Explain your "AFJ". If you know what I mean!

How many times have you been stumped or even just slowed down when reading about a product or service by an acronym or expression that seems unfamiliar?  How do you feel when this happens?  Two rules to help your customers.

Today I was reading my daughter’s school newsletter.  In the middle of a paragraph I came across three initials.  I stopped reading and wondered for a moment “what on earth are they talking about?” I did quickly realise that it was in fact the initials of the proper school name.  Trouble is I have never sent the school referred to my these initials before.  Not a big deal and I was able to move on, but I made me think, how often do I use acronyms or terms that are not immediately obvious to my readers?  Well I hope you would tell me, but I’m sure some have slipped through.

Be sensitive…

     …to how you make people feel.  How does it make a person feel when unfamiliar jargon is used?  I guess somewhere between stupid and annoyed.  With this morning’s school initials I definitely erred on the side of feeling very foolish.

I think you would agree that to say or write something that would make a client or customer feel either silly or angry would not be good.  So the solution is to explain your AFJ, oh sorry I mean “Acronym For Jargon” (and yes, I did make that up), before you use it.

Acronyms save time…

     …but only if they are understood.  Lets take the example of a very important concept is sales and marketing, your unique selling proposition (or point).  This is the one thing that sets you apart from your competitors.  All businesses should determine their uniqueness and play this up in order to win ahead of their competitors.  Most of you will be familiar with this idea, but what if you were not.

Rule #1…Acronyms Afterwards

I recommend using the full expression first, and then put the acronym in brackets afterwards.  Many people do this the other way around but I don’t agree and here’s why.

If I said “you should determine your USP (unique selling proposition)…” the brackets imply that the explanation is for those so out of touch they need the expression explained.  In other words you are actually excluding those for whom this expression is new or unfamiliar.  By putting the words the other way around, “you should determine your “unique selling proposition” (USP)….” It suggests that from now on I am going to use the shorthand of the acronym in order to save time and space, it does not assume you do or do not know what it means.

Rule #2…Rule of Jargon

In my rule book for good sales practices, I always say “don’t use jargon unless the customer has used it first”.

The same is true here though if you really want to introduce jargon.  Explain yourself first.

Some people I work with are not familiar with the word prospect.  When working with someone who is perhaps a therapist or healer for example they may well not be at all familiar with such concepts in sales and marketing.  So I tend to say it this way…”so approach someone who might be interested in using your services, or prospect, I recommend…”.  There is no harm in using a full set of words, even with someone who will be used to the expression, but it really helps if you don’t know if they know…etc..

How do you know…

     …if you are using jargon?  After all these are probably expressions so familiar to your that it is difficult to know, understand or even believe, that they are not everyday words and phrases.

First of all, you will catch most of the industry specific or technical language if you just think it through.  In the first pass of your copy or script you will spot most examples.  A slight adjustment to wording or word order will overcome this very quickly.

The second way of course is to then have someone you believe to be outside your speciality to read through your text or listen to what you say.  If in doubt ask a teenager as they may not be well versed in business and are often not shy to show you up…J

Is this being condescending?

     By sticking to the practice of using normal language first and then the acronym or jargon if you want to, you do avoid sounding condescending.

Of course we can all think of examples when the acronym is likely to be more familiar than the full expression.  I think of GDP and APR, financial expressions that I either recognise or understand, sometimes without even being able to think of the exact words they represent.  (APR stands for Annual Punitive Rate doesn’t it?)  It can be a fine line, but as always, the acid test is to ask your customers, clients or ‘prospects’.  Feedback on how you are doing is always invaluable.

5 Myths of Selling

Every business owner is a sales person, but many don’t like to admit it.

So why is “sales” such a dirty word with so many solopreneurs?  In this article, I will unravel some of the myths about sales and discuss how you are, should be and can be the most effective sales effort for your business.

In talking to solo business owners, particularly professional services providers, many would say that they don’t like to sell and even that their business does not lend itself to selling.  “No I don’t sell, but I do marketing.”  What is the difference between sales and marketing?

There are many definitions bandied around, but a definition I use is that marketing as “putting it up on the shelf” and selling is “helping a customer take it home”.  So one way or another, in order for you business to survive and prosper, someone has to part with money for your product or services.

