May 2, 2025 • 18 mins
Welcome to the Successful Life Podcast with Corey Berrier. In this episode, Corey addresses service technicians and comfort advisors about the critical issue of using technical jargon in customer interactions. He emphasizes that confusing customers with complex terminology can significantly hinder sales. Corey's main message is to replace technical jargon with clear, relatable language to build trust, increase sales, and ensure customer retention. Through real-life examples and practical tips, Corey illustrates the power of metaphors and simple language. He encourages technicians to become translators who make complex HVAC concepts understandable. By doing so, technicians can create long-term customer relationships and grow their business. Corey concludes with a challenge: rethink how you explain technical concepts to homeowners, test it out, and watch the difference it makes. Don't forget to share this episode and leave a five-star review!
00:00 Introduction to the Successful Life Podcast
00:16 The Invisible Sales Killer: Technical Jargon
02:00 The Power of Clear Communication
02:35 Real-World Examples and Metaphors
04:56 The Importance of Customer-Friendly Language
10:31 Ego and the Technician's Language
14:19 Recap and Easy Wins
15:51 Challenge and Conclusion
https://coreyberrier.gumroad.com/
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https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreysalescoach/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Corey Berrier (00:00):
Welcome to the Successful Life Podcast.
I'm your host, Corey Berrier,and I want to welcome you back
to the show.
I appreciate you all listening.
So this episode is going to bedirected towards and about
service technicians and comfortadvisors.
So the topic today is technicaljargon, which is the number one
(00:33):
invisible sales killer in thetrades.
Technical jargon.
More importantly, how can youreplace it with clear, relatable
language that builds trust andincreases sales and keeps
customers coming back?
Because here's the truth: You're not just a technician, (00:52):
undefined
you're a translator, and whenyou learn how to translate the
language of HVAC into human,your results change forever.
Because if people don'tunderstand what you're trying to
sell them, they can't reallybuy it.
(01:13):
A confused mind makes nodecision.
So let me paint a picture.
If you're in the home, thesystem's struggling, you
diagnose a bad TXV.
You tell the customer thethermostat expansion valve is
restricting refrigerant flow,causing low superheat and
(01:35):
starving your evaporator coil.
The truth you might feel smart,you might feel super smart and
that, technically, is the rightanswer.
But what did they hear?
What did the customer hear?
Noise, confusion, maybe even areason to call somebody else.
(02:00):
So let me say somethingdirectly.
You know, if you confuse thecustomer, you lose the customer.
People don't buy what theydon't understand and in that
moment the customer isn't buyingyour explanation.
They're buying your confidence,your clarity and their own
(02:21):
peace of mind and their ownpeace of mind.
So if you sell that peace ofmind, opposed to that technical
jargon, your results are goingto be exponentially better.
So let's shift this for asecond.
So let me give you an examplefrom the field.
A tech and I was.
We were having some troubleclosing, or the tech was having
(02:44):
trouble closing jobs, and so Irode with him and, sure enough,
he's dropping terms like high,sub-cool, superheat, variance,
piston, metering issues.
So I asked him to pause andrephrase and I said try this.
You know, the part thatcontrols how much cooling your
(03:08):
system gets is clogged and it'slike a clogged artery in your
heart.
It's restricting flow and if wedon't fix it you're going to
wear down your entire system.
So he used it and the customernodded, actually understood what
he was saying, and she saidyeah, that makes sense, let's do
(03:31):
it.
So the point there is the powerof metaphor, that's the power of
simple language, and you canuse this with.
You know, if you're in anyindustry really and you're so
technically proficient you'vegot to think about are you
losing customers because you'retoo technically proficient?
(03:55):
And again, you know, I know youwant to sound smart.
I get that, everybody wants tosound smart, but this is just
not the right time and there isa time and place for that, but
this is not it.
So, again, you're not just atechnician, you're a translator.
So you take a complex system,you identify the problem and
(04:17):
translate that into a story thecustomer understands.
When you do that, somethingmagical happens.
