Sales Verbs for Business English

Better English.
More sales.

Verbs are powerful. Business is competitive. Selling is hard. 

No matter what you use English for, clear communication is essential. This is especially true for sales.

Why? Sales depends on making deals to make money.

You make the deal, you get paid. You fail the deal, you get nothing. So you better be sure your sales English is sharp!

That’s why Coursenomics has created this article for sales power words.

We will explore important sales verbs that are essential to business English.

Understanding and using these sales verbs well will make others view you as an expert in selling.

Let’s dive in and start mastering these power verbs now.

Note: this is an ongoing blog. Be sure to regularly visit to see new verbs added!

pitch

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: pich

DEFINITION: to attempt to sell or promote a product, service, or idea

SYNONYMS: present, promote

ANTONYMS: hide, dissuade

WORD FAMILY: pitches, pitching, pitched, sales pitch, product pitch

EXAMPLE: The salesman began to pitch the new product to prospective buyers.

close

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: klohz

DEFINITION: To finalize a sale or a deal.

SYNONYMS: conclude, seal

ANTONYMS: initiate, open

WORD FAMILY: closes, closing, closer, close the deal, always be closing

EXAMPLE: After negotiating the terms, she was able to close the deal.

upsell

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: uhp-sell

DEFINITION: Persuade a customer to buy something additional or more expensive.

SYNONYMS: upgrade, oversell

ANTONYMS: downsell, undersell

WORD FAMILY: upselling, upsell opportunity, upsell strategy

EXAMPLE: The waiter managed to upsell premium wine to the dining couple.

prospect

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: prah-spekt

DEFINITION: To search for potential customers or clients for sales or business deals.

SYNONYMS: canvas, scout

ANTONYMS: ignore, overlook

WORD FAMILY: prospecting clients, prospecting markets

EXAMPLE: Our team spent the entire week prospecting for new clients.

convert

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: kn-vert

DEFINITION: To change (someone) from one belief, view, or party to another.

SYNONYMS: transform, change

ANTONYMS: maintain, keep

WORD FAMILY: converting, converts, converted, convert leads, conversion rate

EXAMPLE: Our goal is to convert our leads into customers.

retain

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: ree-tayn

DEFINITION: To keep in possession or use; hold on to

SYNONYMS: keep, hold

ANTONYMS: release, let go

WORD FAMILY: retention, retains, retained, customer retention, retain a client

EXAMPLE: Good customer service helps to retain clients.

cross-sell

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: krahs-sell

DEFINITION: Sell (an additional product or service) to an existing customer.

SYNONYMS: resell, add-on

ANTONYMS: undersell, ignore

WORD FAMILY: cross-sold, cross-selling, cross-sell opportunity, cross-selling technique

EXAMPLE: The insurance agent tried to cross-sell home insurance to his car insurance customer.

bundle

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: buhn-dl

DEFINITION: To offer products or services in a package, usually for a reduced price.

SYNONYMS: package, group

ANTONYMS: unbundle, separate

WORD FAMILY: bundles, bundled, bundling, bundle services, bundle products

EXAMPLE: The telecom company decided to bundle internet and TV services to attract more customers.

follow up

PART OF SPEECH: phrasal verb

PRONUNCIATION: fah-loh uhp

DEFINITION: To make further checks about something, or asking a customer if they are still interested, how their experience was, etc.

SYNONYMS: revisit, return

ANTONYMS: disregard, ignore

WORD FAMILY: follows up, following up, followed up, follow-up call, follow-up email

EXAMPLE: The sales representative made a follow-up call to the prospect.

rebate

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: ree-bayt

DEFINITION: To return part of a payment to (someone), typically as a promotional or sales incentive.

SYNONYMS: refund, repay

ANTONYMS: charge, debit

WORD FAMILY: rebate customers, rebate purchases

EXAMPLE: The store decided to rebate a portion of the purchase price to encourage more sales.

incentivize

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: in-sen-tuh-vize

DEFINITION: To provide with an incentive or motivation to do something.

SYNONYMS: motivate, encourage

ANTONYMS: discourage, dissuade

WORD FAMILY: incentive, incentivizing, incentivize customers, incentivize purchases

EXAMPLE: The company plans to incentivize early adoption with a discounted rate.

leverage

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: leh-ver-ij

DEFINITION: To use something to its maximum advantage.

SYNONYMS: utilize, exploit

ANTONYMS: underuse, neglect

WORD FAMILY: leverage (noun), leverages, leveraging, leverage resources, leverage knowledge

EXAMPLE: The sales team decided to leverage their existing network to find new clients.

monetize

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: moh-nuh-tize

DEFINITION: To convert into or express in the form of currency; to generate revenue from.

