“So, what do you do?”
Introductions - you win or you lose in the first 15 seconds
We all know how it works. First impressions are lasting impressions.
If you bore or blend in, you lose. If you intrigue and connect, you win.
So, what do we do to win in those first critical 15 seconds of introduction? Instead of telling or selling, you have one goal: be compelling.
As in - compelling the person you’re asking to say some form of, “Tell me more!”
What doesn’t work:
An elevator pitch: “I’m with International Technical Solutions, and our tech-forward AI-powered Big Data Enterprise Agent Architecture totally rocks the Marketing stack and would you like to meet for coffee at 10 am next Tuesday??” TMI. Lemme outta here.
A title: “I’m an HR Manager at BlahCorp.” Boring. You just dropped me off at a dead end.
A ramble through the existential weeds: “Well, it’s hard to describe, exactly; I guess I’m kind of a jack-of-all-trades for the intersection of hardward and software and user experience and sometimes bitcoin-fueled leaky yachts.”
All of these attention-killing approaches mean you fail to connect at the moment of opportunity.
Your next client or referral door may have just shut because you were not clear, concise, and compelling in your introduction.
What does work: a Memory Dart
“I’m Steve Woodruff, and I’m on a one-person mission to demolish the outmoded elevator pitch with something you’ll love - your own Memory Dart.”
“I’m Phil Mershon. I’m the killer of boring events. In fact, I make events so unforgettable, people can’t stop talking about them.”
“I’m Jarrod Graetz, and I help radio stations grow Audience and Revenue; even when the radio is off.”
In each of these cases, instead of just introducing bare facts, the individual uses vivid, specific, and “huh….tell me more…”-provoking language to secure engagement and encourage connection.
What’s awesome about Memory Darts is that you’re not limited to just one introductory Memory Dart - you can have a pocket full of stories, stats, specifics, and examples that “stick.” But the best place to start is with that most common of questions, at that most frequent moment of opportunity:
“So…what do you do?”
And who doesn’t need to answer that? 100% of us, day after day after day! That’s a lot of opportunity to seize!
Need to replace your ineffective and outdated elevator pitch with something that works? We can develop your introductory Memory Dart with an amazing turnaround time!
I recently met Steve at a conference, and immediately loved his no-nonsense approach to marketing. There's so much noise out there with our messaging, and Steve has an incredible talent to help identify those key statements that define our purpose and our work. He graciously helped me create two statements ("memory darts") that have already brought so much clarity as to how I communicate as a speaker and author. I'm also greatly enjoying his book, "The Point." - Alicia Michelle
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