Please allow me to introduce myself
For some people this isn’t an issue. Think Neurosurgeon, tv presenter, child care worker or accountant. Easy, title right there – however they could all go into greater detail about who they work with, what they do and why. For some of us with more fluid businesses it can be really bloody tricky! Sometimes you just want to smile sweetly and say ‘stuff’. That’s not going to get you any clients.
Take me for example. I have done crap loads of training – all of which help me do what I do, but doesn’t really define what I do. When someone asks me that dreaded question “so, what do you do Samantha?” I generally reply with “help business owners get their shit together”. If they like that, I then usually go into further detail.
There’s also so many places where you are asked and need to explain – so you’ve got to be really confident in your explanation, your elevator speech, grab, business bio etc etc. When I travel I have a terrible time with this. You know the Departure and Arrival cards that you have to fill in – over the last few years I’ve put everything from Business Owner, to Coach to Speaker – I hope they never match them all up!!!!
So what’s the secret formula? Well, I don’t think there is one, because you have to say and write what feels good to you and what your ideal clients will understand. Sure you can fill in the spaces like this example:
Hi, my name is (insert name). I help (insert avatar), with (insert the problem you solve) to (insert the result).
BORING AS BAT SHIT if you want my opinion, and I’m guessing you’re reading this post, because you like my opinion (well hopefully). By the way, I have no knowledge in bat shit at all.
How do I like to do it? Well, I like to nut it out a wee bit more. So here are my Top 5 Questions to ask yourself when defining what you do:-
- Who is the ideal person you want to work with?
- What is their biggest pain point?
- How do you solve this?
- What’s the outcome / result for your clients?
- What’s unique about you and how you work?
Put that all together and you can say something great.
Let’s look at some examples:-
Kathy sells candles made in China with 100% soy wax, fab fragrances and they look great. Now whilst Kathy could say ” I export candles from China” and people would kind of understand, how much better is it if she says “I work with mass market retailers all over the world to supply amazing soy candles that look and smell fantastic at reasonable prices so their clients can always find that special gift they’re after”. How much better does that sound?
David created an app that tracks your budget, warns you when you’re spending too much and tells you when bills are due. He could say “I built an app to track your money”, but “I’ve created a simple phone app for the non technical to be able to create and monitor their household budget so that at the push of a button they can modify it, be reminded when a bill needs to be paid and be alerted when they are creeping up to their limits.” It’s a long explanation, but when it comes to money, most people like more details.
How about Sally. Sally is a bookkeeper who works with people with online businesses. She used to say ‘I’m a bookkeeper’. Now she says “We manage the books for fabulous entrepreneurs and we do it all virtually, including those dreaded Paypal buttons, so they can concentrate on what they do best in business, while we take care of the bottom line.” Now we all need a Sally in our business!!!
Last one – Mary. Mary creates cd’s and podcasts for weddings. Mary says this when asked ‘the’ question. “I help bridal couples come up with the perfect playlist to celebrate their union. It’s then produced as a cd, podcast or both for them so they have an incredible memento to give their guests on their special day, rather than a bag of sugared almonds”. Now apart from the fact I’ve never been married I LOVE this idea. I did it once for some friends and always thought it had legs as a business…..now which one of you is going to be clever enough to do it?
Defining what you do is not that hard and I really encourage you to have a play around with it. Sometimes it’s easier to expand more in one area.. For example if you are a masseur you probably want to make more of the pain that people want solved when they come to see you. If you’re a copywriter, you probably want to make a bigger point about the increase in sales people can have when they have great copy.
Keep your eyes on the downloads page, because I’ll be putting a worksheet up very soon for this exercise.
As for me – what do I do? Arghghhghghghg. Help business owners get their shit together…………..I specialise in working with product based businesses – because I like stuff and my background has been mainly working with people that sell physical products.
I’m a Business Coach.
I’m a Speaker.
I’m a Business Strategist.
I’m a Mum.
I’m a Writer.
I’m a Systems Superstar.
What does that spell?? Seriously, I felt like I was cheerleading as I wrote that. I’m not giving that away – you’ll have to ask me next time you see me…..hee hee.