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The BIG Message Articulating What You Do
Written by: Deborah Baker-RecenielloArticle Overview: The key is making a good first impression that appeals to your prospective clients’ needs. How do you do this? Is there a reliable way to get attention with just a few words?
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The BIG Message Articulating What You Do
The Big Message: Articulating What You Do
The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.
Charles Du Bos
The key is making a good first impression that appeals to your prospective clients’ needs. How do you do this? Is there a reliable way to get attention with just a few words?
The way you present your business to the public can have a dramatic affect on how potential customers perceive you and your product or service. A key benefit is that you control your public presentation and can fine tune it so that it communicates your true message to potential customers. First impressions are made on the way you look, and are quickly pursued by the first words out of your mouth. Over the years, I have helped hundreds of small business owners become more aware of the personal power they can create through a professional image and through successfully articulating what they do.
Most professionals and business owners find themselves in situations where they are asked, “What do you do?” Most people respond with a label. I am a Business Coach. I am a management consultant. I repair jewelry. This does not work because people may not understand what you do, or may have preconceived ideas of, let’s say, a used car salesman. It is wise to have a three to five minute elevator speech that is a well-prepared series of phrases about yourself, your company, what you do, how you do it, and with whom. Armed with this speech, you can turn any brief encounter into a big win for you and your business. You can also shorten the version for quick encounters.
Start with the first ten seconds. What if ten seconds is all you get? Tell your audience enough so that they understand what you do and inspire them to want to know more.
Examples:
Ø I work with home manufacturing companies that are tired of losing money because of employee attrition.
Ø We work with companies who are frustrated with losing money because of internal conflict and want to better communicate needs and values.
Ø I work with small business owners struggling to attract more clients and who are looking for ways to design and grow their businesses to make more money and save time consistently.
Ø I work with management teams that are tired of just stuffing it and assist those who desire to value themselves and their team, quickly and on target.
Ø I assist people who suffer from stiffness and joint pain with which they have been dealing all their lives and do not know what to do about it.
Ø I assist entrepreneurs who are ready to grow their own business. First, I help them discover what success means to them and find the vision for their business to implement. I’m your Small Business Coach.
Exercise
Let’s look at a formula, brainstorm, and start crafting your statement of what you can do for people.
I am ________ (your name). I (help, work with, or assist) ________ (name your target market) who are ________ (name their problem, challenge, or issue). ________(a key benefit or why I would do business with you), and ________ (Unique Competitive Advantage – something that sets you apart from your competition.) .
Brainstorm your ten-second to one minute attention getting introduction:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Now that you have written it down, practice out loud several times until you can say it naturally.
Now, brainstorm situations where you can use it and write some scenarios:
Networking______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
On the telephone ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
On your message or answering machine ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In social settings ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Remember that you want to initiate an interesting conversation. If asked, “How do you do that?” you can always follow up with a story.
“We recently worked with a client who (name the situation)…”
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Say what you did for them
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
What happened as a result of your work together? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Your main objective is to get attention, move to your benefit statement, and then to your stories. Your prospect now knows what you do, with whom, and the results, which is perhaps a potential solution to their problems and they will want more. Now that you have your client’s attention, he may be ready to explore working with you, and you can make an appointment to learn more and persuade him to buy from you.
Scripts
Are you prepared when you get voice mail or have to make a telephone call or meet in person? Know what you want to say before you pick up the phone and decide how you want to say it. This is a good way to eliminate your nervousness and will make you sound relaxed and confident on the phone.
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About the Author: Deborah Baker-Receniello RSS for Deborah's articles - Visit Deborah's website  Click here to visit Deborah's website   Time Management or Life Management Another Word for Failure The Secret aka Law of Attraction TEN Qualities of a Dream Maker Find Your Playing Field |
Related Forum Posts
Re: Those Annoying Telemarketers
- When I was making phone calls I received 2 different messages that really stood out...
Message 1: "We can't come to the phone right now. If you're a telemarketer please remove this number from your records. All other calls...." I never bothered to hear the rest because I wasn't allowed leaving messages anyway. I had to actually talk to the person.
Message 2: "This phone number is protected by Embarq Privacy Services (something like that). Please leave your name, phone number and reason for call, and the party you're trying to reach will determine if the call is important to them." I summarized, but you get the point. Embarq is a local phone company. I don't know if it's available nationwide or not. That's a new one on me, though.
I utilize caller ID on my cell. Unless it's a local number, I don't bother to answer. If it's important enough they'll leave a message. I use my cell for online and offline business since it has these capabilities as well as voicemail. Gotta love technology.
Re: The Storm Brace a new invention
- Hi Breck,
I sent you a Private Message - please check your "new messages link"!
Re: Two hats - startup sales mentor and Message Slinger
- 1st of all, thank you for the links, I will review them all and get a pic up ASAP.
2nd, to answer your question, I have always seen working for others as a means to an end result of running my own ventures. With my consultancy at full swing, and Message Slinger in beta, I am realizing the first part of these dreams. There is more to follow, and as it comes, sharing will be a joy.
Re: Watch What you Read
- I agree. i believe more video's should be like Jeffery Gitomers video's under his Sales rant. They are typically not more than 3 minutes. His model seems to be;
1. Main Message (or Point)
2. Example
3. Next steps to put it into Action
take away the extra "blabber" and you've got viewers that will come back.
Two hats - startup sales mentor and Message Slinger
- Hello all,
As a consultant, my focus is on helping companies in emerging companies jump start their revenue generation.
As the CEO of Message Slinger, I try and aid in developing and offering the world's best online and e-mail marketing system,
Please feel free to reach out and contact me about anything and everything, my third venture is helping anyone I can.
All the best,
Karl
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