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Super rainmakers know what they do and how to communicate that in a headline statement, or what’s often referred to as an elevator pitch. They look at their services from the client’s point of view and then craft, refine and practice that statement so they can say what they do in any situation with ease and grace.

A classic mistake many service professionals make is to talk about what they do vs. the problems they solve. If you’re not creating connection with your target market, it may be time to re-think how you talk about what you do.

Before I worked on my own headline statement, I used to say, “I’m a business development coach for attorneys and CPAs and I help people come up with a marketing plan and I meet with them once a month and I hold them accountable,” and on and on and on until they stopped listening. My headline statement clearly wasn’t working. That’s when I went back and looked at the last 20 people who hired me and here’s what I discovered about those clients.

Number 1: They hated marketing.

Number 2: They didn’t have time to do marketing.

Number 3: They were very frustrated with the results of the marketing efforts they had done.

Now when I meet people I say, “I’m a business development coach for attorneys and CPAs who hate marketing, don’t have time to do marketing or are frustrated with the results of the marketing efforts they have done.” The statement creates a connection with the listener and is remembered long after our conversation ends.

Is your headline statement working? If not, try the following exercise to create a new and more compelling message.

1. Think about the last 10 – 20 clients who hired you.
2. List the top three reasons they hired you:

• _____________________________________
• _____________________________________
• _____________________________________

     3. Turn those 3 reasons into a statement about what you do and the problems you solve.

Until next time,

Robin