In romance, The Big Question is “Will you marry me?” The answer is straightforward. It’s “yes or no”.
In networking, the Big Question is “What do you do?” The answer is anything but straightforward.
But you better get it right. Otherwise, forget about referrals.
Many service professionals cannot clearly explain what they do. This is particularly true for consultants with complex, hard-to-explain specialties.
If your colleagues cannot understand what you do, they can’t refer you. And how do you think your prospects will react?
Mike Schultz and John Doerr of Rain Today make some interesting (and humorous) points in a recent blog post “ ‘What do you do?’ ” How to answer the toughest question in all of business?”
They describe six “traps” that consultants fall into. You can read the article to learn more about the traps, but two are particularly relevant.
The “I talked but I didn’t say anything” Trap
“We offer efficient and effective consulting solutions to Fortune 500 and emerging growth companies, helping them to uncover and capitalize on hidden opportunities to provide value to their customers and increase shareholder value. We’re unique because…”
I guess you do something for everyone (a trap in itself) but I can’t figure out what it is. And tell me again what results you achieve.
The “Laundry List’ Trap
“We are a law firm, and we focus on admiralty law, alternative dispute resolution, antitrust, bankruptcy, appellate litigation, complex litigation, debt financing, environmental law, foreign corrupt practices, government relations, ice cream patent and trademark, koala bear adoption, llama surrogate pregnancy litigation…”
This is a common affliction in the consulting world: I-can-do-anything-for-anyone-itis. How you can possibly be an expert in all these areas? How can anyone refer you?
Buyers want specialists, not generalists. Get specific about your target audience and your services.
Say it Right
Mike and John offer six building blocks to a successful answer. You can get the details in the article but your answer must describe: your target market , the problems you solve, the services you offer, and the results you produce.
They offer an example of a strong positioning statement (I added the terms in bold. )
“I help large packaged goods companies (target market) understand why consumers decide to buy one brand over another (offering). For example just last week I presented findings to a client where we uncovered X, Y, Z. (results) It’s really interesting stuff that will likely to lead to $200 million in new sales (value) over the next three years if they implement our recommended changes.”
To parse the statement another way:
- Target market – Large package Goods companies
- Service – Customer Analysis
- Results – Better picture of customer
- Economic Value – Additional sales
So, what do you do?
