You Had Me at Hello

Over the years I’ve attended a number of business networking events and two things, in particular, have stood out for me.

1. People have no problem talking copiously about themselves but have trouble returning the favour and genuinely enquiring about what’s going on in someone else’s world. Human nature in action which does not necessarily make it right, but it is reality.
2. When you ask people what they do, it’s often a fairly boring explanation or list of things they do in their business which bears little relation to actually what they actually deliver in terms of outcomes.

People don’t care that much about what you do

For example, an Accountant may say something like ‘we provide a range of services from bookkeeping, tax, financial planning and consulting services.’ There is nothing specifically wrong with that but it’s simply what we expect Accountants to do, there is no real magic in that statement.

There is nothing to get me excited to know more about that person unless I’m simply frustrated with my current Accountant and may be looking to change. However, that’s more opportunistic rather than this Accountant I’m standing in front of giving me a compelling reason to change.

On the other hand, if that Accountant said something like ‘we help people create wealth and increase the value of your business year on year’, they are more likely to get my attention. The reality is other people don’t care that much about what you do, its more about what problem you can solve for them. How will their lives be enhanced by knowing you and experiencing what you have to offer?

Minimum words with maximum impact

In my view and experience, the initial response you should get from someone who is asking what you do for the first time is something like ‘that’s interesting, tell me more’. To achieve that you need an introduction that is.

• Short
• Sharp
• Impactful
• Focuses on key benefits and not features
• Leaves the other party looking for more

Our time is valuable and in short supply so minimum words with maximum impact are the way to go. After all, is that not what high priced advertising campaigns are all about?

If we take a leaf from their book they have a narrow window in which to attract and hold our attention sufficient for us to consider buying their products or services. They might do it with a combination of logic, emotion, and branding, but they need to do it quickly and that’s something I think we can all learn from.

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