Are You Fluent in Your Prospect’s Marketing Language?

Does your industry have jargon and acronyms that only you and your peers miscommunication understand? Every so often I’ll bet one of these words just pops out of your mouth when talking to a prospect. Or worse, you purposely sprinkle them into conversation to make yourself appear to know what you’re talking about. FYI, that deer-in-the-headlights stare and mind-numbing silence is

Does your industry have jargon and acronyms that only you and your peers understand? Every so often I’ll bet one of these words just pops out of your mouth when talking to a prospect. Or worse, you purposely sprinkle them into conversation to make yourself appear to know what you’re talking about. FYI, that deer-in-the-headlights stare and mind-numbing silence isyour prospect trying to remember the phone number of your competitor.

No One Likes to Feel Left Out – All of us have walked into a conversation in progress and tried to get up-to-speed on the topic only to feel completely out of the loop. Often, you end up being the only one not laughing at the end or nervously smiling and asking what they were laughing about. On a rare occasion, someone in the group will offer a quick summary to get you caught up. Which situation do you prefer? If you make the unfortunate jargon blunder, at least have the courtesy to explain what it means to your prospect.

That’s Still Not An Excuse - Just because you’ve explained the jargon, don’t consider it carte-blanche to use it in the future. Techies and consultants are the worst offenders of this. They think they can talk over everyone’s head and still maintain a positive relationship. Even if you are the foremost authority in your field people are going to hire the person that is easy to work with that helps them understand the process. We all want to know what to expect. Jargon makes us feel out of control of the experience. It might take longer to explain something without jargon, but it will go a long way in making someone feel at ease with you.

Self-Proclaimed Experts – Lastly, if you are using the term expert, authority, guru, diva or an0ther self-absorbed adjective to describe yourself you are announcing to the world you are difficult to work with before they’ve even hired you! Better to let testimonials and references sell how great you are.

You need to prove your worth not brag about it.

Paula Pollock is Director of the Pollock Marketing Group. She operates on the principal that all businesses deserve affordable marketing assistance to generate more quality leads. To receive her quick-read, weekly marketing tips and her Special Report, “7 Client Attraction Secrets That Will Double Your Income,” sign up at www.paulapollock.com

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