Curse of knowledge: talking over people’s heads is bad
It’s that trap most of us fall into: the curse of knowledge. Nothing’s worse than the “deer-in-the-headlights” look when speaking with a potential client. I’ve gotten much better at spotting it and stopping myself before I continue to talk over people’s heads. Everyone knows their own business and all the intricate details involved. The trick is figuring out what needs our business fills and relating that to others who could potentially use our products or services.
Case in point. One of my basic services as an online marketing consultant is search engine optimization. When speaking with a potential client, learning about where they are in their online marketing efforts is a good way to gauge what their knowledge of the subject is. If they start off by telling me that they had a web site built 10 years ago and can’t figure out why they haven’t gotten any business from it, I know I’ve got to start from square one for the most part. If they tell me they have several keywords running on an AdWords campaign, I know they’re farther along and will most likely have a general idea of the process.
It’s real easy for all of us to talk shop with fellow coworkers or others in our field. If the purpose of our marketing materials (web site, blog, etc.) is to sell our products or services to others who are very comfortable with the jargon, then by all means talk it up! In this case it’s essential that they’re comfortable with our level of understanding because they already have a high level of understanding themselves. It’s not to say that in other capacities our level of understanding isn’t important, of course it is. It’s how we connect with those who may not have a very high level of understanding that’s the trick. The way to connect is to find out what their needs are and explain to them exactly how we can help them in a way that’s not going to glaze their eyes over.
December 31st, 2007 at 2:34 pm
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