Attract Clients Now

The Online Newsletter from Valiss Internet Solutions,
Helping You Attract More Clients With Less Effort

In this week's issue
Clarifying Your Marketing Message

Happy holidays to everyone. This will be the last newsletter of 2005 since I'll
be taking some time off to be with my family at the end of the month. Hopefully
we'll get a big snowstorm at Lake Tahoe so I do some snowboarding.

How are you surviving the holiday rush? It's getting dangerous out there! The malls and shopping centers are packed with crazed shoppers buying everything in site. The lines at UPS are longer than ever, probably because they installed computers so the customers can print their own labels. The computers were installed a few weeks ago, just before the holiday rush. Why didn't they install them last summer so the customers could get used to the new process? The UPS employees are now providing tech support to angry customers instead of just ringing up the paper transaction on the cash register. Isn't technology wonderful?

This month's topic is clarifying your marketing message. It's a good time of year
to practice your elevator speech when you're at a boring holiday party. Instead
of just talking about the weather, try some different tag lines when people ask
you what you do. See which lines work best and start using them.

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Clarifying Your Marketing Message
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Imagine you’re on an elevator and someone asks what you do. In the minute or two that the elevator is moving towards your destination, you have to get their
attention and peak their interest in you. In your first sentence you have to give
them a clear sense of what you can do for them. It’s not about the service you
provide. It’s all about how you can solve their problem. People are only interested in their own problems and could care less about you, unless you can help them. It’s a harsh thing to say but it’s true. Always approach your marketing message from the perspective of “what’s in it for me” with “me” being the client not you.

Your “elevator speech” should always be problem oriented. Your message should start with “I help…” or “I teach…” or “I solve…”. Describe the benefits of your service not the features. People get overwhelmed if you describe the features of your product.

“Our computer has a 4 gigahertz processor with 2 gigabytes of RAM and a 200 gigabyte hard drive” will turn people off in a second. Instead, try “Our computer helps people process payroll 10 times faster than any of our competitors.” The potential client will hear that he can process his payroll faster so he can go home earlier. He could care less what’s inside the computer.

Remember, always think from the perspective of “what’s in it for the client” and “how is my product or service going to make their life easier”. This is the fastest and most effective way of getting their attention.

Now answer the following questions and take a shot at developing our own
problem-oriented elevator speech.

I help __________________________________________________________________

who (identify their problem or challenge here) __________________________________________________________________

What else can you say about their problem as a follow up? The conversation should go something like this:

You: “I help people who are overwhelmed by technology” – this should strike a nerve and get their interest.

Client: “Oh really, tell me more about what you do” – You have their interest now it’s time to elaborate on how you can help them. REMEMBER don’t talk about the features, talk about the benefits to them.

You: “I solve people’s technology challenges quickly so they can focus on getting
their work done.”

Client: “My computer keeps freezing up and I’ve spent hours troubleshooting it. I’m ready to throw it out the window.”

You: “I can take a look at your computer in the morning so you don’t waste any more of your valuable time troubleshooting your computer”.

You get the idea. Now create some on your own and try them out at your next holiday party!

Until next year,

Ted Prodromou
valiss-info@valiss.com
1-(415) 785-1796

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