computerstore mesmerizing an elderly couple with his techno-babble. Theyhad come into the store looking for a computer for some verybasic needs. The salesman was very impressive with hisknowledge. He talked about the clock speed of the computer. Hecompared the various processors and showed them the 3-D Graphicscapability of the computer. Then they were told about the56K,V.90 modem, that they could get a DVD ROM and that, if theywanted to, they could upgrade from 64MB of RAM to 128MB of RAM.It was obvious that he knew the product extremely well. Histechnological knowledge was encyclopaedic. Just as impressivewas his monumental lack of knowledge of the customer. He neverlistened to them at all. They smiled and agreed with hisevaluation, thanked him for his time, and proceeded to look atother products. A few minutes later the same salesman corneredanother couple and proc...

...eeded with the same techno- babble orGeek Speak. A few minutes later this same elderly couple wereapproached by another salesman who offered assistance. Theyseemed reluctant to talk to him. I could only assume that theywere afraid of the same barrage of Geek -Speak that they hadbeen subjected to before. His first question to them had nothingto do with the computer other than asking what they were lookingfor. During the next thirty minutes he talked to them abouttheir interests. He discovered that they had a son in Australiaand a daughter in England, not to mention an extended familythroughout North America. They informed him that they were bothhistory buffs. He also found out that she enjoyed cooking. Hediscovered that they would like to stay in closer touch withtheir family. This was one thing that he focused on.. Not oncedid he talk about DVD, RAM, ROM, clock speed, or pixels on ascreen. They had heard about e-mail but never reallyinvestigated the possibilities. They had believed that they werepast the point of obtaining any serious knowledge of computers.The first salesman reinforced this belief that computers weretoo complicated. This is not to suggest that elderly peoplecannot become computer literate, but the approach of the firstsalesman convinced them that it was beyond them. Once the secondsalesman discovered something of their needs, he began talkingabout the simplicity of e-mail and how they could stay in touchfairly easily. He talked about doing searches through theInternet on their favourite history topics, and the variouscooking news groups that could be accessed online. He carefullytold them about accessing information online without usingtechnical jargon and how they could actually send and receivepictures. The possibility of receiving pictures of theirgrand-children intrigued them. They really liked the idea that,even though they may not be able to get to Australia, they couldreceive regular pictures of their grand-children growing up.When he talked about the capability of the computer, he usedlanguage that they understood. They received the sameinformation as they did from the first salesman, but in alanguage that was not peppered with impressive Geek-Speak. Hesold them on ideas that were interested in. By the time hefinished, they had bought over three thousand dollars worth ofcomputer equipment. He did not sell them the computer andperipherals- they were ready to but- but they just wanted tounderstand what they were buying. This kind of simplification ofthe techno-babble or Geek-Speak that I discussed in my firstarticle can affect sales, not only in a store situation, butalso online. There will always be a necessity to use Geek-Speakbut it is essential to know your audience. More sales are lostbecause someone, in a misguided attempt to impress theiraudience, confuses that same audience with a barrage oftechnical jargon or Geek-Speak. One must judge the audiencecarefully and the first step is to listen to the questions thatare being asked. Better still, ask questions that will elicit aresponse that will result in gaining some information about theprospective purchaser. It is easy to sell someone a product thatthey are impressed with but that they don't need. The mostsuccessful sales people however, are those who sell someone aproduct they need. The result is repeat sales because thecustomer knows that their needs will be met and they won't beloaded up with peripherals that become dust collectors....