Cracking the Code: Using
Client-speak to Close More Deals

If you really want to get through to your target audience, your marketing copy has to speak their language

by Kirstin Carey

A speaker friend came into town this past weekend and asked me to look over his marketing materials. "I feel like I'm missing something," he said.

I reviewed a few clips of his speaking engagements and looked over his marketing flyers and website. "What feedback are you looking for?" I asked him.

Ed explained that though he had been in business for many years, held prestigious speaking awards, was represented by reputable speaker's bureaus, and had impressive clients that he felt something in his marketing just wasn't quite right.

"I know there have been many times in the past year, or so that speaker's bureaus didn't even think of me for speaking engagements I would have been perfect for, and I don't know why. Perhaps I have to make my speaking titles more catchy or maybe I have to add in more hip stories in my speeches to appeal to a younger audience. What do you think?"

Effective marketing is not just being creatively brilliant and concocting magical messages

The root of Ed's problem was simple, he wasn't using "client-speak", and it was greatly impacting the number of engagements he was booking.

Effective marketing involves gathering information from your "target client", listening to that information, and giving your client what he or she wants. It's not just being creatively brilliant and magically concocting marketing messages from your own head. You have to use "client-speak" in order for your client to buy.

Here's how you, too can use "client-speak" so your marketing makes people run to the phone and dial your number.

Decoding the language

Ed's challenge arose from the fact that the titles of his programs, books, and articles used words and phrasing that used a consistent branding theme, though they didn't give the client what they wanted. The content of his programs, books, and articles gave the client what they needed, but they didn't know that based on the words that were used to describe his material.

So, because Ed was using the wrong words the client didn't know Ed was the right guy to solve their problems. His clients were unable to decode the language and realize that Ed had what they wanted.

Learning the language

To solve this problem, Ed had to learn how to speak the language his clients were using. In order to understand their unique language, Ed had perform an "Ask Campaign" to learn what specific words and phrases his target client was using to describe their needs.

An "Ask Campaign" contains one question that helps a specific target audience tell you their number one issue in their own language. An "Ask Campaign" is far better than a survey because it is much shorter, takes less time, and gets to the root of the issue much more quickly.

For example, Ed could ask the people who managed business associations the following question to learn their "language":

"As the Executive Director of an association, what is the number one question you would you ask about increasing member retention?"

Or, he could ask speaker's bureaus this question:

"As a speaker's bureau, what is the number one question your clients ask you when looking for a speaker to keynote for their organization?"

Or, he could ask his meeting planner clients this question:

"As a meeting planner, what is the number one question you would ask a keynote presenter to answer during his program for your organization?"

Speaking the language

The questions Ed receives will contain the specific language his clients use, which Ed should then use in his marketing, for his book titles, and for the descriptions of his speeches. Once Ed weaves this language into his promotional material, he should minimize the number of times someone else is hired to present a program that he "would have been perfect for."

So, regardless of what you sell, you have to speak your clients' language in order to sell it to them. How can you use client-speak to increase your sales?

Kirstin Carey is an award-winning professional speaker and consultant who brings nearly a dozen years of marketing communications experience to her company: Orange Tree Training & Speaking Group. Based just outside of Philadelphia, Carey works with all levels of corporate management – from CEOs to sales associates – and provides one-on-one counsel to entrepreneurs, business leaders and other professionals. For more details about Kirstin's services and to subscribe to her informative Juicy Bits & Pieces E'Zine , visit the company's web site.

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