They don't just see you as aguy who fixes stuff, they see
you as someone who they cantrust, someone who explains
things in a way that can helpthem make a smart decision.
(04:38):
So technically, you're aninfluencer.
Because that's influence.
When you're influencing theirdecision by giving them
clear-cut directions, it leadsto bigger tickets, more approved
work and long-term customers.
So I'll take another common onesuperheat.
(04:59):
How many times have you saidthis as a technician?
Just ask yourself.
Hit pause on the thing and sayhow many times throughout the
day do I say the word superheat?
The superheat's too high, we'vegot a restriction or a low
charge.
They nod, the customer nods,they're.
(05:20):
They're saying yeah, yeah, yeah.
But they don't get it andlisten.
Most of the time we're talkingto men not always, but most of
the time and you think, becauseit's another dude, that he
understands the superheat's toohigh.
He has absolutely no idea.
And here's the other side ofthat that dude has pride, he has
(05:48):
ego, and so instead of saying,hey, james, you know, I don't,
uh, you know, I don't know whatthe hell super heat means, they
just nod.
They don't get it.
So why don't you try thisinstead?
Your system's cooling power isweak.
(06:10):
It's like trying to cook dinneron a stove that isn't quite
getting enough gas.
It works, but it's slow andwasteful and it's going to drive
your energy bills through theroof.
And it's going to drive yourenergy bills through the roof.
Suddenly they feel the problemand that then, in turn, makes
(06:31):
them want the solution.
We repeat that Suddenly theyfeel You've got to make that
customer feel the problem.
If they don't feel the problem,they're not going to want the
solution.
And this is all in the tonalitythat you use.
(06:51):
It's all in your body language,your hands, your facial
expressions and, quite frankly,the words that you use really
don't matter that much, exceptfor when you're using words they
don't understand, because ifyou're talking to me about some
kind of craziness.
(07:12):
Some engineer is talking to meabout some kind of project he's
working on.
The second.
He says something I don'tunderstand.
I'm sitting here in my brainwhile he's still telling me
about this thing.
I'm stuck on that very firstthing in the first sentence that
I don't understand.
I'm trying to rack my brain,trying to figure out what this
(07:33):
transformer he's talking aboutthat powers the whole city.
I can't really picture that,but I'm trying to.
I'm trying to understand whathe's talking about and therefore
I've tuned out the rest of thatconversation and therefore I've
tuned out the rest of thatconversation.
And so if your customers aretuning out at the beginning of
(08:06):
the conversation, then there's avery high chance, if not almost
a guaranteed chance.
But you're going to lose thatcustomer.
So you've got to make peoplefeel the problem and want the
solution.
So three rules that you can goby of using customer friendly
language.
Let me just give you threequick ones uh and uh, just when
you're explaining hvac problemsto customers.
(08:27):
So stuck in heating mode,instead of saying stuck in
heating mode because I don't,you know that people don't know
what that means.
It's like a car stuck inreverse, you can't go forward
until we fix the switch.
You see how easy that is.
You don't even have to be a carperson to understand that.
If your car is stuck in reverseand you can't go forward until
(08:50):
they till we fix the switch, yougot to fix the switch, right.
But if you say stuck in heatingmode, well I don't.
You know the customer doesn'tknow what that means.
You know what it means, butthey have no idea what that
means.
Uh, so here's another one.
Don't say replace yourcapacitor, say we'll get your
(09:13):
system back to runningefficiently and reliably before
it fails on the hottest day ofthe year, right.
Don't say replace capacitor,say we'll get your system back
up and running effectively orefficiently, rather and reliably
, before it fails on the hottestday of the year.
Do you see what I just didthere?
I made you feel this was goingto fail on the hottest day of
(09:38):
the year.
And after you explain you cansay hey, did that make sense?
And this shows that you care.
It builds a connection and itgives them space to ask
questions.
And so, unfortunately, becauseI'm in this industry and I asked
that question, did that makesense?
(10:00):
So many times my girlfriend islike dude.
