Have you ever thought about the words you choose to use in business?

Sometimes it's important to select which one we use carefully.

The fact is the language we use can often impact the impression we give or expectations we set with prospects and clients. 

Oftentimes we inadvertently send the wrong message with the words we use.

Why choosing the right words can save you time and make you more money

In my business, The Prepared Group, we work with marketing agencies to transform their business into a "strategy first" consultancy. Of course, a transformation into a consultancy is a hard thing to sell, so we use shortcut language to get the conversation started with them.

Over the past couple of years we've tried using "grow your agency" and "scale your agency." for the average listener, there is a subtle difference between the words grow and scale. However, they mean completely different things. 

Growth means adding revenue at the same pace you are adding resources; scaling means adding revenue at a much greater rate than cost.

As it turns out, neither of those words is really what we offer to the agency's we serve. Instead, as it became apparent in a recent conversation, we really should be talking about "increasing their profitability."

When we used "grow" and "scale" we were attracting people who wanted to expand their business size and get lots more agency clients. But what we are really offering them is the ability to put more money in their pocket (and potentially work less while doing so).

So we changed the language we were using - and started getting more of our ideal clients (and stopped wasting our time withe the wrong people).

Finding the right words

Sometimes it's hard to know which words are the right ones. That's when I like to do some research. 

If you want to find the words that will resonate with your ideal clients, try...

• Conducting a survey with current, former, and prospective clients.

• Follow-up a written survey with interviews so you can probe for further insights, clarity, and identify really good language.

• Go to Reddit. Find subreddits where people are discussing the topic your business addresses and look at how they express their pain, wants, needs, and solution desires.

But don't...

• Go to places where people are editing themselves like Facebook or LinkedIn.

• Look to your competitor's websites and marketing materials since they may not have a good sense of the right language either.

Remember that you want to find the language that someone is using BEFORE they become your client.

So you’re not listening for...

• Phrases or terms you already use

• More corporate-speak or industry jargon

• What everyone else is saying

Instead, you’re listening for...

Reoccurring themes and phrases you find again and again, like:

• What pain or symptoms they are experiencing

• The frustrations they have about other solution

• What are they want in a solution

• What outcome or transformation they want

and...

Phrases that jump out and cause you to notice words that speak to base pain and deep desires, like...

• Words that say what most people are unwilling to say

• Memorable phrases that create a memorable image in the mind

Bottom line...

Words can be predictable or they can be powerful. They can mean the difference between your business looking like all the others out there... or they can enable you to stand out.

Which would you prefer?