When someone asks you what you do and you answer, what’s their response? A polite nod and comment about “that’s nice,” and then the conversation moves on?
If your business communication falls flat like this, it’s definitely time to reconsider what you (and your team) are saying.
Why Does Describing Your Business Feel So Hard?
It’s hard because most business owners just describe what they do.
I’m a plumber.
I own a retail shop downtown.
I run a functional medicine clinic.
Although these are accurate responses, they’re also forgettable.
Most people aren’t really interested just in what you do. They’re listening for something else entirely.
Salesforce found that 86% of buyers say they’re more likely to purchase when their goals are understood. Yet 59% say most people they talk to never bother to demonstrate that understanding. The gap between these 2 numbers is where most business owners are losing sales.
Business communication fails because most owners aren’t answering the question behind the question.
What Are Prospects Actually Listening for When You Describe Your Business?
The very first thing they want to hear is whether you understand their problem. Until they hear that, everything you say is forgettable.
That’s because there’s already a conversation running in their head. It has two parts. The first is that they’re worried about the problem they have and can’t get rid of. The second is that they’re looking for a solution.
They really couldn’t give two hoots about your credentials or your process. What they care about is whether they recognize themselves in what you’re saying.
Your job isn’t to start a conversation. It’s to enter the one that’s already going on.
And when you do this well, people will actually light up and ask How do you do that?
This Is What It Looks Like When It Works
I was on a Zoom call with a woman running two related businesses and raising four kids. She was the primary breadwinner, and her marriage was strained. She was burned out.
Then I told her what I do, Business owners hire me to double and triple their revenue using no-cost and low-cost strategies.
She started to tear up, and I could feel the pent-up emotion she was struggling with.
She had been exhausted and struggling for a long time. But those words spoke to her in a way few things could. They named her problem and gave her hope.
She became a client. The first thing we addressed together had nothing to do with revenue. We started with how she was managing her time, which she had never really looked at because it all had to get done, and she was the one to do it.
Learning to manage her calendar to prioritize both her needs and responsibilities changed everything for her. Her business started to improve, and so did the rest of her life.
This is what trust looks like in business communication. When your words are exactly what your ideal client is thinking, trust is just suddenly there.
How Do You Find the Words that Actually Connect with the Right People?
To have a message that makes people lean in, eager to learn more about what you do, you’ve got to talk about the problem your ideal client is already dealing with and the solution they want but haven’t been able to find.
Here’s what that looks like in practice.
I’m a business growth strategist who helps businesses bring in more revenue.
Versus
Business owners hire me to double and triple their revenue using no-cost and low-cost strategies.
They’re both ways I could use to describe myself, but they receive vastly different reactions.
Most people have trouble finding the right words on their own. The idea makes total sense, but actually doing it is something else entirely.
Does Your Business Communication Strategy Affect Your Bottom Line?
ABSOLUTELY! When you don’t have the right strategy, you’ll eventually wind up competing only on price. That’s a sure sign of a business on its way out of business.
To be successful, you’ve got to stand out from the crowd by joining the conversation already taking place in your ideal client’s mind.
And frankly, your business communication strategy needs to express your overall business strategy. When your message is sharp, the right people find you, and you’ve got traction because you don’t have to chase after people.
When it’s not, you wind up over-explaining and talking to people who aren’t your ideal clients. That’s not the best use of your time or your team’s time.
If people are politely nodding when you describe what you do instead of leaning in, curious to know more, you know what you need to do. Schedule a 15-minute call and see if you’re a fit for my process.
