakness."**
Fifth phrase (one of the "three shows of weakness"): "Your special price application should be supported, but it's all because of that bastard leader of mine who refuses to approve it..."
Anyone who has been in sales should be familiar with this phrase. In daily sales management, we often encounter individual distributors who, in order to meet certain indicators set by the manufacturer, bargain for special prices or special resources beyond the policy scope. What's more headache-inducing is that those who dare to make such requests are mostly distributors with large market share or who think they are doing well in the market.
For salespeople from some large companies, they might be able to brush off the distributor with one sentence, but for many salespeople from SMEs, they might have finally seen hope of completing sales tasks. If they don't agree, the distributor might give up; if they agree, the company leader not only won't approve but might also scold them severely.
Self-styled smart salespeople either don't report the distributor's special request to the company, or when reporting, they downplay it to avoid being scolded. When they next meet the distributor to address the issue, they first beat around the bush, expressing how firmly they stand with the distributor, and that the special price application didn't go through entirely because of a leader who neither understands the local market nor knows anything, and who obstructed it.
These salespeople naively believe that by firmly supporting the distributor and shifting all blame to their superiors, the distributor will at least not treat them as outsiders and will blame the leader. **These immature salespeople think that the leader probably won't meet the distributor for half a year, and even if they do, they won't discuss such topics. So they fool both sides and offend neither.**
Salespeople with such thinking make two fundamental mistakes: first, in the regional market, you are the company, and the company is you. It's not wrong to side with the distributor on certain issues, but it's wrong to oppose the company. As a result, the distributor not only has complaints about the company but also thinks you're a fence-sitter with no status in the company. Remember, in interactions with distributors, without the company, you are nothing. Don't believe the distributor's nonsense like, "If you ever leave the company, we brothers still have many opportunities for cooperation." Second, remember that the world has no airtight walls. The result of fooling both sides is that either people think you're unreliable or that you have character issues. Remember, between the distributor and the leader, you are likely the last to know what was said.
The correct approach is to fully communicate with the distributor why the special price is needed. Explaining the logic and calculating the accounts is one method (unfortunately, many salespeople lack even this basic skill), and appealing to emotions and building relationships is another (which falls under communication skills). Let the distributor see your focus, professionalism, and attitude in this matter, and see that your application for the special price is not just talk.
Sixth phrase (second of the "three shows of weakness"): "Brother Zhao, can you help me out this month and help me complete the task? Next month, you can do as much as you want!"
At the end of some months when sales tasks seem impossible to complete, many "smart" salespeople start to have crooked ideas. In wave after wave of inventory pushing, they creatively invented the so-called "wave-style inventory pushing." That is, push inventory one month, then let it slack the next, creating obvious peaks and valleys in the distributor's purchase curve. They euphemistically say that after pushing a month's worth of inventory, they give the distributor more time to sell and clear stock.
This seems like a well-reasoned, humane compromise that fully respects the local market situation. And for the company, they are not in the category of those who fail to complete sales tasks consecutively and should be severely punished. Salespeople can just muddle through until the year-end accounting. "Muddling through" like this, to some extent, marks the end of such salespeople's careers in a company or even the industry.
Don't treat anyone as a fool, especially in front of distributors who have been in business for years. When you say this, do you think the distributor will appreciate your favor and let him do as much as he wants next month? As a weak company and a weak salesperson, the first thing they remember is that this month he is helping you complete the task. First, the task is yours, not the distributor's; he is doing you a favor, so you repay him. The final result is that many distributors think these tasks are not theirs but forced on them by you, so the more you push, the harder it gets. I've even seen smug distributors at the dinner table toasting salespeople with, "If you don't drink this bottle, I definitely won't complete my sales task this month."
Secondly, once you start the so-called "wave-style inventory pushing," doesn't the distributor know that your entire region is having trouble stocking up? The so-called inventory pushing methods, distributors have experienced more than you've seen. Such slackening in pushing also shows that you're running out of tricks.
Remember, distributors are also human, and they are businessmen. They are more willing to help those who are valuable to them, not those who "don't care about the flood after their death." Even if he really "helps" you complete the task this month, he must be doing it for his own interests and purposes, such as a large gap in best-selling product inventory or a sure-win project that has started supplying. Don't think the distributor completed the task because of "next month you can do as much as you want"; his motivation for stocking up this month may have nothing to do with what you said.
For problem markets that have fallen into difficulty, what should be done? Personally, I think the correct approach is to be open and honest with the company, seek help and support from superiors, and come up with a concrete plan to seek a three-to-six-month market adjustment period. Even if the company doesn't have resources or time to support, at least the company will see that you are working hard, not just muddling through. Leaders are not fools; everyone has a scale in their hearts to weigh what kind of person you are.
