Do Your Prospects Know What You Do

Last week I got calls from two people at Wall Street financial firms, who both had the same question. How to explain what they do in 15 seconds or less? Why were these professionals from prominent firms with large marketing departments looking for a better way to talk about what they do?

One, I'll call George, had been stockbroker, a profession everyone knew and thought they understood. You may remember stockbrokers got a bad name selling stocks on commission as the last market bubble burst. Now when people ask George what he does, he doesn't want to say he is a stockbroker, and in fact it no longer applies.

Recently some of the larger investment firms restructured brokers' jobs, changing both pay structures and responsibilities to provide more comprehensive financial services. George isn't a stockbroker anymore and is having a tough time describing all he now does to prospects in a sentence or two. When you can't describe what you do in a 15 second marketing statement, it is difficult to spread the word about your services.

If you have trouble explaining what you do, take these steps to develop your marketing message.

1. Identify your target market
- Who specifically are your clients?
- Who are the people you'd like to become your clients?

2. Clarify your prospects' problems and concerns.
- What are they worried about?
- How are they wasting time and money?
- What do they want?

3. Define the benefit you offer
- What do they get from your products or services?

4. Put the above together into a single sentence

Whether you offer one type of service or ten, the objective is to use your succinct marketing message to get the conversation going. Then you can ask questions to clarify your prospect's specific needs and describe the solutions you provide.

Don’t get stuck like George without a way of explaining what you do. Get your small business marketing message working and see your business grow.

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