SYNONYMS: capitalize, commercialize

ANTONYMS: devalue, neglect

WORD FAMILY: monetization, monetizes, monetizing, monetized, monetize assets, monetize services

EXAMPLE: The company managed to monetize its software by offering premium features.

forecast

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: for-kast

DEFINITION: To predict or estimate a future event or trend.

SYNONYMS: predict, anticipate

ANTONYMS: recall, retrospect

WORD FAMILY: forecast (noun), forecasting, forecast sales, forecast growth

EXAMPLE: The sales director had to forecast next quarter's sales for the budget meeting.

outsource

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: out-sors

DEFINITION: To obtain goods or services from an outside or foreign supplier.

SYNONYMS: contract out, subcontract

ANTONYMS: insource, internalize

WORD FAMILY: outsourcing, outsourced, outsources, outsource production, outsource services

EXAMPLE: To cut costs, the company decided to outsource their customer service department.

penetrate

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: pen-uh-trayt

DEFINITION: To succeed in gaining access to or recognition in a market or area.

SYNONYMS: infiltrate, break into

ANTONYMS: exit, withdraw

WORD FAMILY: penetration, penetrating, penetrated, penetrates, penetrate market, penetrate industry

EXAMPLE: Despite stiff competition, the company was able to penetrate the Asian market with their unique products.

demo

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: dem-oh

DEFINITION: To demonstrate the functionality or benefits of a product or service.

SYNONYMS: demonstrate, exhibit, showcase

ANTONYMS: conceal, hide

WORD FAMILY: demoed, demoing, demos, product demo, service demo

EXAMPLE: The sales representative decided to demo the new software to the potential client to highlight its advanced features.

propose

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: pruh-pohz

DEFINITION: To suggest a plan, deal, or offer for consideration or acceptance.

SYNONYMS: suggest, offer, present

ANTONYMS: withdraw, retract

WORD FAMILY: proposed, proposing, proposes, proposal, business proposal

EXAMPLE: After understanding the client's needs, the sales team proposed a custom solution to address them.

nurture

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: nur-cher

DEFINITION: To support and encourage the development or growth of a business relationship.

SYNONYMS: cultivate, foster, encourage

ANTONYMS: neglect, ignore

WORD FAMILY: nurtured, nurturing, nurtures, relationship nurturing, lead nurturing

EXAMPLE: The account manager nurtured the relationship with the key client to encourage future business.

tailor

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: tay-lor

DEFINITION: To customize a product or service to meet specific requirements or needs.

SYNONYMS: customize, adapt, modify

ANTONYMS: standardize, generalize

WORD FAMILY: tailored, tailoring, tailors, tailor-made, tailored solution

EXAMPLE: The company tailored its software solution to meet the unique demands of the client's operations.

retain

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: ruh-tayn

DEFINITION: To keep a customer or client continuing to do business with a company.

SYNONYMS: keep, maintain, preserve

ANTONYMS: lose, forfeit

WORD FAMILY: retained, retaining, retains, customer retention, client retention

EXAMPLE: The customer service team worked hard to retain the dissatisfied customer by addressing their concerns promptly.

consult

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: kuhn-suhlt

DEFINITION: To provide expert advice or guidance in a particular field.

SYNONYMS: advise, guide, counsel

ANTONYMS: mislead, misguide

WORD FAMILY: consulted, consulting, consults, consultancy, sales consult

EXAMPLE: The sales representative consulted with the client to understand their needs and provide suitable solutions.

renew

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: ruh-noo

DEFINITION: To continue a business relationship, contract, or service by extending its duration.

SYNONYMS: extend, continue, prolong

ANTONYMS: terminate, end

WORD FAMILY: renewed, renewing, renews, renewal, contract renewal

EXAMPLE: The account manager focused on renewing the contract with the client before the existing one expired.

benchmark

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: bench-mark

DEFINITION: To compare a product, service, or performance against a standard or competitors.

SYNONYMS: compare, measure, evaluate

ANTONYMS: disregard, ignore

WORD FAMILY: benchmarked, benchmarking, benchmarks, benchmark analysis, benchmark study

EXAMPLE: The sales team benchmarked their performance against the industry leaders to identify areas for improvement.

differentiate

PART OF SPEECH: verb

PRONUNCIATION: dif-uh-ren-chee-ayt

DEFINITION: To distinguish a product or service by highlighting its unique features or benefits.

SYNONYMS: distinguish, separate, set apart

ANTONYMS: assimilate, homogenize

WORD FAMILY: differentiated, differentiating, differentiates, differentiation, market differentiation

EXAMPLE: The sales pitch aimed to differentiate the company's product from the competitor's offering by emphasizing its superior quality.