“What Do You Do?” Doesn’t mean they want your life story!

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NT01-Branded-20 We all love our products and are passionate about talking about them, especially when it comes to making a sale, right?

But there is such a thing as WAY too far.

Have you ever been at an event and asked someone what they did and they go into this huge 30 minute pitch about how their product was created using a special plant only found in the back jungles of the Amazon and was hand picked by the aborigines…. (story goes on and on… and on… and on….)

When you first meet someone, they want to know a bit about you. It’s like the trailer of a movie. You watch it to see if you want to spend another two hours watching it.

Your answer to the question “What do you do?” should be like that trailer. It needs to be impactful, pointed and leave them wanting to spend more time with you.

One way I like to explain what I do is by asking more questions. I turn it back on them and ask them questions like “Well, what are you doing to market your business right now?” That opens up the conversation for me to cater my response to what they are doing and how they might be able to do it better.

That gives me a way to SHOW them what I do versus telling them.

And… they get to talk more about themselves, which in case you didn’t know is usually a person’s favorite subject.

People love to talk about themselves. They also love to talk about their frustrations and worries. That’s human nature. If you can ask the right questions, you’ll get them to tell you exactly what problems they have and how they’d like to see them solved.

That’s your opportunity to become a trusted adviser for them instead of just another person pitching stuff.

Your goal is to be remembered as that person that was a great listener and had a ton of knowledge to share. If it happens to also involve your company as the source, great!

You just need to ease into it and make sure that the conversation leans that way instead of you pulling them with a noose around their neck.

It’s all about keeping their attention. Blasting them with all the facts and figures of your product and how awesome it is won’t do that. It will usually scare them off.

So, when someone asks you what you do, ask more questions and be helpful first. It’s not an excuse to bring out the flip chart and start a pitch.

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