Have you been there? Walked into a room full of strangers, said ‘hello’ to a small group and then found yourself invited by someone you have barely met to tell them what you do for a living?
You congratulate yourself. This was the question you were waiting for. Now you can tell them. Once they know, they’re bound to get excited!
So you tell them and wait for the reaction. But nothing happens. Someone asks a polite further question, but then you find yourself passed over as the next person joins the group. The moment and the opportunity lost!
You feel slightly frustrated, perhaps even awkward, but console yourself by thinking that these aren’t the ‘right’ people. But it’s OK. There are sure to be others present who will be interested in what you do.
Yet most of us repeat this behaviour – and find ourselves searching for the ‘right’ people confident they are out there ‘somewhere’.
It is also slightly disconcerting to know that you have invited others to tell you about their business – only for you to forget what they have said in even less time!
If this situation seems all too familiar, then the following will help you to create a bigger impact and make those ‘30 seconds’ really work:
• The first is to understand that when people ask you, “What do you do?” what they really want to know is, “Can you be of value to them or to someone they know?”
• The second is to understand the real value that you deliver to your customers and to say it in a way that gets attention.
Most ’30 seconds’ you hear focus on what people do without clearly stating the business value or benefit that customers’ gain. For example:
“I’m a Management Consultant. I help companies to improve their business effectiveness by finding ways to improve their internal processes.”
“We are a firm of local accountants. Our clients range from start ups through to large corporations. We provide the usual range of accountancy services but differentiate ourselves by offering a very high level of personal service.”
“We supply specialist manufacturing systems for the food processing industry. We offer a very competitive service and are recognised as being a best-in-class supplier in our industry.”
Value propositions clearly have to state who you are and what you do. But really strong value propositions say what is in it for the customer. They include a financially-orientated statement that addresses issues that are critical to them, such as:
• Increased revenues or profitability
• Decreased costs
• Increased market share
• Lowered employee turnover
• Reduced time to market
• Increased operational efficiency
Building on the above examples:
“I’m a Management Consultant. I work with companies that are finding it difficult to make a profit. Clients who I have worked with have become profitable within 6 months and now have a healthy cash flow.”
“We are a firm of local accountants. Our clients range from start ups through to large corporations. Our clients have saved thousands and even millions of pounds through improved cash flow management, from advice on critical business investments including Merger & Acquisitions, and by minimizing their personal and business tax liabilities.”
“We supply specialist manufacturing systems for the food processing industry. By installing our systems, clients typically reduce their production costs by 30-50% over the previous year.”
The challenge then is to understand the value that you bring. To help you do this:
• Brainstorm your business propositon with your colleagues - but stay focused on talking about tangible results by asking yourselves, “So what does that really mean for our customers?”
• Talk to your customers. They are the only ones who really know the value that you bring. Again, get them to describe the value they have gained in financial terms by asking them, “So what did that really mean for your business?”
