An Honest Translation of Common Sales Terms Terms We Use Every Day (And What They Actually Mean) Sales has its own language.On paper, it sounds strategic, disciplined, and rational. In practice… it’s aspirational. Below is a translation guide for some of the most common sales terms — rewritten with honesty, affection, and a sense of humor earned the hard way. Account Plan A 20-page document outlining how you’ll win a deal even though the client hasn’t responded to your last t

Executive Storytime • Synergy – Combining two mediocre things, hoping greatness appears. • Value Proposition – A polite plea for money. • Strategic Alignment – A meeting where everyone nods while thinking different things. • Vision Statement – A poem written far from end users. • Thought Leadership – Loud opinions on LinkedIn. Workplace & Culture Buzzwords • Culture Transformation – Changing posters, not behavior. • Employee Engagement – Asking for feedback, ignoring it. • Hy

Most transformation failures aren’t caused by bad technology. They’re caused by imbalance. Organizations invest heavily in new platforms while assuming people will adapt and process will somehow follow. It rarely works. Adoption stalls. Workarounds emerge. Value gets delayed or lost. People, process, and technology are a single system: People provide judgment, ownership, and accountability Process creates clarity and repeatability Technology enables scale and speed When one a