If you ask me if that makessense, again, I'm going to wring
your neck because I'm in such,I'm in such a such.
I'm so used to saying it somuch.
I say it to her all the time.
(10:21):
So let's talk about, let's talkabout, let's talk about techs
in the ego, your ego.
As Joe Crescero says, your egois not your amigo.
So I'm going to talk to theveteran technicians.
Sometimes we hang on to jargonbecause it makes us feel smart
(10:45):
and, let's be honest, it is partof the craft.
It took you years to learn thisstuff, but clarity isn't
dumbing it down, it's liftingthem up to your level.
You're, you know, you're a,you're an expert in the field.
(11:07):
You've been around for 10, 12,15 years, whatever it is 20
years, 30 years.
But when you clarify and helpdumb it down, it's not making
you look stupid, it's makingthat customer.
It's bringing them up to yourlevel by giving them these
(11:29):
analogies.
And you know, the best peoplein the business, the best people
in the business can makecomplicated things sound simple.
But the real mastery here isthat's what sets you apart.
(11:56):
And if you can't do that, if youcan't change your technical
jargon, if you can't change yourlanguage patterns, then you
sound like everybody else.
I mean, this is absolutely keyto being different.
If five guys are going to showup to sell a system, right, this
happens often three guys,whatever it is, and all three of
you, or four of you, or five ofyou sound exactly the same.
Well, then it comes down toprice, because you're all the
(12:17):
same it, even if you've got ayou know the top shelf, whatever
Daikin system or Gree ionsystem or whatever it is right,
the most efficient, the mosteverything.
If you sound like everybodyelse, then you're going to sound
(12:39):
just like the guy selling thecheapest Goodman or the cheapest
uh, whatever, fill in the blank.
So I've coached hundreds oftechnicians and comfort advisors
and leaders and the ones whogrow fast in revenue, repeat
customers and referrals.
(13:00):
All share this one thing incommon.
All share this one thing incommon they communicate clearly.
When the homeowner says you'rethe first person who ever made
this make sense to me, you'vealready won the sale and you've
probably got a fan for life,because they can relate to you
(13:21):
and if you're relatable, theywant to do business with you.
If you're unrelatable, ifyou're talking in jargon, you're
, you know.
If you want to sound smart,that's fine, but you're going to
lose maybe not every time, butyou're going to lose more times
than you want to, for sure.
And listen, you want, as TonyRobbins says, you want raving
(13:45):
fans.
You want a fan for life,because that means it's a
customer for life.
It means they're going to callthe company and ask for you
personally, right.
So that's what you're lookingfor, that's what you want,
that's what I want.
Repeat customers, repeat happycustomers.
You know it's really nice goingto a home that you've been to
(14:06):
before that they called you foryou specifically.
Whatever their problem is,they're going to accept whatever
you say, because you're theprofessional and you've built a
relationship with them andyou've helped them not feel
stupid.
So let's recap some easy winsStop using phrases like
superheat or TXV restriction orpiston metering.
(14:28):
Start saying things like notcooling right, blocked cooling
valve, older part causinginefficiency.
Use analogies cars, stoves,clogged arteries, traffic jams,
anything that paints the picture.
See, here's the idea.
You've got to paint the pictureof the problem, and painting
(14:51):
the picture means you've got tohave relatable verbiage that can
make sense, and in that you'vegot to paint the pain in that
same picture.
Remember I said earlier.
You know your system's going todie on the hottest day of the
year.
Well, that doesn't sound veryfun to anybody, right?
(15:11):
So just remember, you're theguide, you are the hero.
You're helping them understandthe monster, their system that's
broken, so they can overcome it.
And you know, hvac is atechnical field, but
communication is an emotionalone.
(15:34):
And when you learn how to speakto a customer's, you know at a
customer's level, they'll notonly trust you but they'll buy
from you, which is what we want.
You know, if you build trust,people will buy from you, I
promise you.
