Lately, a lot of people have been asking me "What do you do?" When you work for yourself, especially as a "consultant," this is a lot harder to define than if you are, say, an electrician or a real estate agent. If you have one of those jobs, people can imagine what you do. They can picture you doing it, and they have that image of you in their mind. "Sally sells houses." This is very very useful, because when people remember you and associate it with what you do, they are a lot more likely to call on you when they need a house sold, or refer you to someone who does.
But, when you tell people you are an interactive consultant, they tend to make that frowny face that makes you think about botox, and well, you know that you need an elevator pitch to go along with your answer.
Maybe you need an elevator pitch too? Let's pretend you do, and we'll formulate one together. Me first.
Our requirements: short, descriptive, to the point, and MEMORABLE. It's also important that in your pitch, you dispel any common notions about what you do. For example, for some reason, a lot of folks seem to think I'm a web designer.
Ok, here we go.
"Christine, what do you do?"
Bad Answer
I'm an interactive consultant. I create engaging value propositions to maximize my clients' initiatives by leveraging the synergies between the online and off-line realms. I help them distill evolving technologies for tangible enhancement to the bottom line.
Why?
Umm, what does it even mean? I only know bc I spend several hours a week immersed in MBA speak. Normal people don't talk that way (and they aren't impressed by it either). Also, they won't remember what you said. They might remember that you're full of hot air.
Better Answer - But still not good
I'm an interactive consultant. My organization builds websites, does custom application development like online communities and ecommerce, we do a lot of SEO, SEM, podcasts, copywriting, and much more.
Why?
It's all over the place. Why do I do all that stuff? How does building things relate to consulting? I probably just made my listener think I'm a web design shop. (Regular folks don't differentiate between web design and web application development. It's my job to know the difference, not theirs.) This is a common misconception about what I do, so I probably have been known to give answers like the one above. But no more!
Current Pitch I Plan to Use
I'm an interactive consultant with Conduit Interactive. We're a small consulting organization that helps our clients sort through the ever-evolving online space and determine what they can and should be using to grow their business. For some clients, this might be a new website that is better architected and better designed. For others, it might be a general marketing plan. And for others, it might be implementing social media like blogs, product reviews, even online communities. It's a really fun job. I love helping clients get to the next level.
Does it work? I think so. I don't know that "ever evolving" works very well in spoken word - so I might actually leave that out and just say "online space" (everyone knows it's ever-evolving). I also like that it ends on a high note. If the person engages me further, I can talk about some current projects.
So there we go. Need help with yours? Let me know. I'm an interactive consultant, and I'm here to help.
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But, when you tell people you are an interactive consultant, they tend to make that frowny face that makes you think about botox, and well, you know that you need an elevator pitch to go along with your answer.
Maybe you need an elevator pitch too? Let's pretend you do, and we'll formulate one together. Me first.
Our requirements: short, descriptive, to the point, and MEMORABLE. It's also important that in your pitch, you dispel any common notions about what you do. For example, for some reason, a lot of folks seem to think I'm a web designer.
Ok, here we go.
"Christine, what do you do?"
Bad Answer
I'm an interactive consultant. I create engaging value propositions to maximize my clients' initiatives by leveraging the synergies between the online and off-line realms. I help them distill evolving technologies for tangible enhancement to the bottom line.
Why?
Umm, what does it even mean? I only know bc I spend several hours a week immersed in MBA speak. Normal people don't talk that way (and they aren't impressed by it either). Also, they won't remember what you said. They might remember that you're full of hot air.
Better Answer - But still not good
I'm an interactive consultant. My organization builds websites, does custom application development like online communities and ecommerce, we do a lot of SEO, SEM, podcasts, copywriting, and much more.
Why?
It's all over the place. Why do I do all that stuff? How does building things relate to consulting? I probably just made my listener think I'm a web design shop. (Regular folks don't differentiate between web design and web application development. It's my job to know the difference, not theirs.) This is a common misconception about what I do, so I probably have been known to give answers like the one above. But no more!
Current Pitch I Plan to Use
I'm an interactive consultant with Conduit Interactive. We're a small consulting organization that helps our clients sort through the ever-evolving online space and determine what they can and should be using to grow their business. For some clients, this might be a new website that is better architected and better designed. For others, it might be a general marketing plan. And for others, it might be implementing social media like blogs, product reviews, even online communities. It's a really fun job. I love helping clients get to the next level.
Does it work? I think so. I don't know that "ever evolving" works very well in spoken word - so I might actually leave that out and just say "online space" (everyone knows it's ever-evolving). I also like that it ends on a high note. If the person engages me further, I can talk about some current projects.
So there we go. Need help with yours? Let me know. I'm an interactive consultant, and I'm here to help.
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