There’s an old adage: “K.I.S.S.: Keep It Simple, Stupid.” It’s rude and crude (because you’re not stupid), but it’s good advice .
Complexity invites confusion. Confusion causes hesitation. Hesitation can cause worry.
When talking about your product or service, keep it as simple as you can. Use easy-to-understand words. Use short sentences. Speak just a tad slower than you usually do. Just because you know the ins and outs of what you offer doesn’t mean the person you’re talking with does.
Don’t talk down to your audience but don’t use industry jargon unless you’re sure he or she will understand it, too. “Beam me up, Scotty” is understandable across the universe (we like to think) so this would be okay as universal “tech-talk” but remember–very little industry jargon is!
Example: Instead of explaining how a smoke alarm works (unless someone asks you), say, “It sounds an alarm when smoke happens inside your house so you have time to get out in case a dangerous fire has started.”
Instead of explaining how a burglar alarm works, say, “It shrieks when someone tries to break in. It scares the thief, warns your nearest neighbors to be on the lookout for criminal activity and call 911, and gives you time to react by hiding or arming yourself.”
Explaining benefits as simply and concisely as you can opens the way for additional questions. You want questions. You should love questions. They show engagement and the thought process that’s taking place so you can respond appropriately.
If you offer choices between two similar products, offer one or the other–not both of them. You will sell more.
You can always offer the second, third and fourth choices later to the same buyer, but don’t complicate matters by asking them to choose just one the first time out. (If you do ask them to decide between two or among many options, you’ll find that in most cases they’ll dither and not decide on any of your options, or they’ll ask you to choose the one you’d choose for yourself, so you may as well offer that one, alone, to simplify the offer.) This works with shirts, DVDs and just about everything else that comes with multiple options.
No one wants to be confounded. We all want to have clarity when considering a purchase. It’s how wise decisions get made.
Keep it simple, then hush up and listen carefully for additional cues from your prospect. Let him or her decide where the conversation should go next. Be wise counsel, not a cudgel.
