English for sales professionals: the words, phrases and situations that matter
Built from WordSlick’s sales role pack: the vocabulary you must be able to say (not just recognise), the phrases that carry a meeting or an interview, and the situations you can rehearse with the AI tutor.
Situations to rehearse
Discovery call
A first call with a prospect who is polite but guarded. You talk to the prospect. Goal: Uncover two pain points and agree a next step.
Price objection
A demo went well; now the buyer says it costs too much. You talk to the buyer. Goal: Handle the objection without discounting first.
Procurement negotiation
Procurement wants better terms before signing. You talk to the procurement manager. Goal: Trade one concession for a commitment.
Product demo
A fifteen-minute demo to a sceptical technical lead. You talk to a sceptical technical lead. Goal: Lead with their pain point and handle one interruption.
Sales interview
An interview for an account executive role. You talk to the sales director. Goal: Tell one deal story with numbers and a lesson.
Phrases that carry the conversation
- “What is the biggest challenge you are facing right now?…”
- “Help me understand how you handle that today…”
- “That is a fair concern, and here is how we address it…”
- “What would need to be true for you to move forward?…”
- “Who else is involved in this decision?…”
- “I can offer that if we can agree on the timeline…”
- “Let me summarise what I have heard…”
- “What does your procurement process look like?…”
- “I do not want to waste your time if this is not a fit…”
- “Can we book a follow-up for next week?…”
Interview questions to practise out loud
- Walk me through a deal you lost and what you learned.
- How do you handle a prospect who says it is too expensive?
- Describe how you run a discovery call.
- Tell me about a renewal you saved.
- How do you forecast your quarter?
Tip: answer each question in under 90 seconds with one concrete example (situation, what you did, the result). Record it, listen once, and say it again. The second take is always better.
Vocabulary to own (30 words)
- pipeline
- prospect
- discovery call
- objection
- proposal
- quote
- discount
- renewal
- churn
- upsell
- procurement
- decision maker
- budget
- timeline
- follow-up
- close
- value proposition
- pain point
- competitor
- contract
- terms
- commitment
- demo
- pricing
- margin
- quarter
- target
- forecast
- referral
- trial
How WordSlick helps you prepare
- Set your moment as a mission: an interview, a meeting or a presentation, and its date.
- Daily sessions pace towards that date and bring these words and phrases into your practice.
- AskSlick plays the prospect and corrects you gently, explaining in your own language.
- You see an estimated readiness for the moment, based on evidence from your practice.
Questions
What English do sales professionals need most?
Mostly speaking under pressure: discovery call, price objection, procurement negotiation. Vocabulary matters less than being able to produce clear, structured sentences in those moments.
How can I prepare for an English interview as a sales?
Say your answers out loud to the questions on this page, record yourself, and fix one pattern at a time (tenses, articles, “since/for”). In WordSlick you can set the interview as a mission with a date and rehearse with the AI interviewer.