But IF YOU own a business…sell your services…market products…or are accountable for creating more business for your employers, this simple little conversation is arguably the most important way of letting people know what you’re really up to and creating a business opportunity…complete with words, emotions and body language…in Living Color! It is a way to BOTH express who you are (not merely “what you do”) and to create a memorable and authentic conversation by engaging with the other person.

It usually begins with the question, “What do you do?” Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing (www.actionplan.com) says “[Usually] people make the mistake of answering that question. We give people the “do” instead of something else that would really get attention.”

Middleton isn’t suggesting that we avoid a direct answer. Rather he suggests that we provide a richer answer by following a “Marketing Syntax” — or a particular set of rules by which a response to that question is most effective and memorable.

He declares that The First part of the Marketing Syntax when someone asks, “What do you do?” is to describe your ideal Clients. “Here’s who I work with… Here are my ideal clients…”

The Second part is a description of Client’s problem, challenge or concern. “These are the problems, challenges and concerns that they deal with.”

The Third part is a description of the ultimate outcome that you offer your Clients. “Here’s the outcome, result or solution I provide.”

Finally, the Fourth and final part of the Marketing Syntax is a short story or case study. When your prospect wants to know more, he or she may ask for more information or “How do you do that?” You reply with a short story – just enough to answer the question but clearly demonstrating the impact you created for the Client. “Here’s a story of a Client I worked with and the results we got…”

So, to recap, the Four elements of Marketing Syntax are: Target — Problem — Outcome — Story. “We work with these kind of clients, with these kinds of problems and create these kinds of solutions.” and “Since you asked, I’ll tell you quick story about that.”

Two more things: First, and this is critically important, you must remember that your prospect is listening to you from THEIR point of view. You need to maximize the chances that you “hit the mark” by speaking from a place of “What’s in this conversation FOR THEM?”

And finally, the Elevator Speech requires thought, planning and practice. One must create it as a new habit. By doing that, it is much easier to “stay with” the other person, than to be “in your own head” trying to think your way through it when you have just met someone new. You don’t want to do anything that will take away from “relatedness”. But with planning and practice, it can become second nature.

Here’s wishing you the best in casting a wider BizDev net with your new Elevator Speech. I encourage you to try it this week! If you want some help with it, click here to see my contact information.

Occasionally, however, I will get some insights that help me explain things to my clients…in this case, the reason that we go through this “Positioning” exercise/conversation/inquisition/torture with our clients.

Now, the difference between “brand”, “branding” and “positioning”.

A “brand “(noun)…in the marketing realm…is the collective thought burned into the consuming public about a [your] company’s products or services.  From the beginning, if the public is paying any attention at all, that ‘collective thought’ can pretty quickly take on a life of its own.  The combined experience and communication between customers gains its own momentum…particularly if they are in community with each other.

The remaining two terms “branding” and “positioning ” (verbs) for the sake of simplicity we will call equivalent.  They are a declaration of what the firm and its products/services “stand for”.  The staking of a claim.   The way the firm wants to be perceived which is very close to the actual truth…if not merely defensible as such.  Close enough that the firm has a near certainty of being able to manage its actions into actually BECOMING its stated “mission” in the eyes of its Customers.

One of the most succinct statements about this phenomenon I found at What’s your Brand Mantra in an April 2008 blog by Jennifer Rice of Prophet:

“Positioning is hard work. It is not the domain of an ad agency or a marketing department. It is aligning the corporate mission and structure to one that best supports customers, connects with them, and creates customer evangelists.”

Customers have the right to expect what you say you can and will do for them.  And that is THE Brand that you must work to protect.  And in branding/positioning, there’s nothing more important.

This all gets really simple when your guidepost is that…

… “It’s all about the Customer.”

Jim