Election Jargon Stateside

One aspect I do enjoy getting into, is the company-, and to a lesser extent industry-, specific jargon I encounter when getting to grips with a new salesteam for the first time.

Their choice of terms, unique to them, can be incredibly revealing.

It betrays how they truly view their competition, customers and conviction.

Watching the disgracefully blanket American Obama/Romney coverage on English tv news over the past few weeks, I’ve smirked at quite a few such phrases. Here’s just three.

Yellow Dog Democrat

Swing States

Ground Game

They refer to someone that so detests Republicans they’d rather vote for a yellow dog than them, what I know as a marginal constituency, and how each party’s grass root volunteer support mobilises their vote.

I find that such internal phrases can help bind a salesforce. It’s a bit like any group of compadres’ shared language of nicknames and slang, personal to them, and often impenetrable to outsiders.

Such language usually veers off into the sniggeringly disparaging.

It doesn’t take much imagination to take a competitor’s name or branding and pun on it to denigrate them.

Building on the US election theme, I’d already heard of Obarmy and Romneyshambles when I found this study on Forbes:

Odumbo, Nobama, Obummer, Odummy, Bammy

Mittens, Robme, Mitt the Twit, Romnuts, Myth Romney

Provided these aren’t obviously abusive, I’m quite a fan of this kind of thing.

When people start using your language, you know they’re on your side.

Whether this be to the types of descriptions described here, or any other words that only you have coined about their issues and environment.

So it can be most insightful. Both for a salesteam member showing how aligned they really are to the overall direction, as well as prospects that can unwittingly divulge their propensity to buy from you.

Do you have such syntax, and how does it fare on the integrity test?