They certainly are if you’re speaking your language instead of your prospects’. You live and breathe what you do every day, so you don’t even realize you’re using jargon and other professional gobbledygook that flies right over their head. But that lack of awareness may be costing you sales.

We’re not just about talking technical jargon. Every industry has its own phrases and terms that have special significance. Here are two examples I’ve seen recently:

Build your personal foundation. I knew from my coaching days what it meant. But most people looking to hire this coach will have no clue. She’d be better off saying something like, “Eliminate the negative and build healthy habits and beliefs that will help you achieve your goals.”

Modalities. A spiritual healer’s old web site had used this word countless times. Most of probably could probably guess that she means “techniques,” but we’d be unsure. And the clinical-sounding term jolts you from the flow of the otherwise warm, inspirational message.

It may just seem like semantics, but it’s not. Here’s why:

1. If they have to stop and figure out what you meant, you’ve probably lost them. The phone will ring, another email will come in, or they’ll decide they just don’t have time right now and will just look at it again “later.” How often do you think later comes?

1. People buy from those they know, like and trust. They need to feel that you understand their needs–and using words and phrases that are foreign to them will do quite the opposite.

So how do you make sure you’re speaking you’re their language? The best way is asking someone in your target market to review it. Second best is what I call it “The Mom Test.” I am definitely not knocking my mom, she’s a very smart person–but most of her career has been inside a police department. So she’s an outsider to virtually any industry I write about. And if she wouldn’t understand something, most others wouldn’t either. I also know some business owners who have their kids read what they write. After all, who’s going to be more honest than your teenager?

Regardless of who you choose to review your copy, taking the time to make sure it speaks your prospect’s language instead of yours will definitely be worth it.