It can happen in an elevator, or at a networking event, or when you write a prospecting email. You need to say what you do.
Unfortunately, what many people say, especially if they work with tech, does not mean much to the listener, or it sends the other person into a mild snooze. Here are some tips to change that.
How do you help people?
I think Aaron Ross nailed it. Change your mindset from answering the question “What do you do?” to “How do you help people?”
Most people answer, “What do you do?” in a really boring way. “I’m an accountant”. “I’m a salesperson for a network security software company”. [Editor’s note: I’m already getting sleepy.]
If you answer the question “How do you help people?” instead, your brain starts focusing on the benefits you bring to people not your job title. Humans, aka your prospects, don’t care about your problems (you may have figured this out by now). They care about their problems, and they care about getting rid of their problems and going on to rule the world (or something like that.)
They don’t care at this initial point how you fix their problems. If it’s with a magic wand, that’s fine for now. They will worry about that later, when they are trying to figure out if you know what you’re doing.
So, an answer like, “We save companies millions of dollars in taxes and avoid their senior execs going to jail” is more interesting than “I’m an accountant”.
How do you do that?
Although the statement above might seem a little wacky it’s much more likely to get the response you want, which is “How do you do that?”
Once you’ve got the response, “How do you do that?”, you know you’ve engaged the other person’s brain. They are actually listening to you. They did not fall asleep. This is what you want.
Tell Grandma
When you come up with the answer to “What do you do?” don’t use any jargon. Kill anything that your grandma would not understand. No “128-bit encryption with blockchain algorithms”. Whatever you come up with write it in plain English.
If you’re not sure you are speaking plain English, you can lean on your “new assistant”, ChatGPT, for some coaching. ChatGPT is pretty good at taking gobbledygook and turning it into real language. Here are a couple of real examples. (The prompt I used was “Can you rewrite this text in the language of a grandmother?”)
Original: “We put the democratization of quality blockchain data at the forefront of everything we do in order to transform industries at web3 scale.”
ChatGPT version: “We make sure that everyone can easily get good quality information from a digital record-keeping system. This is very important to us because it helps change the way big businesses work, much like how the Internet did.”
Original: “Our company approach combines Agile methods and regulatory compliance to build, evolve and scale powerful SaMD and connected device systems that fit into patients’ day-to-day lives.”
ChatGPT version: “Our company uses flexible planning and follows health rules to create and improve strong software and devices for health care. These are easy to use every day for people who need them.”
After some ChatGPT massaging, take what you’ve come up with and say it to your grandma, friend that’s a dentist, or your Uber driver. And ask them, “Do you know what I’m talking about?” Ask them to play it back to you. If they don’t get it right, or take more than 10 seconds to respond, change your statement.
Keep working on your answer to the “What do you do?” question until it’s short enough that you can spit it out on an elevator ride (10 floors only, sorry not a ride to the top of the Burj Khalifa) and it’s English enough that your grandma can understand it.