Jargon Anyone?

What separates the average salesman to a super successful salesman is that, the latter knows how to speak many languages. No, I don’t mean Spanish, Italian or German but he can speak to a gentleman in uniform in military language, to a lawyer in a lawyer’s language . In fact the successful salesman can talk to many clients of different backgrounds.

Every job or hobby has its own set of jargon or specialty terms. A  successful salesman takes the time and effort to learn those  terms of different fields of occupation and interests.

 Why? Is it important  in increasing their income? Absolutely! When you speak your client’s language you are immediately establishing rapport. You are building a common ground between you and the prospect. You let the client know subliminally that you understand his viewpoints , problems and opportunities.

If someone has something in common with us, it is only natural that we automatically open up, feel less fear and develop more trust with them isn’t it? So we surely buy something from someone we know we can trust. That’s  the advantage of knowing different sets of jargon. You sell more to people therefore increasing your income.

How to learn the lingo.

You learn it by reading trade journals and specialized magazines. There’s a magazine for every specialty you can imagine. Read and take notes of editorials and letters to the editors.

They give you authentic viewpoints of people in their own special world. Start using and practicing the jargons you learn.. You only get good at something by doing it, just like a cyclist gets good by cycling and a swimmer gets good by swimming. Remember “Practice is the mother of all skills.”

Here are examples of jargon so you can  start peppering your speech or presentations with them.

Military:

-ally or allies =friends and co workers who are on your side to support you, uphold your   opinion no matter what in staff meetings or internal power play.

-arch rivals=longtime corporate competitors in the same market like coca cola vs. pepsi.

-blitzed or bombarded= a concentrated shorterm activity like sudden explosion of advertising and promotion.

-flagship= the store, company or regional office which is consistently more profitable and help up as a model.

Baseball Vernacular:

-ballpark figure= rough estimate expressed in dollars and cents. It’s never the fixed amount or cost.

-batting average=expressed as percentage of successes (hits) in relation to attempts(times at bat)

-out in the left field= out of it, clueless

-over the fence=  a sure home run. A stunning  performance. Profitable financial feat.

-pinch hitter= a specially qualified temporary substitute.

Football:

-jock= a male professional athlete, competitive team sportsman.

-quarterback= a key player who calls the signals. Tells other players what to do and how. Absolute authority figure.

Try to research and expand your knowledge of jargon  to medical, legal, political or whatever field you are embarking. It’s  one secret to be subliminally persuasive and that is to learn and speak jargon.