Lauren's marketing focused to a high degree on higher quality equipment her salon provided. She was talking hydraulics and variable resistance. This approach wasn't pulling in new clients.

Due to shoulder surgery, my exercising has been recently relegated to a local fitness salon. My objective is to stay as fit possible so when my shoulder heals I’ll be able to get back to sports activities I enjoy.

Do I relish exercising on a recumbent bike or treadmill? Of course not. When I mentioned this to Lauren she replied, "Everyone hates machines."

People work out regularly because they want to achieve a particular goal. They want to get fit or lose those extra pounds. People go to a fitness center like Lauren's because they want to look and feel better. If you own a fitness salon, don't talk equipment, talk about what it does. Talk about calories burned, weight lost, muscle tone, strength, feeling healthy, improving at tennis or on ski slope, looks and self-image.

If you want to attract more clients to your business, whether it's a fitness salon or your accounting practice, make sure you're speaking same language as your prospects. Your concerns in getting work done may be different than your prospects' and clients'. They are concerned with problem you solve for them.

Whether it's in your ads, your marketing brochure, your web site or in your sales conversations, speak in your prospects' language. Speak in terms of their concerns, problems and goals. When you communicate to prospects in terms of their priorities, you'll get their attention and their business.

Friedman tells a very succinct story with a potent punch line. And this soundbite lets you know that his methods are so powerful they work on non-believers and hard-sell cases like attorneys.

3. Show Your Suffering.

The people I've known who have suffered most are funny, sarcastic, and wise, but never saccharin. Saccharin is all this sweet talk about love and understanding and comes off as facile. Love, understanding and forgiveness aren't sickly tender. They often come out of bitterness, hopelessness and heartache. We trust those people who have suffered or who have failed over and over again and are willing to share their insights--in a non-showy way.

Dr. Vicki Rackner, CEO of http://www.medicalbridges.com and Medical Editor of Hope Health Letter which reaches over 3 million people says that at age 40 she made a radical choice: to close her private practice to be with her son. *As operating room door closed, another opened. I can't tell you that everyone lived happily ever after because we're just at `once upon a time.`*

Closing her practice, choice she made to to forgo surgery in favor of becoming a patient advocate, goes against grain of what *society* could deem is proper for a board certified surgeon with a full practice. You know right away that she is thoughtful and has tremendous empathy and insight. As a patient wouldn't you want her on your side?

Soundbites, speaking in condensed language to convey your points, is an art to be practiced daily in and out of media interviews until it becomes a natural way of speaking.

If you incorporate your past into your present experience, include client successes, and show your suffering during an interview you'll be perceived as an expert, increase your sales, and develop a following all while demonstrating your humanity.

Download fr.ee teleclass *How to Become a 60 Second Soundbite Genius* to learn how to create soundbites that reporters and audiences love, avoid committing 3 deal- breakers that automatically eliminate most guests from getting on national TV shows, tell captivating stories to attract media and inspire audiences to buy.at: http://tinyurl.com/6axu3

Copyright (c) 2004 Susan Harrow, All Rights Reserved.