Real-world positioning test — Kelford Labs Daily

If you’re a communicator who hates networking, I might know why.

It’s because you’re getting conversationally ghosted when you tell people what you do.

What usually happens to communicators (like creative professionals, consultants, and advisors) is:

• They’re at a networking event.
• They awkwardly strike up a half-hearted conversation with a stranger.
• The stranger says, “What do you do?”
• The communicator says, “I run a marketing firm.” Or: “I’m a strategy consultant.” Or: “I’m in PR.”

And then the stranger says, “Oh, great,” and they either walk away or you suddenly find a reason to head toward the bar or food table.

If nobody asks you a follow-up question when you say what you do, you’re not talking about it the right way.

Your “elevator pitch” needs to be compelling and interesting.

Which means it needs to be specific.

Try this instead:

• Stranger: “What do you do?”
• You: “Basically, I teach people to talk for a living.”
• Stranger: “What do you mean?”
• You: “Well, I focus on doing x, y, and z for [very specific audience]. So, really, that means I teach people to talk for a living.”

I'm going to a networking event this week and what I intend to say is:

Me: “I show communicators the way to always knowing what to say.”

Stranger: “Oh, what does that mean?”

Me: “You know how professional communicators have such a hard time writing their own websites, working on their own ads, or talking about their value? That’s because no one can do it alone. Their own clients know that. So I show communicators how to demonstrate their value at a distance, so they always know what to say, in any situation.”

So, what do you say when someone asks what you do?

Do they ask any follow-up questions?

What could you say instead so that they do? 

Reply to this email to tell me what you think, or ask any questions!

Kelford Inc. shows experts the way to always knowing what to say.