Sales Jargon vs Plain Language Explained

Nobody tells you this about enterprise sales The biggest deals are lost in the first 5 minutes. Not because of your pitch. Not because of your price. Not because of your product. But because of the language you use. Here's what I discovered after analyzing 1000+ sales calls: The higher the deal value, the simpler the language needed to win. Example: $5K deal (Lost) Rep: "Our value proposition addresses critical pain points in your tech stack integration, offering seamless scalability..." $50K deal (Won) Rep: "We help companies stop losing customers due to slow website loading times." See the difference? I tested this with a struggling SaaS team: Before: Complex sales language - 22% close rate - 108-day sales cycle - $127K average deal After: Plain English only - 41% close rate - 71-day sales cycle - $198K average deal Simple change. Massive impact. The truth is, every exec can smell rehearsed "sales talk" from miles away. Want to close bigger deals? Drop these phrases: - "Value proposition" → Say how you help - "Pain points" → Say what problems you solve - "ROI analysis" → Say how much money they'll make - "Scalable solution" → Say how you grow with them - "Best-in-class" → Say why you're better Top performers don't sound like salespeople. They sound like trusted advisors who happen to sell. Start talking like a human. Watch your deals grow. What's the worst sales jargon you've heard lately? P.S. If you need help with your sales, send me a message Let's talk about finding your breakthrough strategy

I have a hypothesis about why some salespeople sound like robots. They sell complex products, so they think they need a lot of specialized jargon to explain them. I also suspect salespeople believe they need to sound professional. The problem? Jargon and corporate-speak are counterproductive. They confuse your message. As Donald Miller says, “When you confuse, you lose.” How can we make the “sales voice” go away? Notice the difference between this sentence: “Our onboarding process ensures a comprehensive understanding of our product’s capabilities.” And this sentence: “We’ll walk you through everything to make sure you’re comfortable and ready to roll.” Before: “You may customize your dashboard settings to align with your specific preferences.” After: “Set up your dashboard just the way you like it.” Before: “Our platform provides a 360-degree view of customer interactions, enabling comprehensive insights and streamlined data access.” After: “See everything about your customers in one place.” Imagine explaining your product to a friend over coffee—not a room full of executives. Use short sentences, plain language, and words they’d actually say in real life. Instead of “optimize efficiencies,” try “make it easier.” Instead of “comprehensive insights,” say “see the big picture.” The goal is clarity, not complexity. When your message is easy to understand, people feel like you’re talking with them, not at them. And that’s when trust—and sales—happen.

I've watched buyers choose companies with worse technology because they actually understood what it does. Happened last month. Two companies pitching the same buyer. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐀: "We leverage advanced machine learning algorithms and proprietary AI frameworks to deliver cognitive automation solutions that synergize cross-functional workflows through intelligent process orchestration." 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐁: "We read your invoices automatically and tell you which ones to pay first." Same technology. Different explanation. Company B won. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧 5 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐬. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐁2𝐁 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐬: Your "innovative solutions" messaging. Your "next-generation platforms" pitch. Your "disruptive paradigm shifts" deck. Nobody knows what you actually do. And confused buyers don't buy. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: SaaS company struggling with conversions. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞: "Enterprise-grade workflow optimization platform leveraging intelligent automation and advanced analytics to drive operational excellence." I asked their CEO: "What does your product do?" He said: "We help warehouse managers see which orders are late and fix them before customers complain." 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐠𝐞. No "enterprise-grade." No "intelligent automation." No "operational excellence." Just clear language a 10-year-old could understand. 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭: Demo requests up 340% in 60 days. Sales cycle shortened by 3 weeks. Close rate jumped from 18% to 31%. Same product. Clearer words. 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐞: They could say: "We provide comprehensive payment processing infrastructure leveraging tokenization protocols and PCI-compliant gateway solutions." Instead: "Payments infrastructure for the internet." Seven words. Everyone gets it. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 10-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫-𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭: Explain your product to a 10-year-old. If they can repeat back what you do, you're clear. If they look confused, your messaging is costing you deals. 𝐓𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤: 1. Write your current pitch 2. Read it to someone outside your industry 3. Ask them: "What do we do?" 4. If they can't explain it simply, rewrite it 𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫: The smartest companies don't sound smart. They sound clear. And clear companies win. ---- ❤️ 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬. ♻️ 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. 🔔 Follow me for more helpful and entertaining videos to improve your go-to-market approach. 🤟

