As entrepreneurs, many times when we introduce ourselves we start by listing our titles to instantly let people know who we are or what we do by way of profession. Typically at a networking event, seminar or other business meeting when we approach someone the infamous question asked is, “What do you do?” Most people answer this question by stating their name and occupation. For example, one might say: “hi my name is John Joe and I’m a financial planner.” Rarely do you ever encounter someone who talks about their customers, clients or special group of people they help or serve before they say their title.
The fact is when you associate yourself with a particular profession it has a generic effect that sort of feels like a foul ball rather than a home-run. When you introduce yourself by talking about your title or the name of your business it is rather status quo. There are 3 distinct disadvantages to the traditional introduction of saying who you are and what you do this way.
1. It is non descriptive.
2. It does not help you stand out from the crowd.
3. It does not highlight the benefit anyone stands to gain from doing
business with you.
On the contrary, when you make your introductory line about the people you serve it takes the spotlight off of you and puts it on the people you help. Here’s how this one liner looks:
“Hi my name is John Doe with JohnDoe.com and I help women entrepreneurs to get out of debt and achieve financial freedom.”
As you can see, the focus in this simple one line statement is on the type of people who John serves as well as the results he gets for them.
By having a descriptive sentence like this, you’ve accomplished 3 things:
1. You’ve identified your target market (i.e. women entrepreneurs)
2. You’ve given a description of what you do without the label yet showing you solve problems. (helping people get out of debt)
3. You’ve created interest by making your work relatable. (everyone wants financial freedom)
Likely the person you’re talking to will ask more questions about what you do which will allow you to showcase your expertise. More importantly you have just created value around your expertise and allowed the other person to see you as a resource rather than a commodity.
So the next time you’re asked the question “what do you do?” Stop and think about it. Be prepared to talk about who you help and the problem you help them solve or the results they get from doing business with you. Here is the formula to help you create what I call a “value recipe” using just one brief sentence about who you are and what you do.
- Get crystal clear on who will most benefit from your services and exactly who you are meant to serve/help. (hint, it isn’t everyone!)
- Write down the benefits and results your clients experience when working with you. (hint, ask them.)
- Now mix and stir. Seriously, simply combine these two points into ONE concise sentence that looks like this: I help [Insert GROUP of PEOPLE] [ACCOMPLISH SPECIFIC BENEFITS & RESULTS].
After you’ve prepared your “value recipe” you will have created your value statement. And the only thing left is to watch how easy it is to attract more clients in a lot less time.
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This article is written by Lori A. Manns. Want to use this article for your website, blog or newsletter? No problem. Here’s what you must include: Lori A. Manns, CEO of Quality Media Consultant Group your marketing and sales success mentor, and founder of Marketing For Trailblazers™ & ABC’s of Successful Sponsorship Sales System;™ that shows you how to get more sponsors and sales for your business, guaranteed. To purchase consulting services on marketing, advertising or sales and, learn how to increase your revenue and grow your business; please visit www.qualitymediaconsultants.com.