How to Get More Clients Just by Saying You Exist

When asked what you do, how do you explain what you do? When asked "What do you do?", many business owners and freelancers fumble for an answer, missing out on potentially fruitful conversations that could lead to new clients or partnerships. You should reconsider your response if it fails to spark regular talk about your company.

How do people react when you explain what you do for a living?

If people's reactions to your explanation of what you do are blank stares, uncertainty, or a shift in the conversation's focus, you may be committing one of the most common errors when explaining your profession. Here are some pointers on how to turn a query into a prospect.

Don't Put a Label on Your Work.

Putting oneself in the hands of other people's preconceived assumptions about a label is risky business. When you put yourself in a box and label it, you invite judgment and prejudice. In this scenario, the lawyer simply responds, "I'm a lawyer," when asked what he does. He could get the unflattering "lawyers are sharks" label if he does this. Everybody knows that comedians love making fun of attorneys. A lawyer may not be a shark if he assists start-up businesses in forming and maintaining legal compliance.

He could lose a lead or a client if he immediately introduces himself as a lawyer.

In addition, labels are frequently vague. The statement "I'm a consultant" reveals nothing about my clientele or the value I provide to my work. Instead, I tell individuals, "I assist entrepreneurs and service providers in expanding their customer base and revenue." The number of times I've been met with a "Really? I'm baffled by your method. I know I'm getting closer to closing a transaction when I hear a response like that.

You can immediately boost your marketing efforts if you decide to stop using the label(s) you're currently using to define yourself.

Do Not Provide an Uncertain reply.

People's responses to the question "What do you do?" are typically too general, failing to convey the people they assist or the value they bring to the table. When I first met Bob, I inquired about his line of work. He claimed to own a software firm, so I inquired as to what his firm specialized in. He referred to "financial software" in conversation.

I asked Bob, "Who uses your software?" because I still didn't understand his business. And his response was, "Hedge fund managers." Finally, we were making progress. I had to pry information about the functionality of his product out of him, and that wasn't fair. I wouldn't know what Bob's program does or why people use it if I weren't naturally inquisitive and determined to find out. If I hadn't been able to make the introduction that led to a commercial partnership, Bob would have missed out on a great marketing opportunity.

A lack of specificity in response to the question "What do you do?" might be seen as a lack of pride in one's occupation. It seemed like Bob didn't give a hoot that he was the owner of a software firm when he initially told me. I prodded him to elaborate on the target audience for his software, and he became enthusiastic as he explained how it aids hedge fund managers in cutting expenses and protecting against bad bets.

If you want to build your business, people will see you as passionate about what you do if you avoid giving them ambiguous answers.

Not a Process Description

Don't go into detail about the methods or processes you use if you want to pique the listener's attention (which is, after all, the point of explaining what you do). People are interested in what you're selling when they believe it will assist them in meeting a need or resolving an issue. By explaining how something works, you focus on the process rather than the results.

Talking more passionately about what you do will happen when you describe the outcomes you provide and the people you aid.

Advance Your Advertising Message

Are you one of those people who, when asked "what do you do?" gives one of the "don't do it" answers given above? If you are guilty, a captivating marketing message can replace your present response and greatly increase your chances of gaining new clients.

An effective marketing message is one that is directed squarely at the people you want to buy from, that makes the value proposition for your product or service crystal clear, and that piques their interest. Answering the question "what do you do?" with a captivating marketing message is a clever and intelligent way to generate new business, even if you are not speaking with your ideal client. You never know who the person you're talking to might know who could use what you're selling. Simply expressing what you do and who you help can help people see you as the answer to their problems. If you put in the effort to craft a compelling marketing message, you'll be better equipped to turn a simple inquiry into a lucrative sales prospect.

One of the first steps in developing a compelling marketing message is to dig deep into the motivations of your target audience. Asking them directly is a great way to find out this information. You may ask them in person, over the phone, or through a poll on your website. You can use the information in their responses to tailor a message that offers the benefits they want to hear about.

People are often curious as to what it is that you do. Don't blow these promotional chances by providing a generic response or explaining your procedure. Instead, you should utilize your advertising message to pique people's curiosity about your business.