**Remember, don't doubt the meaningful things you are doing now, because you don't know how the meaningful things you do now will be rewarded in the future.**
As for those distributors who like to use sales volume to toast you at the dinner table, you can confidently and laughingly tell him: "It's okay, Brother Zhao, if you don't make money from our products, you don't have to order a penny's worth next month."
Whether to stock your products and whether they make money, every distributor has a scale in their heart, and that scale won't change because you drink or not. You also need to let those smug distributors understand: every distributor boss deserves respect, but everyone, including salespeople, should be treated equally.
Seventh phrase (third of the "three shows of weakness"): "Mr. Zhao, do whatever you say, we'll fully cooperate!"
When distributors choose a brand, the most valued resource is the manufacturer's resources.
Smart distributors know that tangible resources are always limited, but intangible resources can be inexhaustible. The reason companies stand higher and see farther than distributors is that companies, especially brand companies, spend a lot of money on hiring brainpower. These brainpower resources may be, or should be, various industry expert talents. Distributors, constrained by platform and resources, basically cannot spend a lot on human resources; or even if they do, they may not be able to recruit very excellent talents. Through contact with companies, smart distributors, on one hand, want to leverage the company's tangible resources, and on the other hand, hope to fully utilize the company's brainpower. If you can't provide advice and strategies like a consultant for the distributor's problems, the distributor's interest in doing your product will drop by at least half. This is also why many distributors like to cooperate with brand companies.
So, when you think your company isn't prestigious enough, don't humbly say to the distributor: "Do whatever you say." As soon as you say this, the distributor will feel uneasy, and the first thing that jumps out of his heart is: "Oh no, I wanted a helper, but I got a fool."
**Remember, the weaker the company, the more salespeople from small companies need to become product experts, financial experts, and marketing experts. Even if you're not an expert yet, you have to act like one.**
Remember, only when the manufacturer becomes the backbone of the merchant can the merchant become the market grip of the manufacturer.
Brand is a double-edged sword. Even in business visits, it can help salespeople conquer and sweep through sales negotiations, but it can also easily make salespeople develop a flippant, arrogant, and outspoken work style. What's more terrifying is that under the support of a strong brand, distributors choose to swallow their anger, but salespeople mistakenly think it's their own ability. This is also one of the reasons why many salespeople find it hard to survive in small and medium-sized enterprises after leaving brand companies.
The last three wrong phrases in business visits are mainly concentrated among salespeople from so-called brand companies. Listing these three phrases is to remind salespeople not to get carried away when doing well in sales, and to remind distributors that in business, you can also laugh at life.
Eighth phrase (first of the "three shows of strength"): "If you don't complete the task this month, I'll open another store next to you next month!"
The advantage of strong brand companies is that they don't worry about having distributors willing to cooperate. Many salespeople from large companies also use this as capital to threaten distributors. Some salespeople from large companies think that distributors have everything today because they operate the company's brand, so they are used to ordering distributors around.
For salespeople, completing sales tasks is their duty, and forcing distributors to complete tasks is sometimes unavoidable. However, salespeople who often say this are usually those who only care about Sell-in and not Sell-out. If distributors fail to complete tasks, at least 50% of the responsibility lies in sales management issues.
On one hand, this involves insufficient distribution and retail pull, which may require the salesperson to self-reflect; on the other hand, the salesperson usually doesn't put enough pressure on distributors, and when sales fail, saying such a thing is already a failure within a failure.
We often say that the power of an atomic bomb is on the launch pad, not after it's launched. In daily visits, even if the region already has a distributor, strengthening visits to unfamiliar distributors should be part of the work. Visits to unfamiliar distributors don't need to discuss cooperation, especially visits to unfamiliar customers near existing distributors. Such visits should be included in regular visits and don't need to avoid existing customers. Their main tasks are to enhance industry information exchange channels and form potential pressure on existing customers (if you don't work hard, you can be replaced at any time). Forming replacement pressure on distributors is not done by saying it but by forming potential pressure through actions. When you say it, the pressure field is destroyed, and it's easy for the distributor to give up.
**I also want to remind salespeople that using such a threatening tone to boss around distributors, even if they swallow their anger today, will definitely lead to hidden dangers in the future cooperative relationship.**
Distributors, as entrepreneurs, as people who earn money by their own efforts, survive in a regional market and support a group of people. Salespeople showing them due respect is actually respect for entrepreneurs and self-reliance.
**Remember, any boss, big or small, deserves respect to some extent.**
Ninth phrase (second of the "three shows of strength"): "You solve this problem yourself first, and I'll find another reason to compensate you for the expenses next time. Our company is so big; we won't shortchange you!"
