Whenever we are engaged in a complex sale we often forget that our prospect does not eat, drink, and breathe our business. Assuming they do typically leads them to feel venerable in the transaction–”am I stupid?,” “is this person trying to fast talk me?,” “I don’t even know enough to ask a question.”

Seth Godin gives several powerful steps to embracing that naive prospect. I would simply like to highlight the education and community tactics.

EDUCATE-use simply words, not words you used to impress your employer at the interview

COMMUNITY-make your company something people like to talk about and link to. This is where social networks, blogs, and wikis can be very important to a sale. This is my favorite. There is nothing more powerful in sales email than a link to what someone else said about you or your company on their website!

(Via Seth’s Blog.)