Jargon doesn’t sell!
The first time we speak to people, it’s probably true to say that we want to get their attention. This is true in social situations but we certainly want to grab attention in a business setting - why?
Well, once get interest we are into a conversation that may lead to a mutually beneficial outcome (that also applies to a social interaction of course!). So, what is one of the most common mistakes I see, that I also have to constantly guear against? Jargon - industry specific words that we are familiar with that we use all the time on the assumption that everyone else knows about too.
Here is an example. I recently went to a network event where we were all required to go through that right of initiation - the 30 second introduction. One of these was from a bank representative who talked about their range of services (that were industry leading of course!) that included “CD”. Now, I only know one definition for that term and it’s compact disc. I am sure that wasn’t what this was.
In the end I found out from a colleague sitting next to me (it means “Certificate of Deposit” by the way) but I missed everything that was said after the term CD was used as I tried to figure it out. I cannot now remember the name of the bank and I have no idea why a certificate of deposit is something I might be interested in. In short, I have no idea how it applies to me.
The lesson therefore is - avoid jargon! Sometimes I think people use it to sound smart but more often I think it is simply common language in their world but guess what? We are not in their world any more! It needs to be relevant to the listener.
Think about the benefits of the “thing” you are describing. In the example above, what does a CD do for me? What problem does it solve? Why do I need it? How will it make my life better? Then describe it in terms that really make sense to me.
May 27th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Kevin,
Well said. I have experienced this myself from other people and even have caught myself doing this from time to time. I am glad you pointed this out because we all need to be reminded of our surroundings and think outside our own industry specific worlds so the potential clients can benefit from what we are saying. I really like that saying “Marketing makes the phone ring, but communication seals the deal”
May 27th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Hi Joe!
Thanks for joining in the conversation. While I would love to take credit for this brilliant post, it is Jerry who deserves the credit for his keen observations.
It’s kind of funny (and tricky from a pure marketing perspective) what we tend to believe is important in communicating our message to others. Jargon and TLA’s (that stands for Three-Letter-Acronyms by the way ;^) are sort of part of our resume that describes our expertise. Because we know people typically hire us for our expertise, we like to use that kind of information to try and get people interested in what we’re offering.
As Jerry pointed out, the jargon (and TLA’s) often just confuse the audience of your message and it doesn’t get through. And as both of you have pointed out, the focus is mis-directed anyway. Instead of talking about “What’s In It For Them”, we’re talking about the things we know and do.
From a marketing perspective, I’ve found that if you’re leaving it up to the receiver of your message to figure out how what you know and do can help them with the stuff they’re dealing with, you lose the opportunity to grab attention.
Thanks again for joining the conversation on the Get More Clients Fast Path Joe. Invite others to join us as well.
All my Best!
Kevin