As business leaders, we’re often faced with the challenge of explaining what we do. It could be in a casual setting like a dinner party, or a more formal sales presentation to that big new potential account. The problem is, most of us get it all wrong.
We tend to explain what we do in the context of our product or service. We tell people we manufacture industrial drill presses, or sell variable life insurance, or perform massage therapy. While factually accurate, there is a far better way to communicate your value proposition.
Communicating the transformation you create for customers, instead of the mechanics of how you do it, will help people better understand the value you provide. To do so, try to craft your message such that it addresses these three customer promises:
- After working with me, customers will have no more _______________.
- After working with me, customer will have a good deal more ___________.
- After working with me, customers will have less ________________.
No More. More. And Less.
If you can explain how you impact customers’ lives across these three aspects, you’ll create a powerful and emotionally charged connection point.
Instead of saying that you are a corporate travel agency, why not say that your travel services eliminate wasted travel costs and surprises (#1), providing customers a lot more peace of mind (#2) while having wasted far less time (#3)? Instead of saying you run a cybersecurity business, try saying that you help clients eliminate threats of all types (#1), allowing them to devote more resources to serving their customers (#2) while having a lot less anxiety and fear over an inevitable cyber-attack (#3).
Of course, you can switch up the order and personalize to your style and needs. The point is, getting clear how you specifically help customers eliminate something (#1), get more of something (#2), and get less of something (#3), will dramatically boost the efficacy of your message.
When you study the most persuasive arguments, from Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, to award-winning TV commercials to the most effective politicians, you’ll notice how the message is shaped to deliver these three promises.
As a next step, gather your team for a 30-minute discussion on how your product or service impacts the lives of your customers in these three ways. Once you’re clear on it, these three promises can serve as a powerful foundation that shapes your overall approach to marketing and communication.
Three promises. One gigantic result.