I’m a big space nerd.  Documentaries, books, newsletters—fascinating stuff, man.

For example, it blows my mind what scientists know about planets outside of our Solar System.  They can measure mass, radius, tilt, orbit, surface temp, and even the chemicals in their atmospheres.  We’re talking about objects that are 150 light years away!

The science itself is above me.  It’s hard enough to even grasp just how distant something like that is from us.

In fact, it’s beyond human comprehension.  To understand measurements on a cosmic scale, we need to translate them into relatable terms.  Take a few examples:

• There are over 70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars in the observable universe. That’s more than total grains of sand on every beach on Earth.
• Our Sun is 25 trillion miles from its closest star, Alpha Centauri. So, if one were a sand grain in the Pacific Palisades, the other would be 18 miles away in Redondo.
• The largest star we know of is UY Scuti, whose radius is 1,700 times larger than the Sun’s. Ergo, Sun = sand grain and Scuti = Jack Black.

Those initial figures are meaningless to the average Joe.  Conceptualizing them requires a different perspective, in this case through beach analogies and the occasional stocky celebrity.

The same holds true in business.  Your team of “scientists” naturally speaks in astronomical terms.  But, that doesn’t mean the people you’re selling your spaceship to will.

And that’s a problem.  If prospects can’t decipher the value, how can you expect them to pay for it?

Buyers aren’t always the end users.  They may very well be execs or mid-level managers with purchase authority, but without the hands-on knowledge and vocabulary.  As much as I love W.C. Fields’ line “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull—-,” this can come across as pretentious and out-of-touch in sales.

Even if your buyer does happen to speak fluent bull—, that doesn’t mean he or she wants to hear it!  For many decision makers who also operate in the weeds, the last thing they want is to be hit with more jargon when they come up for air.  Your credibility and expertise will surface in other ways without sounding like a textbook.

Relatable messaging is therefore the key in getting through during your pitches.  Just like scaling down the universe, using comparison and analogy can be reliable triggers for that a-ha moment.

For instance, here’s how Sideways Dictionary describes ransomware:  “It’s like a wheel-clamping scam.  You park your car in a run-down area and come back to find it’s been immobilized, with a note on the windshield demanding cash.”  Even someone with no concept of cybercrime can follow this explanation.

Keep in mind that it doesn’t need to be elaborate.  It also isn’t exclusive to highly-technical terms or concepts.  Relatability can be as easy as simplifying your everyday business language even further, sometimes with the help of a thematic or imagery that resonates with anyone.

Consider a few examples from clients who will remain nameless (love you guys!).  The first line is their original text, and the second is my update after auditing their materials:

Example 1

• Original: Our business model takes the extra senior officers’ salary and excessive commission and gives it back to the borrower in the form of lender credit, which means we offer very low rates when compared to traditional banking institutions.
• Updated: Removing the number of layers required for refinancing lets us offer much lower rates than other lenders.

Example 2

• Original: We know the challenges and pains of getting up and running on a new software and we’re here to help.  We offer a structured implementation process to get your team on the fast track to collaborative success.  At the end of this process, you will be using [client product] to help everyone in your organization become their best selves.
• Updated: Our setup avoids the frustrating hurdles you’d typically encounter in this process so you can begin your [client product] journey as quickly as possible.

Now, which sounds better, makes more sense, and, quite frankly, is more powerful to a prospect?  Intuitive visuals like “layers,” “hurdles,” and “journey” all drive the point home contextually without unnecessary or confusing detail.  If a picture’s worth a thousand words, then paint a picture with words.

This is often easier said than done, of course.  It can be a real challenge to boil things down into a single, clear takeaway.  For every Eureka!, there’s a leaning back of the chair, rubbing of the temples, and guttural muttering to oneself until achieving a breakthrough.  Hopefully.

Speaking of clear takeaways, how about this one to close us out:  If you’re Albert Einstein, remember that not everyone else is Stephen Hawking.

(Although some of us are working on it, one dorky documentary at a time.)

If you also have Astrophysics for People in a Hurry on your beach reading list, we should talk.  We can even chat business if you’d like.