Want to connect better with your agency’s prospects?
Make sure you’re using their language. Not yours.
If they have a revenue challenge, call it a revenue challenge. Not a sales challenge. If they have a sales challenge, call it a sales challenge. Not revenue or growth. Many of the words may generally mean about the same thing… but language has nuance and there is no point in taking such a risk.
To illustrate how important language can be when bonding with your prospects, let’s start with a quick story about Pet Parents. That’s right… Pet Parents.
Pet Parents
A few years ago we ran a pitch for a leading retail pet store.
Notably, the team at the pet store never refers to their target audience as “pet owners”. Nope. They refer to them as “Pet Parents.” They LOVE pets. The love of pets is deeply ingrained in their culture.
This “Pet Parents” point was clearly evident in all of the briefing materials.
The client team was consistent with this terminology in the Q&A.
Despite all of this, one of the finest agencies in the world approached the pitch in such an arrogant fashion that they missed this critical point. Instead of using the prospect’s “Pet Parents” language, they instead continuously referred to their audience as… pet owners.
But wait, it’s gets better…
As the agency continued their presentation they introduced signage ideas for different sections of the client’s stores. There was signage for dogs, cats and fish. Signs for pet food and for accessories.
And then things went completely off the rails with their signage idea for the large lizard section:
“Pets that eat other pets.”
They thought they were clever. Our client was incredibly upset.
A pet parent doesn’t talk that way about pets.
Needless to say, that agency did not win.
Or to quote the CEO at that time: “who the f—k invited that agency?”
Knowing and respecting a prospect’s language and culture can go a long way to instilling confidence and rapport with a potential client. Missing these important queues is a good way to lose the opportunity.
Steve Boehler, founder, and partner at Mercer Island Group has led consulting teams on behalf of clients as diverse as Ulta Beauty, Microsoft, UScellular, Nintendo, Kaiser Permanente, Holland America Line, Stop & Shop, Qualcomm, Brooks Running, and numerous others. He founded MIG after serving as a division president in a Fortune 100 when he was only 32. Earlier in his career, Steve Boehler cut his teeth with a decade in Brand Management at Procter & Gamble, leading brands like Tide, Pringles, and Jif.
Mercer Island Group helps marketers and agencies succeed. Company leadership is as much at home with marketers and their C-Suites as in an agency’s boardroom. With marketers, Mercer Island Group is a top 5 agency search consultancy covering all types of agency relationships (creative, media, web, PR, experiential) and assists marketers with marketing organization structure, workflow and critical skill development (briefing, creative evaluation & feedback, etc.). The company also supports leading and aspiring agencies with positioning, pitch and strategy training and pitch support.