Do you use jargon in your sales presentations? Industry terms that, while understood by your  colleagues, mean nothing to your customers? Jargon can scare your prospects away without your even knowing it.

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Plain talk makes sales. Fancy talk makes you sound lame. – Jeffrey Gitomer

I once watched a TV salesperson present some online marketing ideas to the owner of an insurance agency. One of the items in the proposal was labeled “PPC”, and the AE referred to “PPC” several times during his remarks.

Finally, the exasperated client raised his hand to stop the presentation and said, “What the heck is PPC?'”

Only then did the rep explain that it stood for “Pay Per Click” — the text ads on Google (advertisers only pay Google when someone clicks on the ad).

We were lucky our prospect asked. In many cases, customers are afraid to speak up because they don’t want to look foolish. The result can be a lost sale — people won’t buy what they don’t understand.

It’s time to eliminate jargon from your vocabulary.  Your “inside” expressions — the ones you use every day with co-workers and advertising agencies — don’t belong in the sales conversations you have with your direct clients.

Here are some terms your co-workers understand but your customers may not:

• Demo — the furniture store owner doesn’t have a demo. She has customers.
• DMA — the PI attorney doesn’t know what your DMA is, and doesn’t care. He might be interested in how far your signal goes, or what counties you’re carried in.
• “8a-10a” — the real estate agent you’re calling on doesn’t get to the office at 8a. She arrives at 8am, or 8 in the morning.
• OTT — the newest addition to the industry gobbledygook list. The auto body shop owner has no idea what “OTT” is. He’s never heard of “over the top media”. But he’s got a millennial daughter who watches Hulu on her phone every night.
• SEO — the insurance broker has no idea what “SEO” is, but he wants to show up higher when people are searching online.
• PPC or SEM — same as the above. Talk about the text ads people click on when they go to Google.

Sales expert Jill Konrath summed it up this way:

“Our goal should always be to ensure clear communications. That means we need to speak like we’re talking to normal human beings. Sometimes that’s harder than it sounds. But, by keeping things simple, we all benefit.”

Whether you’re talking to customers online, on paper or in person, ditch the jargon. Your sales numbers will be glad you did.