Do you speak to prospects in your language or their language?

Most of us coaches have a lot of credibility in our space. That’s what makes us great coaches: not only do we have expertise in coaching, but we have expertise in the subject matter around which we coach.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that the language we have learned through schooling and experience is new to potential clients.

It’s verbiage we can teach them once they become clients, but when we talk to prospects, whether it’s in person, through email, our website, or other forms of marketing, we need to use what I call “client speak,” that is, use their language to describe the challenges we help them solve, the desires we help them fulfill and how we help them.

As an example, if you’re a coach certified in neuroscience, you might teach your clients a lot about how the brain functions so they can understand how it affects their decisions. But on your website, while it’s important to talk about neuroscience (because it differentiates you from other coaches and will draw potential clients to you), you must find a way to explain how you help people in layman’s terms. If you start talking about the pre-frontal cortex, you might lose them.  But if you talk about the impact that stress is having on their life and that you have tools to help them master and manage their stress, that is something that will capture their attention.

Most importantly, it’s crucial to pinpoint what it is that they deeply desire, what they struggle with and how they talk about it. The idea is to have them think, “Ah, this person gets me. They understand where I am and my pain points.”

So, what do you say when someone says, “Tell me about the work you do”? Do you use your technical, professional terms, or do you use “client speak” to describe what your clients are struggling with and deeply wanting?

The best way to find the right language is to ask your current clients, “What are your biggest challenges? How would you describe it? What do you hope to get out of coaching?” Use that language when you speak to potential clients, and you’ll see the right people lean in.

With appreciation,

Tara Butler Floch