Drop the Jargon to Convince Clients that You Mean Business

It’s not enough for some companies to say that they sell sandwiches; instead, they have to describe being “hunger satisfaction service providers” or something equally obtuse.

It’s not good for business, says Ally Maughan of the HR consultancy, People Puzzles. “Using jargon can be a sign that you don’t understand what you’re selling, which means a weaker sales pitch,” she says, after an event about the topic at entrepreneur networking group, The Supper Club. “If clients are bamboozled, they might think that they’re buying something that you don’t do or can’t deliver.”

HR departments often find it difficult to justify themselves commercially, which is perhaps why they have become so jargon-heavy, she thinks. “The longer the words, the more impressive the function.”

When it comes to describing what your business does, boil it down to three simple sentences that concern pain, premise and proof, advises Mike Southon, co-author of The Beermat Entrepreneur.

The first defines your customers and what you do for them. “Solving pain is a more powerful driver than simply providing nice things,” he says. “Focus on saving someone money, time or effort – or all three.”

Mr Southon gives a sample first sentence: “We help businesses in the London area to sort debtor issues in a non-confrontational way.”

The premise aspect of your description is what you actually do to solve that headache, but keep it simple, warns the serial entrepreneur.

Proof is best quantified, he adds – “we have an 85pc success rate,” for example.

Ms Maughan adds a final tip: “Ask clients about how they talk about things relevant to your business and re-use their words in future marketing and sales.

“If you can’t explain something without jargon, you probably don’t completely understand it yourself.”

Vocabulary:

obtuse – difficult to understand, unclear, or missing the point in an annoying way, “Instead of saying he was late, he gave a very obtuse explanation about the concept of time.”

consultancy – a company or practice that gives expert or professional advice to other businesses, “The management consultancy helped the restaurant chain improve its daily operations.”

jargon – special words or technical expressions used by a specific group or profession that are difficult for outsiders to understand, “The computer programmer used so much technical jargon that I couldn’t understand what was wrong with my laptop.”

sales pitch – a spoken or written presentation designed to persuade someone to buy a product or service, “The real estate agent gave a brilliant sales pitch to convince the couple to buy the house.”

bamboozled – completely confused, tricked, or fooled, “I was totally bamboozled by the complicated instructions on the new tax form.”

justify themselves – to show or prove that your choices, actions, or department expenses are necessary and reasonable, “The marketing team had to justify themselves to the boss to get a bigger budget for the next year.”

commercially – in a way that relates to buying, selling, making a profit, or business operations, “The new smartphone app was a huge success commercially, earning millions of dollars in its first month.”

boil it down – (idiom) to reduce a large amount of information to its most basic, simple, and important points, “The book is very long, but you can boil it down to one simple lesson: always be kind to others.”

premise – the foundational idea, theory, or statement that an argument, story, or business plan is based on, “The main premise of the movie is that humans can live underwater in the future.”

debtor issues – problems or disagreements involving people or businesses who owe money to someone else, “The accounting department spent all afternoon trying to solve old debtor issues.”

non-confrontational – dealing with situations or arguments in a calm, polite way without causing anger or fighting, “A non-confrontational conversation is usually the best way to resolve a fight with a friend.”

headache – (informal idiom) a major problem, annoyance, or source of worry, “Fixing the broken water pipe under the kitchen sink turned out to be a massive headache.”

serial entrepreneur – a person who continuously starts, develops, and sells multiple new businesses one after another, “The serial entrepreneur sold his online clothing brand and immediately started a new food delivery app.”

quantified – measured or expressed as a specific number or amount, “The student’s reading progress can be easily quantified by looking at his higher test scores.”

relevant to – closely connected, appropriate, or related to the matter or topic being discussed, “Please only ask questions that are directly relevant to today’s history lesson.”