Conversational names

Practical Sales Training™  > How to connect with your buyer> Conversational Names

 

 

What is it?

This is all about naming your business / product / service so that the name of it sits well in conversation and is thus easier to recall and share.

 

Why does it work?

It works because being remembered is a HUGE challenge when it comes to selling and messaging. By choosing a name that’s not only easy to read, write, speak and spell, but that fits into the natural conversation/language of your buyer, you avoid issues like the Chinese Whisper Effect.

 

How can you use it?

  1. Write the sentence your buyer uses to describe the problem
    Use their words, not yours.
    Example: “People don’t understand what we do.”

  2. Write the sentence your buyer would say if the problem was solved
    This is the outcome in their voice.
    Example: “Now people understand it straight away.”

  3. Turn that outcome into a plain English label
    Name the result, not the process that creates it.
    Ask yourself: if the buyer had succeeded, what would they say they now have?

Good names describe the thing they can point to or talk about:
“I’ve got a clear sales message.”
“I finally have a simple onboarding process.”
“Our pricing is obvious now.”

Avoid naming internal mechanics, strategies, or frameworks.
Buyers do not ask for methodologies. They ask for outcomes.

“Clear sales message” works because it sounds like something a human would say in conversation.
“Revenue enablement positioning framework” fails because it describes how you work, not what they get.

  1. Fit the name into a natural sentence
    Test it in real spoken language:
    “You need a ___.”
    “Have you got a ___ yet?”
    “If you want [outcome], you need a ___.”

If the sentence sounds unnatural, the name is not conversational yet.

  1. Remove complexity
    Shorten it.
    Strip out jargon.
    Remove clever spelling or insider terms.

If you would need to explain the name before explaining the offer, simplify it.

  1. Make sure it is specific enough to mean something
    Vague names feel safe but forgettable.
    Specific names feel useful and repeatable.

  2. Say it out loud and imagine a recommendation
    Picture someone telling a colleague about it.
    If they can say it smoothly and confidently, you have a conversational name.

 

Example

I use conversational names in the products and services I create as it’s not only descriptive of whats on offer, but makes conversation (and conversion) easier as the name becomes part of the buyers’ vernacular.

  • Bit nervous when selling? You need Selling Confidence™ 
  • Find it hard to explain your offering? You need a Clear Sales Message™

 

 

See also