You're losing customers with every buzzword you use. And you don't even realize it's happening. I watched a founder describe his service as "synergistic ecosystem optimization for digital transformation initiatives." I asked what that actually meant. He said: "We help companies use technology better." Why didn't he just say that? Here's what happens when you hide behind jargon: → Your audience stops reading after the first sentence → Potential customers can't figure out if they need your service → You sound like every other consultant using the same empty phrases → People assume you're trying to hide something The fancy words that mean nothing: • "Leverage synergies" = work together • "Digital transformation" = use better technology • "Optimize workflows" = make processes faster • "Strategic initiatives" = important projects • "Scalable solutions" = things that grow with your business Your audience is thinking: "What does this actually do for me?" "How does this solve my specific problem?" "Can they explain this in normal words?" Here's the test: If your 12-year-old nephew can't understand your value proposition, neither can your customers. Instead of complex jargon, try: ✗ "We provide comprehensive omnichannel customer experience optimization" ✓ "We help you serve customers better across all touchpoints" ✗ "Our platform facilitates cross-functional collaboration enhancement" ✓ "We make it easier for your teams to work together" ✗ "We deliver actionable insights through advanced analytics" ✓ "We show you what your data actually means" The breakthrough: Your expertise should simplify complexity, not create it. What your customers want to hear: • What problem you solve • How you solve it differently • Why they should care • What happens next Your action plan: → Read your website copy out loud → Replace every buzzword with plain English → Ask someone outside your industry to review it → If they're confused, rewrite it Stop trying to sound smart. Start being clear. Your customers will thank you by actually buying from you. _________________________ I'm Karen—on a mission to shift how you view finance so you get the strategic value you deserve from your CFO. ♻️ Repost if you're challenging boundaries. ➕ Follow me, Karen Stephen, for more business finance tips & mindset motivation.

Just got off a call with a founder. Their landing page was converting at 12%. Then they got cute. "Let's make it more technical. Show we're experts. People will appreciate the sophistication." They replaced simple language with jargons. Guess what happened? Conversion dropped from 12% to 3%. In ONE week. "I don't understand. We sound more professional now." No. You sound like everyone else. People don't buy when they're impressed. They buy when they understand. Studies show concrete language makes you 300% more believable than vague jargon. Because your prospects spend 3 seconds on your hero section. They're not reading your "synergistic, enterprise-grade, next-gen" nonsense. They're trying to figure out: "Is this for me?" When you use jargon, you make them work. When you use simple language, you make them convert. Use the minimum technical language needed to prove you know your stuff. Everything else: simple, benefit-focused, outcome-based. This founder learned the $50k lesson: Being smart ≠ sounding smart Clear > clever Simple > fancy Benefits > buzzwords Your conversion rate will thank you.

Do you think you sound smart when you talk? After almost 20 years in marketing, I've watched thousands of "smart" presentations fail. The ones packed with industry jargon? Ignored. The complex frameworks? Forgotten. The sophisticated analysis? Collecting dust. Want to know what actually works? The pitch your 5th grade nephew could understand. The strategy explained in simple, plain words. The presentation without one single buzzword or acronym. Turns out, sounding "smart" can actually make you look stupid. Here's the uncomfortable truth: If your audience needs to be as "educated" (whatever that even means) as you are to understand your point, you've already failed. Here are 6 ways to make your complex ideas stick with anyone, no matter how much exposure they've had to your work or your way of working: 1️⃣ Start with the "why" before the "what" Don't dive into the technical details first. Lead with the problem you're solving. Instead of: "We need to implement a multi-channel attribution model..." Try: "We're missing sales opportunities because we can't tell which marketing efforts are working. Here's how we fix that..." 2️⃣ Use analogies Complex concepts become simple when you connect them to familiar experiences. Explaining marketing automation? "It's like having a personal assistant who never sleeps, sending the right message to the right person at the right time." Brand positioning? "Think of it as your personality at a party -- it's how people remember you when you're not in the room." 3️⃣ Kill the jargon, keep the precision Every industry has its secret language. Your audience probably doesn't speak it. Replace "optimize our conversion funnel" with "help more website visitors become customers." Swap "synergistic collaboration" (🤢) for "working together better." 4️⃣ Break big concepts into bite-sized pieces Don't explain an entire marketing campaign in one breath. Start with the goal, then the target audience, then the execution plan. 5️⃣ Use visual aids that actually aid A good diagram beats a thousand words. A bad one creates a thousand questions. Flowcharts for processes. Simple graphs for data. Quick sketches for concepts. Even stick figures work if they make your point clearer. 6️⃣ Check understanding in real time Don't wait until the end to see if they're following along. "Does this make sense so far?" "What questions are popping up?" "How would you explain this back to me?" The goal isn't to sound smart. It's to be understood.

