Jungle Lesson: What a Difference a Word Makes

Does your business depend upon winning major accounts?   

If you are a service provider to the pharma/biotech industry would you talk about "customers"  or "KOLs"  (Key Opinion Leaders)?

Would it matter whether you were talking to scientists or to people in the commercial group if you chose to talk about "customers" over "KOLs"?

I was having a discovery conversation on behalf of a client.  The audience was the training group in a Biotech firm.  They taught me a valuable lesson.  If you speak as an outsider, that is, not using the language of your audience, the chances of building credibility are lowered.

This is what happened:  I asked about their customers.  The potential client replied,  "I suppose you could call them customers but they're KOL's."

Immediately, I substituted "KOL" for "customer" in all my client's materials and conversations.  We continued to pursue business within the pharma/biotech industry.

Did changing language to reflect the preferences of the industry make a difference?  

A leading biosimilar manufacturer has agreed to consider my client's solution in 4 of their therapeutic groups.

Words are neuropathways to the heart.