Short Stories that Sell – So what do you do?

Sometimes you can tell what a person does by looking at them. Most of the time you can’t.

I met a fellow the other month at a networking event. “So what do you do?” he asked. I replied simply “I help people sell.” He was stunned. He looked at me, smiled, and said “Wow, that’s simple. I wish I could tell people what I did so quickly.”

“Thanks.” I said. “Why, what do you do?” With that he rolled in to a several minute description of his job and his business. In the end, I paraphrased it back to him: “So you’re a … and you … ?” “Yes.” he responded. Then he looked at me and said “You know, maybe you could help me work on that a bit …”

Some call it an elevator pitch: step on to an elevator with a prospective client and if you only had a moment, what would you say? I’d rather look at it as a Short Story that Sells.

The five word answer

In some situations you get only one sentence. That’s it. You need to make it grab attention, show value, and be clear about what you do. You want it to make a point, but not be a dead end. You want your listener to engage in a conversation: “How do you do that?” “What do you mean you … ?” You want them to give you permission to talk (a little bit) more.

On the Internet Business Mastery podcast a few weeks ago, the host said he tells people: “I’m a cubicle escape artist.” Can you imagine the response that listeners have after that. “A what?”

Mine is a little more mundane, but I like it. I’ve whittled it down to less than five words, in fact four:

I help people sell.

And then I give them my business card (back side):

Audio:

It answers their question quickly. It differentiates me: I’m not a sales person, I HELP people sell. And it leads them to ask more: “Like what? How do you do that?” It’s so short that it can even be startling, like how my friend at the networking event reacted. What five words could put a different spin on what you do?

The five second answer

Sometimes I get a few more seconds to throw in another sentence. Great, I build on my core response and get a little more descriptive:

I help people sell. We build stories, demonstrations, and experiences that can help you sell a product, service, … or a point of view.

And then I give them my card (front side):

Audio:

Notice how – and when – I used I, we, and you? I wanted to specifically say what I do and what we can do for you. While our business does lots of things, I’ve decided (after several years and more false starts than I can count) to build our reputation on three products: stories, demonstrations, and experiences.

It only added a few more seconds, but the clarity of my answer went up 10x. And I find it still causes people to ask a question … “That’s interesting, how do you do that?”

The five sentence answer

If I’ve been chatting with someone for a few minutes (talking about the event, someone we both know, the weather, …), I find they’ll give me about 15 seconds to answer their question. After that, the timer expires and so does my credibility – the more I talk, the more they disengage.

They don’t want a monologue from me, they want a short answer to see if we have something in common (a need, a curiosity, a profession, …) to engage in a conversation. Here’s what works for me, five sentences:

I help people sell. You know, everyone sells. We build stories, demonstrations, and experiences that can help you sell a product, service, … or a point of view.

We help sellers learn a simple way to sell. (I count with my fingers) Five steps: Plan the trip, Tell your story, Show proof, Try it, Satisfy completely.

Then I give them my card …

… and flip it over to show them my contact information.

Audio:

The fifty second answer

Here’s an answer that takes me about 1 minute (but I like fives, so let’s say it’s 50 seconds) to pitch.

Be careful, it’s not a monologue. Watch your listener, gauge their interest. Was it a casual question? If so then this is probably too much and their 15 second timer will go off before you finish. But, if you’ve been chatting for a while, and they are REALLY interested in what you do, and you’ve already learned a few things about them, then it works – really well.

For this answer, I use two cards: a contact card and a storyCard. Think of it like a mini presentation. Grab their attention …

I help people sell. We build stories, demonstrations, and experiences that can help you sell a product, service, … or a point of view.

… then I pull out a graphic to help make my point.

Let me show you. Selling has four phases: find a customer, educate them, ask for their business, and build a relationship.

And I use my free hand, counting with my fingers, to again add a dynamic element …

We use five steps to educate a buyer. Three steps are core (middle three fingers): Tell your story, Show proof, and Try it. Tell. Show. Try. Then have a plan (first finger). It’s like taking your buyer on a trip, how will you get them from their point A to your point B? Then satisfy questions and concerns (last finger). Plan. Tell. Show. Try. And Satisfy (all five fingers).

… then I give them something: a way they can learn what I do but not have to pay for it:

So, you can learn more at the ideamechanic.com.

And lastly, like the three point sermon, I tell them again (this time with my business card) what I do …

And if you need help, just add an “s”. That’s our business – the ideamechanics.com

… and how to get a hold of me.

Here’s my card.

Audio:

The five minute answer

This one’s not really an elevator pitch, it’s more of a short story: a Short Story that Sells. In fact, it’s the one you just read . Five minutes, five points, lots of ideas.