First of all, it should be affirmed that the salesperson's approach to this issue is correct: the market doesn't wait; solve the problem first, then clarify responsibility. The company, as a central institution, cannot respond to local emergencies as promptly as distributors. This is also why in China's deep channels of provinces, cities, counties, townships, and villages, the timeliness and localization of services cannot be separated from distributors.
The problem with this phrase lies in the way of clarifying responsibility: "find another reason to compensate you." In fact, anyone who has been in sales knows that the so-called "compensation" is to use some underhanded methods to apply for a sum of money from the company to give to the distributor, which is what we call "compensating for losses inside the dike with outside." A legitimate market behavior, once said by the salesperson, seems less legitimate, and this "compensating for losses inside the dike with outside" approach not only doesn't save the company money but, because of the underhanded operation, costs more resources and expenses.
The reasons why salespeople do this are usually two: first, the problem was caused by their own dereliction of duty, and if they report it to the company for expenses under this reason, their responsibility might be exposed, so they use this "sacrifice the pawn to save the rook" method to get through; second, the company may not have clear policies and expenses for handling such issues, and reporting under this reason might not pass approval. So it's easier to simplify and find another reason to get a sum of money to compensate the distributor.
Let's look at it from the distributor's perspective: if it's the first reason, the distributor naturally knows why you're doing this. Your little trick of "sacrificing the pawn to save the rook" is actually giving the distributor a handle on you. In the future, when you boss him around and act arrogant, he can easily stab you in the back. Why do many salespeople with excellent performance never get promoted or raised? Many can't figure it out. Little do they know that the company headquarters has received various anonymous complaint letters about them that could fill a documentary novel. If it's the second reason, although the distributor doesn't know why you need to "compensate for losses inside the dike with outside," he now knows that the so-called big company you talk about every day isn't that formal, and there's room for manipulation in expense application management. From that moment on, the expenses in your hands become a piece of meat at the distributor's mouth: according to the rules, you have to give; not according to the rules, you should also give. If you don't, it must be you causing trouble. From then on, managing this distributor becomes increasingly difficult, and he gradually becomes a black hole that devours expenses.
For such issues, the recommended correct approach is: rather than letting the leader catch your weakness, it's better to let the distributor hold your soft spot. In the workplace, those who hold your weakness, at critical moments, leaders are more likely to help you, while distributors are more likely to harm you. After handling market issues, it's better to spend your own money to invite the distributor to the company for communication than to apply for expenses for the distributor under abnormal reasons. Even if the company doesn't have corresponding policies and expenses for such issues, your and the distributor's feedback is actually helping the company improve policies. The problem may not be solved temporarily, but your and the distributor's image will be enhanced in the company.
Tenth phrase (third of the "three shows of strength"): "Old Zhao, you just lack vision, always calculating small accounts!"
Salespeople who are used to working in large companies like to have the word "vision" on their lips. When lecturing distributors, especially smaller ones, the word "vision" is used with great flair.
Although we question the brainwashing propaganda of pyramid schemes, we have to secretly admire the effectiveness of their brainwashing. So in daily business visits, we also advocate appropriately "brainwashing" distributors—instilling the company's culture and values. As the saying goes, "Those with different paths cannot plan together." If we don't train distributors to speak in the same tone as us, it's hard to form a joint force in the market.
But distributors are individuals with independent, realistic interests. They won't do things like Lei Feng, doing good deeds without leaving a name; they won't give up the present for the future. For you, sales is a job; for the distributor, sales is his life. For brand companies, if distributors start calculating small accounts, it must be because some of your policies have harmed their immediate, realistic interests. Otherwise, there's no need for them to take such risks and haggle with the salesperson of the brand manufacturer.
From the company's perspective, distributors who like to calculate small accounts are the ones who truly care about your business. Every transaction you make may be clearly recorded in their minds. We often say that distributors who calculate small accounts are at least shrewd. Cooperating with shrewd people, the probability of doing well in the market is much higher than with those who know nothing!
**Unfortunately, many of our salespeople often lose to distributors in accounting skills, so they prefer to use this phrase "lack of vision" to prevaricate and cover up.**
The correct attitude for this phrase should be: don't say such nonsense. "No one is good for a thousand days, and no flower is red for a hundred days." Put away the arrogance of large company salespeople, put away your "vision theory." Save that arrogance and vision for bragging among salespeople!
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**The following is the list of invited enterprises**
Conference Time
August 22-24, 2018
Conference Venue
Shanghai Baohua Marriott Hotel
Conference Content
August 22: Full-day check-in
Afternoon 14:00-17:30
Distributor Same-City Logistics Parallel Forum
Evening 18:30-21:00
New Distribution Night Bigwig Dinner
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Morning 9:00-12:00
Marketing Digital Innovation Main Forum
Afternoon 14:00-17:30
Brand, Channel, Communication Parallel Forums
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Full day: FMCG Supply Chain Conference
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