Why are SO MANY cold emails filled with fancy corporate lingo?? "We leverage cutting-edge methodologies to optimize your customer acquisition funnel through strategic implementation of advanced lead generation protocols." I know you think it makes you sound smart and “sophisticated” when you write this out. But believe me when I say this: these types of cold emails RARELY work. Now here's an email that actually gets replies: "We can help you get more customers without relying on expensive agencies." The first email sounds like a press release while the other sounds like a conversation. Which is why email 2 just works better. I've actually tested this across hundreds of campaigns. And simple language consistently outperforms corporate jargon. Here's a real example from our campaigns: Instead of: "We facilitate comprehensive automation solutions for your client onboarding infrastructure." We write: "We can automate your entire client onboarding process so you save 100+ hours per month." Busy executives (or anyone for that matter) don't have time to decode your fancy language. They want to understand your offer in 10 seconds or less. So just write it like you're explaining your service to a friend. Use words a fifth-grader would understand. Replace "facilitate" with "help."  Replace "utilize" with "use."  Replace "implement" with "set up." Trust me, your prospects aren't impressed by big words. Just get straight to the point without unnecessary complexity.

STOP USING BUZZWORDS, START SPEAKING ENGLISH If you can’t explain a concept in plain English or better yet, in a single sentence you probably don’t understand it yet. I’ve sat in too many meetings where everyone nods along at terms no one actually understands. Or, even worse, everyone THINKS they understand, but they all have a completely different definition and then wonder why the conversation is going nowhere. “Cross-screen convergence” "Holistic measurement framework" "Cloud native measurement stacks" Say enough buzzwords in a row ("Leveraging AI-powered DCO to drive scalable creative versioning across omnichannel touchpoints.") and people stop asking questions. But that’s the moment you should lean in. The best strategists aren’t fluent in jargon. They’re fluent in translation. Here’s what’s worked for me and why TVREV is known for our ability to express complex thoughts in plain English without dumbing it down. 1️⃣ Swap buzzwords for metaphors. “buy this thing now" vs "think good thoughts about us” beats “performance vs brand.” 2️⃣ Ask, “How would you explain this to your grandmother?” 3️⃣ When in doubt: simplify, then simplify again. If you want to be taken seriously, stop trying to sound smart. Start trying to be understood. 🤪

I used to think using complex terminology demonstrated expertise. That "leveraging synergies" and "utilising frameworks" showed I belonged in business conversations. The reality? No one was impressed. They were just confused. 💡 The breakthrough came when I started writing exactly how I think not how I speak. This transformed my newsletter engagement (open rates jumped over 30%) Here's why writing how you think (not how you speak) works: 1. Authenticity cuts through noise - Your natural thought stands out in a sea of corporate-speak - Readers sense when you're being genuine vs. performing - Trust builds faster with authentic communication 2. Simplicity enables action - Clear instructions get implemented - Complex directions get abandoned - Young entrepreneurs especially value directness 3. Relatable language builds connection - Industry jargon creates outsiders - Conversational tone creates community - Speaking their language shows you understand their world 📊 In marketing specifically: - Conversational emails see 17% higher click-through rates - Simple language in sales pages increases conversion by 2.1x - Readability improvements can boost engagement by 58% ➡️ Your readers aren't stupid. They're busy. They want to understand your point in seconds, not decode your buzzword bingo. When writing for my newsletter, pitching to investors, or speaking to young entrepreneurs, I constantly remind myself: "If my 16-year-old self wouldn't understand it, it needs a rewrite." Clear writing shows clear thinking. So next time you write anything: If a shorter word works, use it If you wouldn't say it in casual conversation, don't write it If it sounds like a "business robot," start over Simple, isn't it?

We’re not hiring better designers. We’re hiring better buzzwords. I recently watched two UX designers interview for a senior product design role at a fintech company. Both were talented, but their introductions couldn’t have been more different. The first candidate spoke fluently in job description language: “I’ve built scalable design systems in Figma, collaborated cross-functionally in agile sprints, and led end-to-end usability testing.” It sounded impressive and perfectly aligned with the posting. The second one explained things in plain English: “I created a shared library that helped engineers ship faster and simplified the onboarding flow so new users stopped dropping off.” No jargon. Just results. Guess who got hired? The first one, because they sounded more senior. A few months later, the team realized the person couldn’t handle real-world design problems beyond templates and handoffs. Meanwhile, the second designer joined another company and led projects that made a measurable difference for users and teams. That’s the flaw in how we hire. We reward people who sound right, not those who think right. Recruiters often match words, not understanding, because the system values familiarity over depth. If you’re a designer in this environment, learn to tell your story in a way that connects. Don’t just talk about tools. Talk about what changed because of your work. Clarity always outlasts jargon.