Ah...people who need to sound smart.

Can't live with 'em...pass the donuts.

Hold on a sec. Lemme take you on a quick trip back in time.

A few years back, I was Product Marketing Guy for a rocketship of a tech company.

It was incredible how quickly the company was growing. Unfortunately, it had nothing to do with anything resembling a customer focus.

To anyone paying attention, it was clear what had to be done:

Make 2016 the Year of the Customer!!

So, we're at Sales kickoff, and it's made known that 2016 will indeed be the Year of the Customer!

The senior vice president of Sales gets up on stage to welcome everyone.

It's obvious he's about to set the tone for the meeting...and the year ahead.

"Welcome to Sales Kickoff," he says.

"This is the year we will reassert the primacy of customer focus across all aspects of our duties."

Wait. What??

Clear, compelling, convincing messages start with another C.

𝘾𝙊𝙉𝘾𝙄𝙎𝙀.

When you're concise, you almost have to be simple, too.

And simple is a GOOD thing.

     People get simple.

          People want to act on simple.

So here are three quick tips so you can reassert the primacy of simplicity on your messaging.

(That means, follow these tips and you'll be more clear and concise.)

𝟭.) 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀.

"This is the year we will reassert the primacy of customer focus across all aspects of our duties."

Could become:

"This year we will reassert customer focus across our duties."

Not great yet, but still way better...and all we did was remove eight words.

𝟮.) 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲.

When you pretend you're speaking with a 5th grader, your messaging becomes easier to understand.

"This year we will reassert customer focus across our duties."

becomes:

"This year, we'll become more focused on our customers in everything we do."

Yes...added back three words, but it's WAY easier to understand, right?

NOW that we're concise, let's expand on it a bit, shall we?

𝟯.) 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱.

If we are speaking to sales pros,

"This year, we'll become more focused on our customers in everything we do."

becomes:

"What are we without our customers?

This year, let's become MORE focused on the customer in everything we do. 

Your customers...and your commissions will feel it!!"

Can you picture how the room would have erupted if the Sales leader said that?

🤘👊💥😎