Writing Emails That Explain Complex Products Simply

I have a hypothesis about why some salespeople sound like robots. They sell complex products, so they think they need a lot of specialized jargon to explain them. I also suspect salespeople believe they need to sound professional. The problem? Jargon and corporate-speak are counterproductive. They confuse your message. As Donald Miller says, “When you confuse, you lose.” How can we make the “sales voice” go away? Notice the difference between this sentence: “Our onboarding process ensures a comprehensive understanding of our product’s capabilities.” And this sentence: “We’ll walk you through everything to make sure you’re comfortable and ready to roll.” Before: “You may customize your dashboard settings to align with your specific preferences.” After: “Set up your dashboard just the way you like it.” Before: “Our platform provides a 360-degree view of customer interactions, enabling comprehensive insights and streamlined data access.” After: “See everything about your customers in one place.” Imagine explaining your product to a friend over coffee—not a room full of executives. Use short sentences, plain language, and words they’d actually say in real life. Instead of “optimize efficiencies,” try “make it easier.” Instead of “comprehensive insights,” say “see the big picture.” The goal is clarity, not complexity. When your message is easy to understand, people feel like you’re talking with them, not at them. And that’s when trust—and sales—happen.

If people don’t understand it, they won’t buy it. This is the #1 problem with marketing complex products like SaaS, proptech, and financial services. If your messaging is full of jargon, "smart-sounding" language, or abstract concepts, you’re making it harder for your buyers to say "yes." Here’s the reality: 🧠 Confused buyers don’t convert. 🚪 If they don’t get it, they walk away. So how do you simplify a complex product? Here’s the playbook: 1️⃣ Start with the problem, not the product Most companies lead with features like "integrates with 25+ platforms." No one cares.  Lead with the problem instead. When we worked with RWA Wealth, we could have led with "customized financial planning." But instead, we started with this problem: "The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is about to expire. Are you ready for the impact on your taxes?" Simple. Clear. Relatable. If you’ve ever worried about your taxes, you’re clicking that link. 2️⃣ Use "kitchen table" language If your customer wouldn’t say it at their kitchen table, don’t say it in your content. No CFO says, "I need a comprehensive financial visibility solution." They say, "I need to know where our money is going." With RWA, we didn’t lead with "complex tax impact mitigation strategies." We asked, "Are you going to pay more in taxes next year?" That’s the difference. 3️⃣ Focus on outcomes, not features Don’t just tell them what your product does — tell them what it does for them. Feature: "Auto-syncs with QuickBooks" ❌ Outcome: "No more manual data entry at month-end" ✅ Outcomes > Features. Every time. 4️⃣ Teach, don’t sell If your product is hard to explain, show it. Don’t just tell it. We used this analogy: "Imagine you’re driving down the highway and your GPS tells you the road ahead is closed. Wouldn’t you want to know sooner?" The same logic applies to tax planning. If you know the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act is expiring, you can prepare — instead of being blindsided next April. When you teach, you build trust. And trust drives conversions. When you make the message simple, relatable, and impossible to ignore, more people read it. More people stay on the page. More people book calls. People don’t buy what they don’t understand. Simplify your message. Win more customers.

Why are SO MANY cold emails filled with fancy corporate lingo?? "We leverage cutting-edge methodologies to optimize your customer acquisition funnel through strategic implementation of advanced lead generation protocols." I know you think it makes you sound smart and “sophisticated” when you write this out. But believe me when I say this: these types of cold emails RARELY work. Now here's an email that actually gets replies: "We can help you get more customers without relying on expensive agencies." The first email sounds like a press release while the other sounds like a conversation. Which is why email 2 just works better. I've actually tested this across hundreds of campaigns. And simple language consistently outperforms corporate jargon. Here's a real example from our campaigns: Instead of: "We facilitate comprehensive automation solutions for your client onboarding infrastructure." We write: "We can automate your entire client onboarding process so you save 100+ hours per month." Busy executives (or anyone for that matter) don't have time to decode your fancy language. They want to understand your offer in 10 seconds or less. So just write it like you're explaining your service to a friend. Use words a fifth-grader would understand. Replace "facilitate" with "help."  Replace "utilize" with "use."  Replace "implement" with "set up." Trust me, your prospects aren't impressed by big words. Just get straight to the point without unnecessary complexity.

A B2B SaaS founder came to me with a big problem: Their product was so complex that even their sales team didn’t fully understand it. Their offering had too many steps, too many details, and too much technical jargon. Even the CEO struggled to explain it concisely. So how did we solve for this? 1. We simplified the messaging We stripped away big words and industry jargon, and translated everything into elementary school language. We focused on: - What the user is struggling with - How this product will benefit them - What they care about when shopping around 2. We turned complexity into a clear story We built an interactive case study that walked them through a real-world journey: - Showcasing their relatable problem - Illustrating how the product solves each problem step-by-step
 - Helping prospects see themselves in the story This storytelling approach replaced information overload with empathy and clarity. 3. We built sales-winning materials Here's what we created: a. A one-pager that clearly outlined who it’s for and how it works in a step-by-step format. b. A comparison guide that showed exactly how this product outperforms competitors c. Customer testimonials to build trust Sales reps no longer had to rely on verbal explanations alone. They now had clear, concise materials they could share with prospects and partners. The results? → Salespeople felt more confident explaining the product → Sales calls became shorter and more effective → Prospects understood the value quickly and made decisions faster Content became a go-to resource used by the entire company to communicate their offering consistently. Clarity isn’t just a nice-to-have. It's the difference between struggling to sell and closing deals.