complex

I challenge you to read out loud the following section from the 1996 British Airways Memorandum:

“The Landing Pilot is the Non-Handling Pilot until the decision altitude call, when the Handling Non-Landing Pilot hands the handling to the Non-Handling Landing Pilot, unless the latter “calls go around,” in which case the Handling Non-Landing Pilot continues handling and the Non-Handling Landing Pilot continues non-handling until the next call of “land” or “go around” as appropriate.”

Congratulations, everyone listening to you now thinks you are mental!

Seriously though, this is an extreme example of how some sales people sound.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to over complicate your sales speak. This will confuse the listener, destroy any rapport, and dis-engage the listener.

Remember, the customer does not have the same level of knowledge about the product as you do… if they did, then they wouldn’t need you.

So it is your role to explain things in a way that can be understood by ANYONE.

Experts claim that the average person has the literary skills of a 6th grader, so over complicating language and technical jargon is a recipe for disaster.

Here is what I do when I am creating a pitch or sales letter:

I write it in a word doc… then I send it to a friend who has zero knowledge in the industry. If he understands it, then it is a litmus test that shows that almost anyone will understand it.