A recent Wall Street Journal article, A Networking Pro Learns Some New Tricks, describes corporate turnaround specialist George Langis’ search for his next assignment (turning around a distressed company).
George’s job search offers an important lesson for business owners looking for new clients: Position yourself so that prospects understand exactly what can you do for them. Not what you “do” as in your job title (marketing consultant) but “do” as in the results you achieve.
George’s resume initially described him as “ ‘a seasoned executive’ who serves distressed and healthy companies.” He apparently succumbed to the all-things-to-all people syndrome by referring to both “distressed and healthy companies.”
So, George, exactly what market do you “serve”? Oh, and by, the way, “serving” healthy companies is very different from “fixing” distressed ones.
His coach persuaded George to use the statement “I make sick companies significantly better for owners and employees.” By changing his positioning, George accomplished two things:
- He clearly defined his niche
- He focused on the results he produces not simply on what he does
By defining his niche, George positioned himself as an expert, not a generalist. He is also defining his target market (which includes private equity firms with distressed portfolio companies). This will make his business development effort a lot more focused and efficient.
Making “sick companies significantly better,” is a powerful tagline. It says what you do by describing what you can achieve. In sales parlance it emphasizes benefits over features.
Do your prospects know what you “do?”
