I write for business, and one of the challenges I face daily is finding a way to make my copy fresh and (argh) compelling.
Sales guru Jill Konrath dubs expressions like leading edge, industry leader, and world-class “promotional puffery.” (I’ve used all of them.) Currently, I’m involved in a project where the writers have been encouraged to come up with more interesting terms to describe networking products than resilient, scalable, and high performance. Trouble is our subject matter experts like these terms, so they tend to reject our more interesting choices.
Ms. Konrath recently wrote an article where she commented that “Decision makers don’t care about your product’s speed, specifications, or efficiency. They don’t care about the wonderful methodology you use … They care only about the results your offering delivers for them.”
Her article lists words that decision makers like to hear. Words that get their attention in a way that world-class doesn’t. My favorites include:
- Faster time to market
- Decreased operational expenses
- Increased market share
- Improved customer retention levels
- Faster response time
And why are these terms so good? It’s because they allude to something you can measure. And why do resilient, scalable, and high performance work? Because, at least in the world of networking, they point to something prospects can measure. And I should add that they’re useful shorthand when dealing with strict word limits.
Check out Ms. Konrath’s article for an expanded list of words decision makers like.
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