The thirty second introduction is perhaps one of the most common things we have to do as business owners. How do you feel when you have to give yours? Well, you know you have to do it, but what do you say?

How unique does it need to be?

Let’s face it, there are relatively few totally unique businesses that the world has never heard of before. Probably even fewer that everyone in the room has been waiting their whole lives to hear about. So, chances are, “what you do” is not totally unique. For some of us the reverse is true; we are in a business more than adequately represented in a typical networking setting. Given that, how can we possibly say something that attracts our prospects attention?

People care about themselves - probably now more than ever

I am all for positive thinking but I guess we have to accept that times are tough for a lot of people in the current economic climate. Even under more favorable circumstances people are still concerned about their “stuff” rather than yours. Given this, the most common approach I see to grabbing attention is flawed - people feel that they have to explain their services in more detail, as though it IS totally unique. Other alternatives include a cute tag line or play on words.

More detail is a turn off - people don’t want to hear that you have the best services in the world or what great customer service you give. Why? Because that is what they hear all the time and it is what the last guy said. A cute tag line may be memorable and even raise a laugh, but it doesn’t talk to their world and also it carries a risk. People may not get it, they may dislike it or may even be offended.

So what DO I say?

You know your clients better than anyone. You need to be able to answer the self-imposed question “Who do I love to work with?”. If you can’t answer that, think about it so that you can and be specific. Here is the first stage to knowing what to say. Who do you want to help? Be as specific as possible and then turn the answer into the first thing you say: “I/we work with…….”

That first stage will get attention in the room, people will self identify. If you say you work with doctors, they will know who they are, so will HR managers or anyone you identify as a target. Do not worry about those that don’t fit that profile - you don’t know who they know.

The second stage is: What do you do for them? Specifically, what pain do you take away from them? Again, if you don’t know you can ask your clients and/or figure out the history of those you have helped. Turn this into the second stage of the 30 second intro in the form of a pain statement. “We help ……. who struggle to ………”

You can do more but that approach will help people identify you are talking to them or someone you know. It has the huge advantage of being different and far more personal than 90% of the intros out there. It will go much further toward getting people to ask: “How do you do that?” which is the response you want!

The joys of a 30 second infomercial

Those of us in small business who have ever thought about joining a networking group or attending a networking event will have faced the question: “What do you do?” Probably we have all sat in line as the creeping death of everyone else’s introduction works it’s way inexorably around to us. Maybe we have had the experience of the group leader saying: “OK, let’s all give our 30 second infomercials and we will start with……..Jerry.”

However familiar we are with giving our well practiced speech there is always a slight frisson or excitement in this process. Perhaps we are one of the last to speak and by the time it gets around to us there have been three other people in a similar line of business who have already explained why they have the best products and the best customer service. So, what do you say that makes you stand out?

Think about your best testimonial - that is the place to start

In my experience most people answer the “what do you do” question literally i.e. with a list of what they do. The difficulty with this is it makes you sound the same as everyone else and it is all about YOU. Think about the best client testimonial you have received. If it is in writing go back and look at it again. If not, you might like to talk to your best client and ask them again what they love about you, specifically.

I bet you won’t see many testimonials that include things like: “He had services I had never heard of before” or “What clinched it for me was she was based on 103rd street” or “I’ve never met anyone else who has been in business a combined 55 years - wow!”

Now I am being flippant and exaggerating for effect BUT I have heard all those statements made as reasons to do business in a 30 second introduction.

So what is in a testimonial that I can use?

Usually testimonials include how you made someone’s life better, or a particular unique feature you provided to your client but it will be about them. How you helped, what you did that improved their life etc. Look more deeply than comments about  great customer service and find out what that means specifically - took away worry, helped me sleep at night, solved a frustrating problem. There is your uniqueness and there is how you can help other people who match your ideal client profile.

Hint: Stop talking about yourself and base your message on what your clients get personally from the experience of working with you.