• It vs. they

• The company … it (singular, not “they” as in the company’s people)
• The companies … they (plural)

• That vs. which

• Use “that” to begin phrases that are essential to the meaning of the sentence.  Do not use a comma before “that.”  Use “which” to begin phrases that are not necessary to the meaning of the sentence.  Always set off “which” phrases with commas.

• Ex:  A large pharmaceutical company that recently underwent a merger is debating where to locate its headquarters.
• Ex:  A large pharmaceutical company, which is located in Philadelphia, recently underwent a merger.

• That vs. who

• “That” refers to inanimate objects; “Who” refers to people.

• Ex:  The company … that
• Ex:  The salesperson … who

• Data and criteria

• Are both plural and, therefore, take plural verbs

• Ex:  The data were entered into the computer.
• Ex:  The criteria for this position are a college degree and good writing skills.

• Ensure, insure, and assure

• Use “ensure” when you mean “guarantee.”

• Ex:  The purpose of this module is to ensure grammatical consistency in client documents.

• Use “insure” only when you are referring to underwriting.

• Ex:  Company X insures the Smiths’ home, although their life and auto insurance policies are with Company Y.

• Use “assure” as a means of expressing confidence.

• Ex:  I assure you that we will complete the project by the deadline.

• Compliment vs. complement

• Use “compliment” when you mean giving praise.

• Ex:  I would like to compliment your company on its timely responsiveness.

• Use “complement” when you mean supplement or enhance.

• Ex:  The coaching seminar will complement the sales training that you did last year.

• Defuse vs. diffuse

• Use “defuse” when you mean reducing tension or neutralizing a negative situation.

• Ex:  Use the Objection Resolution Model to defuse negative feelings.

• Use “diffuse” when you mean to spread out widely.

• Ex:  When the company decentralized its advertising function, it diffused its ad dollars among various sources.

• Who vs. whom

• Use “who” when referring to the subject of a sentence.

• Ex:  This Salesperson is a good performer who achieves his/her objectives.

• Use “whom” when referring to the object of a verb or preposition.

• Ex:  Can you help me understand how these stakeholders fit into your organization?  Who reports to whom?

• Where vs. in which

• “Where” is used to begin descriptive phrases that refer to a specific physical location.

• Ex:  The seminar will be held in a building where there are several breakout rooms.

• Use “in which” at all other times to begin similar descriptions.

• Ex:  Salespeople often find themselves in situations in which they are surprised by a client’s objection.

• Effect vs. affect

• “Effect” used as a noun means result.

• Ex:  Increased employee motivation is an effect of good developmental coaching.

• “Effect” used as a verb means to bring about.

• Ex:  The organization is using developmental coaching to help effect change.

• “Affect” used as a noun means emotion.

• Ex:  When he/she coaches, he/she has a hard time reading the Sales Rep’s affect.

• “Affect” used as a verb means influence or change.

• Ex:  Developmental coaching can positively affect employee motivation.

• Toward vs. towards

• While both are grammatically correct, “toward” is more formal and should generally be used in place of “towards” in business writing.

• Forthcoming vs. upcoming

• Although both “forthcoming” and “upcoming” mean taking place in the future, it is more appropriate to use “upcoming” in business writing.

• Since vs. because

• Use “since” only when referring to the passage of time. 

• Ex:  It’s been one week since the last meeting with the client. 

• Use “because” to indicate causality. 

• Ex:  Because the client was concerned about price …

• Use of who/whose and that

• “Who” and “whose” should be used in reference to a person/people and not in reference to objects (or companies, stores, etc.). 
• Also, “that” cannot be possessive (do not use “that’s”).

• Incorrect:  BigBuy is a chain of grocery stores whose retirement plan assets total $450 million.
• Incorrect:  BigBuy is a chain of grocery stores that's retirement plan assets total $450 million.
• Correct:  BigBuy is a chain of grocery stores with retirement plan assets totaling $450 million.

• Use of decision maker, decision making, and decision-making

• The term “decision maker” is never hyphenated.

• Ex:  It is important to identify the decision maker during the call.

• The term “decision-making” is hyphenated when it is used as an adjective.

• Ex:  The manager’s explanation of the company’s decision-making process was vague.

• Occasionally, the term “decision making” is used as a noun; do not hyphenate.

• Ex:  The areas of responsibility include decision making, budget, and implementation.

• Vendor vs. partner relationship

• If the client looks on the salesperson as a “vendor,” use the word (salesperson should use client vocabulary) but keep in mind that there is a relationship continuum.
• A vendor is transactional and easily replaced.  The salesperson should want to move to a partnership relationship. 

• Do not use ampersand — use and unless it is in a client name.
• When referencing time, am and pm should appear as a.m. and p.m.  Be sure that there is a space between the number and a.m. or p.m.
• Do not use periods when abbreviating United States; it should be “US.”
• Be careful of misusing the word discrete — for our purposes, the proper word is usually discreet.

• Discreet implies the showing of reserve in behavior or speech.  Discrete means something different:  “distinct, separate, unrelated.”
• Ex:  A lot of their work is carried out in a very discreet and confidential manner. 
• Ex:  This issue is discrete from the others.