So here's my challenge to youthis week just pick one
(15:56):
technical concept, rewrite howyou explain it to the homeowner,
put it in chat, gpt, try it onyour next call and watch how it
changes the conversation.
And I promise you, I promiseyou it's going to feel a little
bit awkward, it's going to feela little bit weird and you're
going to feel like you'redumbing it down because you're
smart.
You're the smartest guy in theroom, but you don't need to be
(16:19):
the smartest guy in the room.
So look, if this episode wasgood for you, do me a favor.
Share it on social media.
Give us a five-star review.
It really helps more peoplefind the podcast and I
appreciate you listening to theSuccessful Life Podcast and
we'll see you next Friday.
Welcome to the Successful Life Podcast.
I'm your host, Corey Berrier,and I want to welcome you back
to the show.
I appreciate you all listening.
So this episode is going to bedirected towards and about
service technicians and comfortadvisors.
So the topic today is technicaljargon, which is the number one
(00:33):
invisible sales killer in thetrades.
Technical jargon.
More importantly, how can youreplace it with clear, relatable
language that builds trust andincreases sales and keeps
customers coming back?
Because here's the truth: You're not just a technician, (00:52):
undefined
you're a translator, and whenyou learn how to translate the
language of HVAC into human,your results change forever.
Because if people don'tunderstand what you're trying to
sell them, they can't reallybuy it.
(01:13):
A confused mind makes nodecision.
So let me paint a picture.
If you're in the home, thesystem's struggling, you
diagnose a bad TXV.
You tell the customer thethermostat expansion valve is
restricting refrigerant flow,causing low superheat and
(01:35):
starving your evaporator coil.
The truth you might feel smart,you might feel super smart and
that, technically, is the rightanswer.
But what did they hear?
What did the customer hear?
Noise, confusion, maybe even areason to call somebody else.
(02:00):
So let me say somethingdirectly.
You know, if you confuse thecustomer, you lose the customer.
People don't buy what theydon't understand and in that
moment the customer isn't buyingyour explanation.
They're buying your confidence,your clarity and their own
(02:21):
peace of mind and their ownpeace of mind.
So if you sell that peace ofmind, opposed to that technical
jargon, your results are goingto be exponentially better.
So let's shift this for asecond.
So let me give you an examplefrom the field.
A tech and I was.
We were having some troubleclosing, or the tech was having
(02:44):
trouble closing jobs, and so Irode with him and, sure enough,
he's dropping terms like high,sub-cool, superheat, variance,
piston, metering issues.
So I asked him to pause andrephrase and I said try this.
You know, the part thatcontrols how much cooling your
(03:08):
system gets is clogged and it'slike a clogged artery in your
heart.
It's restricting flow and if wedon't fix it you're going to
wear down your entire system.
So he used it and the customernodded, actually understood what
he was saying, and she saidyeah, that makes sense, let's do
(03:31):
it.
So the point there is the powerof metaphor, that's the power of
simple language, and you canuse this with.
You know, if you're in anyindustry really and you're so
technically proficient you'vegot to think about are you
losing customers because you'retoo technically proficient?
(03:55):
And again, you know, I know youwant to sound smart.
I get that, everybody wants tosound smart, but this is just
not the right time and there isa time and place for that, but
this is not it.
So, again, you're not just atechnician, you're a translator.
So you take a complex system,you identify the problem and
(04:17):
translate that into a story thecustomer understands.
When you do that, somethingmagical happens.
They don't just see you as aguy who fixes stuff, they see
you as someone who they cantrust, someone who explains
things in a way that can helpthem make a smart decision.
(04:38):
So technically, you're aninfluencer.
Because that's influence.
When you're influencing theirdecision by giving them
clear-cut directions, it leadsto bigger tickets, more approved
work and long-term customers.
So I'll take another common onesuperheat.
(04:59):
How many times have you saidthis as a technician?
Just ask yourself.
Hit pause on the thing and sayhow many times throughout the
day do I say the word superheat?
The superheat's too high, we'vegot a restriction or a low
charge.