I consider the moment that a client, customer or patient decides to part with money, is the sale.  This may come voluntarily as a natural extension of some marketing effort, but the trigger within that marketing that caused that thought was the ‘sale’.

As marketers will typically agree, good marketing has to have a call to action, well perhaps that is the sale.  But do you really want to rely on someone possibly reacting to your call to action in the way you want, at a time that they decide or would you prefer to exercise some control on your stream of revenue?

So what are the common myths about selling that make it potentially unpalatable?

Myth #1            You have to talk louder or longer than the other person.

Easy, no you don’t.  Just like a good conversationalist listens more than talks, a good salesperson listens and absorbs what is being said.  They continually put the other person first.  This includes hearing out the prospect’s point of view and needs.  You can’t do this if you are talking all the time.  And a soft spoken person will typically be more endearing than a loud-mouth.

Myth #2            Say whatever is necessary to make the sale.

On the contrary, integrity is the mark of a real sales person.  Never do anything to compromise the trust the buyer must have in order to become a customer.  Knowing what you know about your solution and the prospect’s situation as you have uncovered it, if you would not buy, don’t ask for the order.  It will pay off in the long run.

Myth #3            Have snappy answers if they say no.

In sales training, clever-clever retorts to common objections are often discussed, but they should never be used.  They are to lighten the mood in the selling environment, that can all too often get dark if prospects are saying no.  There are certainly key phrases and questions to ask when faced with a no or partial no, and humour, well placed can be appreciated.  But sarcasm or sharp responses will not make you progress.

Myth #4            You must always be closing.

I guess this depends on your definition of closing.  If you think it is about asking for the order or trying to set the prospect up to fall in to a closing trap, absolutely not.  People are generally too savvy for clever techniques.  However, if by closing we mean constantly moving the conversation towards a satisfactory conclusion, then yes.  Even if the most satisfactory conclusion today is no, it may turn to a yes another time.  Again, remember we never do anything to compromise the trust.

Myth #5            Never take no for an answer.

I go back to my point about “would you buy in these circumstances?”  If the answer is no, then no sale, don’t even ask.  However, if the answer is that you genuinely believe the prospect would be better off by buying, but perhaps they don’t see the full picture yet, then it is right and proper as a professional and in your advisory capacity, to persevere until the picture is clear.  The key word here is perseverance not persistence.

Above all, to make a sale, to bring in new business, to produce revenue for your business, your prospect must know, like and trust you.  So that gives you a clue as to how you need to behave to be a great salesperson.  And the cost of buying your product or service must be less than the cost (or pain) of not having it, which tells you what you need to know about the process you must follow.

Ignore the myths, be who you are and people will buy what you believe in.



A time to think about the young people around us. Ways to help…

For many of us, Christmas is a time to give to children and many of us are surrounded by families who can give their children a great deal.  But what of the less fortunate?  And I don’t mean just at this time of the year…

We are just recovering from a very early and very heavy attack of snow.  Inconvenient, dangerous, disruptive we can all appreciate how this weather phenomenon has adversely affected large parts of the UK.

But who loves it?  Little people!  Children dream of snow and long for its onset in winter.  They play until their hands are blue and they can’t feel their feet.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all the stuck lorry drivers and stranded motorists, the commuters at the bus stop or train platform, the delivery guys and every adult left cursing the snow, could see it in the same light.

Imagine if motorists, stuck for hours in their vehicles on the M68, were to get out every hour or so and have a snowball fight, laugh and frolic in the snow until they couldn’t feel their toes but their hearts were warm again.  Tell stories to one another and enjoy each other’s company.

Or even without the snow, you are at the wheel stuck in a traffic jam.  Instead of cursing and cutting up every other driver when an opportunity presents itself, why not play as children would.  Smile at the driver in the car next to you.  Open the window and shout “wot r ya gonna do?” with a grin.

Where does it all start to go wrong?  Sometime in our lives, around the time we are supposed to start going out to work.  As children and young adults leave school and higher education to springboard into the rest of the world, the shutters start to come down.  “Take things more seriously.”  “Now is not the time to play and joke, this is the real world.”  We are told.  By whom?  Well, society whoever society is.  Parents, teachers and anybody trying to help the youngster to get started in their working life.

