One of the biggest things that turns off prospective clients is when someone is talking way above their heads.
It’s insulting, it’s confusing, and it shows the client that the business person doesn’t care about them or their feelings.
I know that accountants are often guilty of this when we use industry jargon and acronyms that nobody else is familiar with. The same is true for other industries (IT springs to mind). It’s often not deliberate; just a habit.
A good way to generate leads is to talk to prospective clients in a way that they can understand. I’m sure we’ve all experienced the over-eager salesperson or consultant who throws fancy terms around in order to try and sell us on a product or make an impression. It’s frustrating. The last thing that anyone wants to do is to feel like they are dumb, and when they don’t understand what you are talking about, that is how they can feel.
Whether you are making a flyer, a brochure, or your website. write it in laymans’ terms so that people there can understand what it is that you are saying. I’ve left some websites not even knowing what the heck the service provider actually does – even after reading the About and Services pages!
It’s easy to think that clients will be impressed by the vast knowledge that you show, but it can have just the opposite affect if they get turned off by terms that they don’t understand.
If there are terms that you have to use, consider including a glossary so that people know that you thought of them when you were creating the information.
This will not only impress them but it will also show that you really care about them being well informed.
Don’t assume that everyone will know what you are talking about, or will be impressed by big words and a lot of jargon. Depending on who the target audience is, it may make them decide to turn around and go with your competitor.
Article by Christie Lewis
Christie is Practice Manager at Alan Lewis Accountants . Besides accounting, her passion is for all things small business (and blogging, of course). You can contact Christie directly at christie@lewistaxation.com.au.
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