They nod, the customer nods,they're.
(05:20):
They're saying yeah, yeah, yeah.
But they don't get it andlisten.
Most of the time we're talkingto men not always, but most of
the time and you think, becauseit's another dude, that he
understands the superheat's toohigh.
He has absolutely no idea.
And here's the other side ofthat that dude has pride, he has
(05:48):
ego, and so instead of saying,hey, james, you know, I don't,
uh, you know, I don't know whatthe hell super heat means, they
just nod.
They don't get it.
So why don't you try thisinstead?
Your system's cooling power isweak.
(06:10):
It's like trying to cook dinneron a stove that isn't quite
getting enough gas.
It works, but it's slow andwasteful and it's going to drive
your energy bills through theroof.
And it's going to drive yourenergy bills through the roof.
Suddenly they feel the problemand that then, in turn, makes
(06:31):
them want the solution.
We repeat that Suddenly theyfeel You've got to make that
customer feel the problem.
If they don't feel the problem,they're not going to want the
solution.
And this is all in the tonalitythat you use.
(06:51):
It's all in your body language,your hands, your facial
expressions and, quite frankly,the words that you use really
don't matter that much, exceptfor when you're using words they
don't understand, because ifyou're talking to me about some
kind of craziness.
(07:12):
Some engineer is talking to meabout some kind of project he's
working on.
The second.
He says something I don'tunderstand.
I'm sitting here in my brainwhile he's still telling me
about this thing.
I'm stuck on that very firstthing in the first sentence that
I don't understand.
I'm trying to rack my brain,trying to figure out what this
(07:33):
transformer he's talking aboutthat powers the whole city.
I can't really picture that,but I'm trying to.
I'm trying to understand whathe's talking about and therefore
I've tuned out the rest of thatconversation and therefore I've
tuned out the rest of thatconversation.
And so if your customers aretuning out at the beginning of
(08:06):
the conversation, then there's avery high chance, if not almost
a guaranteed chance.
But you're going to lose thatcustomer.
So you've got to make peoplefeel the problem and want the
solution.
So three rules that you can goby of using customer friendly
language.
Let me just give you threequick ones uh and uh, just when
you're explaining hvac problemsto customers.
(08:27):
So stuck in heating mode,instead of saying stuck in
heating mode because I don't,you know that people don't know
what that means.
It's like a car stuck inreverse, you can't go forward
until we fix the switch.
You see how easy that is.
You don't even have to be a carperson to understand that.
If your car is stuck in reverseand you can't go forward until
(08:50):
they till we fix the switch, yougot to fix the switch, right.
But if you say stuck in heatingmode, well I don't.
You know the customer doesn'tknow what that means.
You know what it means, butthey have no idea what that
means.
Uh, so here's another one.
Don't say replace yourcapacitor, say we'll get your
(09:13):
system back to runningefficiently and reliably before
it fails on the hottest day ofthe year, right.
Don't say replace capacitor,say we'll get your system back
up and running effectively orefficiently, rather and reliably
, before it fails on the hottestday of the year.
Do you see what I just didthere?
I made you feel this was goingto fail on the hottest day of
(09:38):
the year.
And after you explain you cansay hey, did that make sense?
And this shows that you care.
It builds a connection and itgives them space to ask
questions.
And so, unfortunately, becauseI'm in this industry and I asked
that question, did that makesense?
(10:00):
So many times my girlfriend islike dude.
If you ask me if that makessense, again, I'm going to wring
your neck because I'm in such,I'm in such a such.
I'm so used to saying it somuch.
I say it to her all the time.
(10:21):
So let's talk about, let's talkabout, let's talk about techs
in the ego, your ego.
As Joe Crescero says, your egois not your amigo.
So I'm going to talk to theveteran technicians.
Sometimes we hang on to jargonbecause it makes us feel smart
(10:45):
and, let's be honest, it is partof the craft.
It took you years to learn thisstuff, but clarity isn't
dumbing it down, it's liftingthem up to your level.