But employers subscribe to the same wet blanket.  How do you suppose the average interviewing manager would view a candidate appearing in front of them wearing a red, clown-nose.

Everywhere we look there are signs saying “you can’t”…smoke, go faster than, walk here, litter, park here.  Now these are perfectly reasonable things to ask people not to do, but where are the signs saying “you can”.  You can be anything you want, you can achieve heights you thought you could only dream about, you can brighten the world, you can play at life and enjoy whatever career or life style you choose.

On the other side of the coin, later in life many adults will be exposed to the self-help gurus in one form or another.  “You can do and be anything you want to be.”  They will tell us.  But where are they for the school or college leaver?  Another simple answer here, there is no money in preaching encouragement to a school leaver.  After all, the unemployment line beckons, or the student debt hangs heavy over the head of the graduate.  “Life is tough, get over it.”

We are here to change this.  I don’t care how it comes about or whether there is a fortune to be made (or likely not), but I want every child to hold on to their dreams and love of life.

More inspired, more invigorated, more self-belief, more humour, more enjoyment, more hope will make life less tough, and give rise to more opportunity.  I know, “you make your own luck”.  Or substitute “opportunities” for “luck”.  But a helping hand can’t hurt.  We are here to help.

I, along with good friends Theresa and Graham, are launching the “Grasshopper Foundation” in the New Year.

If you would like to see more youth being productive, more entrepreneurs, more happy people, more opportunities being found, join us.  Tell us…

• how you could help,
• your inspiring story or that of someone you know,
• or just that you are out there and you would like to see Boundless Opportunities For Youth

We want to hear from you terry@axxentor.com.



Marketing costs money, selling makes money. Marketing is not selling, don’t confuse the two. Which do you do most?

Many small business owners I talk to admit they spend a considerable amount of time on marketing themselves or their business.  But without a sale, there is no business.

Let’s examine the 5 key differences and what is needed to complete the business cycle.

I have nothing against marketing or those who spend their lives marketing.  Some of my best friends are marketers.  So what is the difference and where should we apply our energy?

There are many disciplines under the banner of marketing.  Here are some:

  - Market research, to determine your ideal prospects, what they want and where they can be found.

  - PR & Brand marketing, building familiarity and trust between you and your prospects.

  - Marketing communications involving graphic representation and the written word amongst other things.

  - Social media and online marketing, taking advantage of the power of the internet to reach audiences.

  - Direct marketing, which puts promotional messages in the hands or in front of your chosen market.

None of these will produce revenue.  Arguably, the last two can produce business but only if appropriate sales techniques are included.

Difference #1

Marketing is therefore determining what customers want and attracting them to you or your business.  This is good, without this you would be casting your fishing line into unknown waters.  Slim pickings unless you are extremely lucky.

Selling is persuading or enabling those prospects that make themselves known to you to buy a product or service by helping them get what they want. It is an art that takes time and effort to learn how to do it effortlessly.

Difference #2

Marketing can achieve the “know, like and trust” necessary to sell your products or services.

But marketing is essentially passive in nature.  It may cause a stirring of emotions, but it is the sale that evokes the action.  So in a good marketing piece there has to be a strong call to action, this is the sale.

The final action necessary from the prospect is to part with money.  This is called selling.

If the call to action is weak, it is likely you will have a lot more work to do, face to face or through some other direct communications or business development.

Difference #3

Brand building is what creates long term value in a business.  Coca-cola, BMW and Apple all spend millions on building their brands and it pays off.  A huge proportion of their capital value is in their brand.  But this doesn’t pay the rent in the early years.

Making one sale will pay more bills than being known in the high-street…today.  But if you want to make more sales in the future, make sure the person who buys today knows who they bought from and remembers your name (favourably).

Difference # 4

The internet is a wonderful opportunity to reach far and wide for people willing and able to buy what we sell.  Internet marketing is obviously big business and a fabulous skill to have.  Social media is very much the current trend for online marketing.  But what happens next?

Online marketing is designed to draw people in.  In to what?  A page that will move the reader to take action.  This is typically and commonly known as a ‘sales’ page (or sales letter).

