Also known as your elevator pitch. I read in Michael Port’s book titled, Book Yourself Solid, that the reason most entrepreneurs fail is that they cannot explain what they do to potential clients. Your job title isn’t what you do either. Telling people I’m a user experience designer results in “huh?! what is that?” even using the more widely used term “information architect” or “ interaction designer” means nothing to people outside the industry.
So how do you talk about what you do without confusing people?
There is a simple formula to start with “I help…” and what ever it is you do for your target market. Another way according to IIise Benun, author of Self Promotion Online, is to come up with a 10 word blurb in various ways. First by asking the questions “What do you do”, then “For whom” and finally “What do they get”. You then write the blurb from the problem-solving perspective.
Your “who and do what” is an important part of your marketing strategy. If you can’t explain what you do to someone they won’t see any value in your services.
Spending time crafting different ways of explaining what you do to others is important. It helps you focus on who you really want to work with and what your target audience needs to hear in order to trust you.
On Monday I wrote about creating my business plan. The next hurdle for me is figuring out what services to offer. Sure, I could offer a ton of services but I’ll get better results overall if I focus. My business plan is created using scrapbook paper, stickers and clippings from magazines.
I currently have services listed on my site but I want to fine tune my offerings. Trying to be all things to all people is not my goal. Being a jack of all trades…master of none isn’t good for the wallet. I would bet that most generalists would agree with me with few exceptions.
A lot of business books talk about how hard it is for people to pick a target market for their services. This I can say with honestly is totally true. You do feel like you are giving up something. But that is a scarcity mentality. You can’t service every single market.
Everyone does not need your services.
So I’m working on narrowing my focus and redefining my strategy. Having it all out of my head and on paper makes the task of work on my business plan that much easier.
Growing a consulting practice without some kind of plan would have been a waste of time.
The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself. – Alan Alda
I’ve read a lot about personal branding, frankly that is just a new term for something we do everyday…. marketing ourselves. Most people hate marketing for a variety of reasons. They feel that there is something bad about it. But we sell ourselves everyday. For example, when we’re trying to impress that new guy or girl we think is cute or get that job we want so badly.
Everyone has something special about them but it is only when we truly embrace our uniqueness that we excel in our personal and professional lives. If we hide what makes us special so that we are accepted by others we tend not to get the results we expect.
Whether you’re building a new website, launching some other product or deciding what you want to be known for, start by figuring out what makes you unique. People will remember what you stand for much quicker.
I read about this ad campaign for Dunkin’ Donuts over at The Adhole featuring Barry Switzer, a famous OU and Dallas Cowboys football coach. The campaign is hilarious. Not sure it will get me to eat more donuts but it made me laugh and it was memorable. It makes me think of Dunkin’ Donuts as a brand differently, something that they have been trying to do for awhile now. Proof that advertisements don’t have to be boring.
On second thought, I think I might have to go to Dunkin’ Donuts to try their egg white turkey sausage flatbread sandwich after all. Enjoy!
Also known as your elevator pitch. I read in Michael Port’s book titled, Book Yourself Solid, that the reason most entrepreneurs fail is that they cannot explain what they do to potential clients. Your job title isn’t what you do either. Telling people I’m a user experience designer results in “huh?! what is that?” even using the more widely used term “information architect” or “ interaction designer” means nothing to people outside the industry.
Flickr Photos
