What do you do or sell?

I’m sure you’ve been in networking and social settings where this question has been asked a thousand times, but coming up with the correct answer is much harder than you think. If your answer is the actual product or service you provide, your answer, although correct, is actually incorrect.

For example, if you work for a chamber of commerce and you tell others that you “work at the so-and-so chamber of commerce” you are not giving insight into how you could potentially help the person who asked you the question. Instead, if you said “I create opportunities for business professionals, like yourself, to grow their business through interactions with other business professionals” you are going to grab the other persons attention and a meaningful conversation begins. This answer speaks to the emotional need of the person you are talking to (who doesn’t want to grow their business?) and if you can attach your product or service to an emotional need, you are on your way to earning their business.

(At your next networking or social gathering, ask 10 people what they do and I promise you most, if not all, will answer with the obvious.)

Think of your advertising as one gigantic social event as it gives you the opportunity to come in contact with thousands of people everyday. Is your advertising message stating the obvious or are you engaging your potential customers by tapping into an emotional need? Are you using your advertisement to talk about how long you’ve been in business? Are you listing every product you sell? Are you talking about how great your customer service is? If you answered “Yes” to any of those questions your advertisement is not going to stand out to your prospective customers because you are stating the obvious and, honestly, your potential customers don’t care.

Determine the emotional need attached to your product or service and then hammer that point home in your advertisements. If you can attach your product or service to an emotional need of your prospects, you are on your way to earning a customer. (Don’t believe me? You may laugh at a commercial that claims you can get great abs by working out only 3 minutes a day, but the only one really laughing is that company….all the way to the bank.) Like I stated earlier, people don’t join a chamber of commerce to kill time, they join because they want to grow their business.

So, let me ask you again…….what do you do or sell? I hope your answer is different from the one you had two minutes ago.

Doug Smith is a Senior Account Executive for WREW Rewind 94.9 and www.cincysavers.com in Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky.  You can contact Doug at  (513) 535-9123 or dosmith@hubbardinteractive.com