You're, you know, you're a,you're an expert in the field.
(11:07):
You've been around for 10, 12,15 years, whatever it is 20
years, 30 years.
But when you clarify and helpdumb it down, it's not making
you look stupid, it's makingthat customer.
It's bringing them up to yourlevel by giving them these
(11:29):
analogies.
And you know, the best peoplein the business, the best people
in the business can makecomplicated things sound simple.
But the real mastery here isthat's what sets you apart.
(11:56):
And if you can't do that, if youcan't change your technical
jargon, if you can't change yourlanguage patterns, then you
sound like everybody else.
I mean, this is absolutely keyto being different.
If five guys are going to showup to sell a system, right, this
happens often three guys,whatever it is, and all three of
you, or four of you, or five ofyou sound exactly the same.
Well, then it comes down toprice, because you're all the
(12:17):
same it, even if you've got ayou know the top shelf, whatever
Daikin system or Gree ionsystem or whatever it is right,
the most efficient, the mosteverything.
If you sound like everybodyelse, then you're going to sound
(12:39):
just like the guy selling thecheapest Goodman or the cheapest
uh, whatever, fill in the blank.
So I've coached hundreds oftechnicians and comfort advisors
and leaders and the ones whogrow fast in revenue, repeat
customers and referrals.
(13:00):
All share this one thing incommon.
All share this one thing incommon they communicate clearly.
When the homeowner says you'rethe first person who ever made
this make sense to me, you'vealready won the sale and you've
probably got a fan for life,because they can relate to you
(13:21):
and if you're relatable, theywant to do business with you.
If you're unrelatable, ifyou're talking in jargon, you're
, you know.
If you want to sound smart,that's fine, but you're going to
lose maybe not every time, butyou're going to lose more times
than you want to, for sure.
And listen, you want, as TonyRobbins says, you want raving
(13:45):
fans.
You want a fan for life,because that means it's a
customer for life.
It means they're going to callthe company and ask for you
personally, right.
So that's what you're lookingfor, that's what you want,
that's what I want.
Repeat customers, repeat happycustomers.
You know it's really nice goingto a home that you've been to
(14:06):
before that they called you foryou specifically.
Whatever their problem is,they're going to accept whatever
you say, because you're theprofessional and you've built a
relationship with them andyou've helped them not feel
stupid.
So let's recap some easy winsStop using phrases like
superheat or TXV restriction orpiston metering.
(14:28):
Start saying things like notcooling right, blocked cooling
valve, older part causinginefficiency.
Use analogies cars, stoves,clogged arteries, traffic jams,
anything that paints the picture.
See, here's the idea.
You've got to paint the pictureof the problem, and painting
(14:51):
the picture means you've got tohave relatable verbiage that can
make sense, and in that you'vegot to paint the pain in that
same picture.
Remember I said earlier.
You know your system's going todie on the hottest day of the
year.
Well, that doesn't sound veryfun to anybody, right?
(15:11):
So just remember, you're theguide, you are the hero.
You're helping them understandthe monster, their system that's
broken, so they can overcome it.
And you know, hvac is atechnical field, but
communication is an emotionalone.
(15:34):
And when you learn how to speakto a customer's, you know at a
customer's level, they'll notonly trust you but they'll buy
from you, which is what we want.
You know, if you build trust,people will buy from you, I
promise you.
So here's my challenge to youthis week just pick one
(15:56):
technical concept, rewrite howyou explain it to the homeowner,
put it in chat, gpt, try it onyour next call and watch how it
changes the conversation.
And I promise you, I promiseyou it's going to feel a little
bit awkward, it's going to feela little bit weird and you're
going to feel like you'redumbing it down because you're
smart.
You're the smartest guy in theroom, but you don't need to be
(16:19):
the smartest guy in the room.
So look, if this episode wasgood for you, do me a favor.
Share it on social media.
Give us a five-star review.
It really helps more peoplefind the podcast and I
appreciate you listening to theSuccessful Life Podcast and
we'll see you next Friday.
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Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!