Without marketing, selling would be a whole lot tougher and more hit and miss than it already is.  Without marketing, we might not even have people to talk to.  But without selling we simply do not have a business.

Difference # 5

Those of you who know me and my work, will know my definition.  “Marketing is putting it up on the shelf, selling is helping someone take it home.”  I suppose sales and marketing go together like a horse and cart.  You need to sell the wares on your cart, but you can reach more people if you have a horse to pull you around.  But the horse on its own, with no wares is just a fun ride.

And for those of you who think from this article that I have a down on marketing, a quote. "Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you're doing, but nobody else does."  Stuart H. Britt

How to annoy clients, another in the series. Get clear about what you do, in “their” minds.

Today I’m going to explain how to use a squeeze page to get organic traffic.  In fact how the inner you can connect with the alter-ego of your tarket in order to enhance your below the line marketing. Uhhhhh??

“If you thought that was bad, you should hear me at a network meeting.”

We all do it, from time to time we use jargon that goes over the head of our audience or simply confuses them.  It is at best, unproductive and at worst annoying.  How do we stop?

In writing copy for websites, I have been advised by people I trust to use language that could be understood by a 6 year old.  I have to make do with a 10 year old, my daughter Michelle.  If in doubt I run a paragraph by her and see if there are words or even concepts with which she struggles.

But it is not about being condescending or treating people as idiots, its simply about making what you say:

• memorable
• easy to understand
• repeatable

At a recent network meeting, participants were invited to practice their elevator pitch.  Someone from the IT world said something about doing things in a “data rich environment”.  The rest of what he said was unmemorable, but this phrase made my brain hurt, but it sounded fattening.

If you are responsible for the information gathered in a business and providing ways of analyzing and interpreting the information to senior management, you will likely use this phrase regularly.  But it is simply rude (J) to express yourself in these terms to lay people.

What does this demonstrate?  “Know your audience” perhaps or just keep it simple.

Memorable:  there is a fine line between a catchy, memorable phrase and cheesy.  A memorable phrase such as “Just do it” or “Helpful banking” is fine as a tagline, but doesn’t come across well in an elevator pitch.  So when you think “memorable” perhaps it is more about the content.  A memorable message is all that is needed, keeping the catchy lines for marketing (at best).

What is memorable?  Well a phrase that resonates directly with your audience or prospect is going to be more memorable than one that causes them to stop and try to work out the implication.  Spell it out.

This brings me on to a pet-peeve of mine.  Whether spoken or written, initials and acronyms.  If you are not 100% convinced your audience will understand immediately, please say the whole phrase first, then add the initials, not the other way around.

Which do you think sounds better?  “Just adopt the principle, Keep It Simple, Sweetheart (or KISS).”  Or “Just adopt the principle, KISS (Keep It Simple, Sweetheart).”  The first way says exactly what you mean and then offers a quick way to remember it, the second talks to people in the know and then explains it for those dummies who don’t recognise the acronym.  How would you prefer to come across to your audience?

Easy to understand:  does not mean treating your audience like children.  Simple language is always going to be better than complex, for the majority.  If you can, test your audience for their level of understanding.  Of course there are times when your subject matter is ideally suited for people with a deep knowledge and are therefore used to expressions and jargon.  My rule of jargon in selling is “never use jargon unless your client has used it first.”

Public speaking is a great environment to test your language.  When standing up front, watch for the nods or glazed expressions.  As a stand up comic (occasionally) I often test my audience with a joke to see what boundaries I need to set.  You will probably have experienced this.  As I heard Jimmy Carr say the other day after a risqué joke “you can laugh or you can “ooooh” but you can’t do both.”

            Repeatable:  Again, elevator pitches are a great way to demonstrate what is meant here.  How many elevator pitches have you heard that you could repeat straight back?  Why would that be important?

Well imagine I have just met you.  You talk to me in a memorable, easy to understand and repeatable way.  An hour later I meet someone else and they could be in the market for what you do.  How easy is it for me to tell them about you?  Would you like me to do that or would you like me to make it up as I go along...from memory?

Repeat after me...”Terry Murphy is a great guy and loves to help.”  See?  Easy really.

Enjoy what you do and use language that keeps frowns and glazed expressions off your prospects’ faces.  They’ll love you for it.