You're in
elevator and your friend John introduces you to Barbara who is CEO of one of companies you'd like to do business with. Barbara asks, "What do you do?"Here is your chance to make a connection with a prime member of your target market. You want to get her attention, make a positive impression and get her interested enough to continue conversation. You've got about fifteen seconds to do this.
Whether you are in elevator, or on phone, way you start conversation will determine whether or not it will continue. You could tell anyone what you do if you had half an hour, but with fifteen seconds you're likely to simply label yourself, as most people do.
Labels don't tell us much. Imagine you told Barbara in elevator that you are a coach or a consultant. Are you talking about working with high school kids, senior managers, or actors? Few job labels tell your audience who you work with. Most labels are not only vague but don't help to prompt conversation to continue.
You could be more specific and tell your prospect you are a tax accountant or an automation specialist. That gives people some idea of what you do, but still doesn't explain why your prospect should care.
Instead of using a label, you could tell your prospect how you do your work, processes you use. You might say, "We analyze light manufacturing companies to identify areas where addition of a programmable logic controller could boost throughput." If she understands what you are talking about, you still haven't given her a reason to contact you.
Whether you are an executive coach, lawyer, accountant, or automation specialist, when you start talking about processes you use eyes glaze over and minds shut down. While you may have developed processes that no one else uses, prospects don't car about process, at least not initially.
One of most common mistakes people make is assuming their message should be about themselves. If you are in business to provide services and products to clients and customers, your marketing message should be about their needs and wants. Here's difference:
