What is it you do ? Just tell me already...!!!

This article is about brevity. Being straight to the point. Making your purpose clear.

To those people that have worked with me over the years and perhaps have listened to me tell a few extended stories over a beer or a sandwich, it might surprise you to hear me spruiking the benefits of being brief and having a succinct message. It wont surprise you to learn that I am borrowing much of this message from others I have followed in learning forums like LinekdIn.

We often talk about the Elevator Pitch, for that non existent moment when the CEO is going to ask you in the elevator why he should buy your solution. Well you need an elevator pitch about you for when you meet someone unexpectedly. I recently watched a video from a master Salesman who made a clear case for having a pre-prepared 15-20 second story about who you are, where you've been and where you are headed. I've been trying his technique for the last few years and I can tell you - it ain't easy, but its a great method to meaningfully engage with people at events, in airports, on planes or at social gatherings. What I have found is I am not repeating myself in conversations as often as I once did, and people who I have just met are not only grasping a better understanding of who I am, but they tend to mimic my simple statement back to me, regarding who they are.

So the model is simple - break your introduction into 3 parts:

Part 1: Where am I now ? "I help Enterprises manage their IT Estate better so they can save money and leverage their IT strategy more effectively" - Note I don't mention the company I work for or my "role", I stick to what it is I do. Remember you get delegated/referred to people that you sound like, if you want to meet Execs and Business owners, sound like someone who delivers outcomes, not a salesperson.

Part 2: Where have I come from ? "I have a background in delivering SaaS applications and Telco solutions to businesses & Govt agencies around Australia". Again, I don't mention the companies I've worked for yet - that should be part of the ongoing discussion, if the other party is interested.

Part 3: Where am I heading ? "I'm really interested in developing some ideas I have for new businesses that leverage the success of social media in its earliest forms".

Obviously the language I have used here isn't suitable for everyone, and I don't stick to these words 100% of the time, but it's a good outline of the message you want to deliver. Practice makes perfect, so trying this out loud, even in front of a mirror several or many times will allow you to develop your own easy style and language. I like to pretend I am talking to someone I have just met in an Airport lounge. Obviously this type of conversation isn't your opening interaction - otherwise you will see a lot of people looking slightly taken aback grabbing their plate of cheese and olives and finding another place to sit. This type of professional introduction is when you've been chatting with someone about the usual goings on, and they ask you...."What is it you do Paddy ?"

Don't feel obliged to use all three parts - part 3 particularly is "use when appropriate" to help you have a more rounded discussion. The key to providing a succinct view of who you are (Professionally at least) is in Parts 1 and 2. What I have noticed since using this model is that people often respond in kind with as similarly succinct breakdown of their job and immediate background.

I try to attend a form of sales training every year, that's something David Thodey taught me when I was at Telstra many years ago - you are never so experienced in sales that you wont benefit from sales training, and you need to keep fresh. A valuable lesson I learnt during some sales training recently, was "sound like who you want to talk to". The C-suite don't want to talk to people who sound like Salespeople with a product based agenda. They want to spend time with people who demonstrate they understand broader business issues - like Risk Profiles, Staff Retention and Managing Cost structures - and they definitely don't want to spend time with people who use 50 words to say something that could have been said in 10. So being able to quantify quickly what you do, and the benefit it brings your customers is key to securing the interest of the person you have just met. If they aren't the CFO or CIO of an Enterprise (usually they are in a better class of Airport Lounge), it is surprising how many times you will hear someone say, "I was just having that conversation with my friend - she is the CFO at XYZ Corp".

There is a strong argument for always making our sales pitches in all circumstances succinct and clear. The best way to demonstrate to any client or prospect that you are listening to what they are saying, is by repeating their key points and then linking them cleanly to the positive business outcomes you can deliver - in as succinct a manner as possible. Its the same when you meet someone, that moment you casually first meet someone, is the start of them evaluating who you are and, and sometimes they are also evaluating how much value you can be to them - so keep it neat and succinct.