If You Can?t Answer This Question Your Business is Doomed!

How do you answer the seemingly easy question, "What do you do?" Do you talk about YOU? Do you talk about your products/services? Do you talk about your industry? Do you explain the process of how your products/services work? If you answered yes to any of these questions you are missing an enormous opportunity.

Every time someone asks you "What do you do?" and every time someone reads your marketing materials you have the opportunity to:

* Interest potential clients
* Increase the potential for referrals
* Find out about potential strategic alliances
* Create recognition for yourself and your business
* Position yourself as an expert

Stop right now and take the time to discover how to answer the question, "What do you do?" in a profitable way.

The bottom line is that in general, people are not really that interested in you and what you do (you may have heard this before, start believing it!) What they really want to know is what you can do for them. All of the communication about what you do must focus on the benefits of your products/services, not the features. Focus on how your products/services benefit the people who use them and the results they can expect.

Think about the last time you met someone and they told you what they do. Do you remember what they told you? If so, would you be able to clearly explain it to someone else? Your goal is that the people who hear or read your marketing messages remember what you do AND are able to tell someone else.

The first step to answering the question, 'What do you do' is to define your ideal client. The more specific you are, the more success you will have in building your business quickly and positioning yourself as an expert. The next step is to define what do you do for your clients. How you benefit them. When you are clear about these two things, and you can easily communicate what you do, you will feel more confident talking about your business. People you talk with will easily see exactly how you can help them and hopefully remember what you do!

Here are some examples to get you started (as you can see, you don't necessarily need to mention your profession!):

- "I work with professional women who want high returns on their investments" (Financial Planner)

- "I create delicious, healthy meals for busy executives that have no time to cook." (Personal Chef)

- "I help busy doctors find more time to spend with their families" (Life Coach)

- "I rescue stressed out business owners when their computers crash" (Computer Technician)

- "I help stay-at-home moms feel pampered and relaxed" (Massage Therapist)

Try out this formula: I work with (your niche or ideal clients) who are having trouble with (problems your ideal clients face) and who want (what they want to see happen, the result).

Another way to explain what you do is to relate it to a known situation, a common experience. So when someone asks you what you do you can say, "Well you probably know how busy doctors are, what I do is I help them spend more time with their families." Or, "You know how stay-at-home moms are always taking care of everyone else, well what I do is make THEM feel taken care of."

You will know you are on the right track when the next question you are asked after you say what you do is: "How do you do that?"

Don't wait another minute. Get started now, grab a piece of paper and write down what you do and then practice saying it. You can test it out on friends and colleagues to refine and improve it. Then start using it everywhere (with people, on your website, on your business card) and you will see and feel the difference this makes in attracting more clients!

(c) 2005 Stephanie Ward

Life & Business Coach Stephanie Ward helps business owners set their profits on fire! Get your free monthly profit tips plus bonus report at: http://www.fireflycoaching.com

---

If You Do No Other Preparation

Far too often we see small businesses rush into doing... Read More

How to Give Your Biz a Boost with a Summer Marketing Makeover

Are you on track for hitting all your business goals... Read More

3 Simple Selling Tactics

The following 3 simple selling tactics produce sales by responding... Read More

How To Get New Business

Market, Market and then market some more. So many small... Read More

Build a Dynamic Business - 10 Steps to Start You Off

It's where your employees are in a 'special place' when... Read More

Marketing With Business Cards

Many businesses today overlook the importance of business cards as... Read More

How to Promote your business website using free online resources.

There are many ways to promote your website for free... Read More

5 Print Ad Essentials!

Writing an effective print ad, particularly a classified advertisement, requires... Read More

Making Your Mark With The Millennials

Generation Y--The second-largest crop of young people in America's history,... Read More

For Market Breakthroughs, Put Timing on Your Side

In today' s marketplace, the pressure for immediate bottom-line results... Read More

Knowing Your Customer Is The Key

Without doubt, understanding what a customer's wants and needs are... Read More

Youre Halfway There!...Or Not Part 1

The year is almost over and the last half of... Read More

Fundamental Strategic Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

This is a pretty tough global economy and it is... Read More

A Simplified Marketing Plan that Works!

When I started my first business in 1981, I researched... Read More

Creating a Marketing Plan for Your Website

Have you created a marketing plan for your Website? If... Read More

The Marketing Funnel: Simple, Effective Marketing Strategy

No matter if you're publishing your first book or producing... Read More

Raise Your Income!

How often do you sit around and wonder how to... Read More

50 Unbelievable Benefits Of Joint Venture Marketing

What Is A Joint Venture?A joint venture is an agreement... Read More

Marketing: Are You Focused?

In early 1992, President George H.W. Bush was riding high.... Read More

Who is Your Perfect Client

When I started my coaching practice I believed that I... Read More

Postcards Work

What's the fastest, simplest and cheapest way to promote just... Read More

The Fine Art of Relationship Marketing

The buzzword these days is "relationship" marketing. Just what is... Read More

Color Part 1: Accuracy

Color is one of the most difficult parts of a... Read More

Matrix Web Sites - Scam or NOT?

While I am not talking about the movie "Matrix", you... Read More

Painless Marketing for People Who Hate to Market

Face it?you know you've got to do something to keep... Read More

Be a Smarter Marketer - Learn the L-A-W for Trade Shows

People attend trade shows because they are in a specific... Read More

Do You Really Know Your Prospect?

I'd like to introduce you to someone. I don't actually... Read More

Network Your Way to Success- 12 Tips to Jumpstart Your Business

Lots of people network but few reap the rewards of... Read More

How To Achieve Success With Your Own Money Making Newsletter

Writing and publishing a successful newsletter is perhaps the most... Read More

Knock, knock. Whos There? Your Target Market, Are You Listening?

Have you ever had a conversation with a person who... Read More

Down To The Wire

When you want to win and woo new clients with... Read More

Mission Statement Impossible

Dant dant da da dant dant da da. Dant dant... Read More

Contrarian Marketing at Benettons

Perhaps, with apologies to Dale Carnegie, we should call this... Read More