“What do you do?” That’s the most common “getting to know you” question in America. Just about equal to “Where are you from?” The odd thing is, though all of us get these questions throughout our lives, we seldom have a really good answer for them. Hmmm. Seems we’d be better prepared, doesn’t it?
ELEVATOR SPEECH
Business strategists say you should be able to tell someone what you do in about 30 seconds – the length of time it takes to travel between floors in an elevator. The recommendation is to describe your business in a way that causes the listener to want to know more or to want to have a conversation about your services. I like this idea, and I suggest that it needn’t be complicated or unnatural for you. Just use your own words, but your “best” words.
In the past, you might have answered the question with, “I run a transmission repair shop,” or “We do auto repair.” Listeners would likely say, “Oh.” And that would end any hope for a conversation that might lead to a new customer.
It would be better if you’d build some curiosity about what you do. You might say something that’s open-ended or begs for a question. “I help people get where they need to go by keeping their cars running well. We specialize in transmissions. Transmissions are like air.” That begs the question, “What do you mean by that?” You reply, “Most people don’t think about air unless it smells bad, or it’s in short supply. Likewise, they don’t notice their transmission until there’s a problem.” This might cause listeners to ask more questions or, in so many words, say, “Tell me more.”
That’s good advice for beginning a conversation, but what about expanding the discussion? My advice is to Tell Your Stories! Every day you have experiences with customers, coworkers, unique vehicles, special situations, and problem-solving that would make interesting stories. People love stories. The more often you tell these stories, the more interest they’ll have in hiring you, or at least, they’ll more likely remember you.
TELLING STORIES
Here’s a simple structure for an interest-building story.
- Set the stage by describing the situation.
- Describe the challenge or the problem you needed to solve.
- Tell them how you solved it.
- Explain the outcome and emphasize how it felt.
Here are three simple, relatable stories and how you might tell each of the four story-parts.
Part One – Set the stage.
- Maria brought her car to us. She was totally frustrated because she had taken it to three other repair shops. None of them could resolve the slipping in her transmission.
- Jonathan couldn’t find a shop that knew how to service the transmission in his restored antique car.
- Amber contacted us by phone because she was stranded by the side of the road. Her car stopped moving, and she was clearly stressed out.
Part Two – Describe the problem.
- Maria was ready to sell her car, but she couldn’t afford to buy another vehicle.
- After investing thousands of dollars in restoring his classic, Jonathan couldn’t show it unless the transmission was repaired.
- Amber’s situation was an emergency. She needed to get her car somewhere safe, get her son to school, and get herself to work.
Part Three – How you solved the problem.
- Since three other shops hadn’t fixed the problem, we suspected it was going to be an unusual problem. So, we looked beyond the transmission. Sure enough, that’s how we found it. It turned out to be a defective electrical solenoid that the other shops had overlooked.
- We reached out to a friend at a classic car club and found someone with experience with Jonathan’s vehicle. He provided us with some guidance and old repair manuals.
- Amber had two problems a transportation problem and a transmission problem. We solved both. We towed her car to our shop and gave her and her son a ride to school and work. We were able to get her car back to her by the end of the day.
Part Four – What was the outcome, and how did it feel?
- Once we diagnosed the actual problem, we were able to resolve the transmission problem with a simple repair. But more importantly, we alleviated Maria’s stress and frustration.
- By networking with other car collectors, we quickly got the parts we needed for Jonathan’s transmission and got him going again. By the way, his car won a Blue Ribbon at the county car show!
- Amber was in tears of fear when she called us, and she was in tears of joy when we solved her problems and showed her such personal care. Now she’s our biggest fan and tells all her friends about us.
SITUATION, CHALLENGE, SOLUTION, OUTCOME
Tell Your Stories with this simple structure. It works for telling stories about any situation.
- The big game was on TV in one hour, and Brian’s cable went out.
- Eleven guests were expected at any minute.
- Janet brought her laptop and used her cell phone for an internet hotspot.
- She did a screen share onto Brian’s big-screen TV. Nobody noticed the problem, and we won the game!
Focus on what you do for people, not the processes you follow, nor just the description of your craft. Everyone loves stories. We cannot resist them, and they’re excellent sales tools for winning new customers.
Now, have I told you about the time that…
Jim Cathcart, the “Virtual VP and Strategic Advisor,” is a Mentor who helps businesses grow their people and their profits. As the author of 20 books and an Executive MBA professor, he is known worldwide. His TEDx video has over 2.3 million views, and he’s been inducted into the Sales & Marketing Hall of Fame. Maybe he can help you grow your business this year. Contact him at info@cathcart.com.
