Harriet L. Donnelly, President, e5 Marketing

How many people in your organization can describe what your company does in a few sentences? How many different descriptions do you hear and how many of them are correct?  Typically, you can pick a sentence off of one and mesh it with another that you wordsmith with the third and it may still not be right. But, this may not be how you ultimately want people to think about you and your company...

Your first introduction, whether in a business meeting or in an elevator, is the most critical and sets the tone for any continuance of the business opportunity or the conversation. Within those first seconds you need to establish your credibility and evoke enough interest for a follow-on conversation. 

Think about how your company's employees, whether the CEO or a project manager, responds when a someone asks the simple question, "What do you do?" or "What does your company do?"  Do they respond with the canned "elevator pitch"?  Most people don't fall for the "old" elevator pitch these days and the conversation, although pleasant, comes to an abrupt end.

This is where marketing comes in. Marketing can help your employees discuss and describe issues that other companies or individuals may be experiencing. If they are experiencing those issues or similar issues, they will probably be very open to exploring them further with you. This is a powerful way of turning a brief opening conversation into a longer dialogue that may lead to real business results. When people believe that you understand their business, their responsibilities, and therefore their problem, they will likely believe that you may have a solution to it.

Considering how much is at stake with regards to initial impressions and their impact on your credibility, it is surprising how few companies actually address this issue in a thoughtful fashion. Marketing can take the lead role in helping craft a relevant introduction to the company, one that invites a real 2-way dialogue. Marketing must also ensure that all of the supporting marketing materials and collateral speak to customer issues rather than company capabilities.

Consider that initial moment of contact. It must be carefully prepared, highly relevant, and thoroughly rehearsed - although it needs to sound sincere and not overly rehearsed - using language that your employee is comfortable saying and describing. Check out the opening below:

We work with companies that are facing the escalating cost of goods and are looking at the possibilities of outsourcing as an option. We help these companies analyze the risks and potential benefits of outsourcing that activity and have the capabilities to provide that service if their situation points to outsourcing as an alternative.

This takes only a few seconds to say, but it covers a lot of ground and gives you a good picture of just what the company does do. Here's how this breaks out:

We work with companies that are facing the escalating cost of goods and are looking at the possibilities of outsourcing as an option. This statement positions your company and describes who you are and just what you do. The prospect can now begin to relate  to an issue and may be thinking, "That sounds like us."

 We help these companies analyze the risks and potential benefits of outsourcing that activity. Introducing specifics about a problem or issue they may be facing. Notice the balance of analyzing "risks and potential benefits."

     … and have the capabilities to provide that service if their situation points to outsourcing as an alternative. More relevant and specific and states the value provided.

As you can see, this really isn't a pitch but actually a conversation taking place within these few sentences. You are addressing, in a logical order, the questions that may be popping up in the person's mind and that may lead to furthering the conversation or relationship.

Unfortunately, not enough companies take this matter very seriously. It is typically handled in a presentation format that executives and salespeople have used so often with so many contacts that it becomes even more staid and less effective.

There is much to gain - or lose - in the those initial moments of a conversation. It is important to take the steps necessary to build your credibility in that initial contact, ensuring that the conversation continues and deepens. Otherwise, your prospective customer may always be just that - prospective!

Harriet L. Donnelly, President
e5 Marketing, Inc.
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