You’re at a major trade show, and you’re wandering the exhibit hall. You meander past booth after booth, and you don’t stop at this one. Or that one. Or most of them.
Why?
Because the key WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) message hasn’t been communicated to you within a 5-10 second window, before your already-moving feet take you to the next place.
To make matters worse: you are experiencing sensory overload in a typical exhibit hall, and a tight schedule. Are you going be willing to stop and take 3 minutes to process a bunch of images and bullet points as you drift past all those booths, or risk being sucked into some long-winded pitch by a blabbering sales person?
Not likely.
Your prospects are no different. Their minds are loaded with stuff. They don’t have time to figure you out. The best thing you can give them is a succinct message.
Isn’t that true of websites also? Grab my interest in a few seconds or I’m gone. And, if you’re in the job market, don’t you think those reviewing your LinkedIn profile or resume have an incredibly brief window to get drawn in, before they move on?
In every communication, assume you have no more than 10 seconds to make your point.
Letting the clock run out in football will set you back a Delay of Game penalty of 5 yards. What’s the cost of losing the attention of your potential customers? Incalculable.
No-one has time to figure you or your company out. Don’t try to tell me everything – distill it down to one clear message, well-delivered. Hook me before I wander away.
If you haven’t grabbed my attention and understanding in 10 seconds, your time just ran out. <–(tweet this)
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photo credit: Greg McMullin via photopin cc
