Euphemisms in sales
Euphemisms in sales
(OP)
How's this piece of marketing "spin" from an educational institution (of all places)!
"... a very interactive negotiation skills course ...
WHEN: 16-17 November (Tue-Wed)
INVESTMENT: --- Members: $750.00 Non-Members: $850.00"
Investment? Why are such euphemisms necessary? Remind me never to take any of their courses.
"... a very interactive negotiation skills course ...
WHEN: 16-17 November (Tue-Wed)
INVESTMENT: --- Members: $750.00 Non-Members: $850.00"
Investment? Why are such euphemisms necessary? Remind me never to take any of their courses.
Bung
Life is non-linear...





RE: Euphemisms in sales
This reminds me strongly of a FRONTLINE tv show I saw recently about Market Research/Politic-ing.
One researcher used a system in which he assembled a sample group of people belonging to polar groups- in this example, it was Republicans/Democrats.
The researcher gave everyone in the group a device that allowed them to register their level of personal agreement in a continious manner- a knobbed device that was turned to one extreme of 100% agreement to the other extreme of 0% agreement.
These devices were continously manipulated during a broadcast of a political speech, during which the collective results of the Republicans and the Democrats were collected.
The value to the researcher was to record what the politician was saying at the timepoints during the speech that both groups registered high agreement.
In this manner, he recorded what words and phrases were most appealing to the group as a whole, regardless of political affiliation; thereby allowing a prospective canidate to formulate a speech using words that alienates or angers the least amount of constituents.
Somewhere, sometime, a market researcher said: "...Cost?! No!! It is far too biased of a word... We will use INVESTMENT instead and reap the rewards of calling "a rose by any other name"!"
I agree with you. It is utter foolishness and maybe unethical to coax people into "groupthink".
RE: Euphemisms in sales
Is "investment" for "cost" really any worse than "pre-owned" for "used"? Is there a chance they thought they were being cute rather than just trying to put something over on people?
Hg
RE: Euphemisms in sales
Maybe they just need to get their hands off the joystick?
Or is that also euphemistic
Bung
Life is non-linear...
RE: Euphemisms in sales
"...unspoiled basement..." that means I will have to spoil it myself to make it livable.
Keep those ideas flowing...
Putting Human Factor Back in Engineering
RE: Euphemisms in sales
Hogwash!!!
There is certainly no return on that expense.
Buy a dictionary, keep it nearby and USE it. Webster's New World Dictionary of American English is recommended, and Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
RE: Euphemisms in sales
RE: Euphemisms in sales
Great mirth in the office. Boss's car won't start and he's late for work. We inform him he's had an opportunity in his driveway.
Soon we'll find out if being fired is a problem or an opportunity. Let you know.
John
RE: Euphemisms in sales
It always amazes me how much easier it is to be a management consultant than to be a manager. Anybody with a few years worth of bad experiences can fire such kind of useless statements at other people.
RE: Euphemisms in sales
The dictum 'There are no problems, only opportunities' is not really intended to gloss over or simplify challenges, but should help to overcome our natural pessimism. After all, if entrepreneurs saw all deviations from plan as 'problems' we would never get any progress. Similarly if engineers saw all deviations as opportunities we would see a lot more Tacoma Narrows bridges.
The issue here seems to be whether to encourage positive thinking among pessimists or to allow them to bring the world to a grinding halt.
For real progress we need to see more efforts to bridge the gap. Without Sales and Management there is no Engineering, and vice versa. There is a big difference between parasitism and symbiosis, and we can't afford to forget it!
Good Luck
johnwm
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RE: Euphemisms in sales
RE: Euphemisms in sales
This does not that the person who experiences the problem is also the one presented with the opportunity.
In Harrisj's case the boss has a problem, and Harris was presented with the opportunity to make a wise-a$$ comment.
Or, a more optimistic hypothetical case:
Because of the boss' car problem, he was unable to make a presentation to the CEO. Since Harris was really the one that prepared the presentation anyway, he seizes the opportunity, and makes the presentation himself.
RE: Euphemisms in sales
Good Luck
johnwm
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RE: Euphemisms in sales
RE: Euphemisms in sales
A-freaking-men.
I have all the "opportunities" I need within the confines of my current job, thankyouverymuch. Now if one of my problems could only translate into the job of my dreams just falling right into my lap...
Hg
RE: Euphemisms in sales
Carpe diem, Harvie Krumpet.
Bung
Life is non-linear...
RE: Euphemisms in sales
Naah... you can tell from most deviations from the planned path clearly and objectively whether they deviate to the positive or to the negative side!! Taking the car breakdown example, please don't tell me that it is either a problem or an opportunity, depending on how pink or black your glasses are. Problems can sometimes (rare cases) TURN OUT to be opportunities, or there can be a few grains of opportunity hiding under a big pile of sh**, that's all.
I do support the aim to make engineers (or let's just say the whole world) think more positively. The other cliché "there are no problems, only solutions" annoys me much less, I think it's almost true. But please don't take me for an idiot and ask me to smile each time I run into a problem, because I would get sad the day I wouldn't encounter any.
RE: Euphemisms in sales
Accidents sometimes have happy results - the development of a stable rubber product for tires and other such things was an accident of spilling a latex solution on a hot stove. But I sure wouldn't advocate deliberately creating accidents in order to find solutions to problems.
RE: Euphemisms in sales