Worrying about the 3 B’s

• Reprints

Leanne Hoagland-Smith. | Provided photo~Sun-Times Media

Updated: September 25, 2011 10:47PM

What do you do? This question is asked thousands of time each day in the business world whether it is in face-to-face contact or through social media or email. And the majority of responses result in these three Bs:

• Boring

• Befuddled

• Broke

Let me explain.

Take a few minutes to reflect on how you have answered this question in the past. Is your response quick and positive? For example, does the other person smile or even chuckle when hearing your answer to the “What do you do?” question? Possibly the person smiles politely, extends a hand and then looks around as to how to extricate himself or herself from another potentially BORING conversation?

From my experience, easily 90 percent of all small business owners provide a boring answer to the question of “What do you do?” They turn people off before they have the opportunity to turn them on to their solutions be them products or services.

When the answer to the question of “What do you do?” fails to engage people, this may create a sense of being BEFUDDLED from “How do I leave this conversation?” to “I am actually clueless about what this person does.” Neither reaction is good for business. Those reactions lead to the third B – BROKE.

The purpose of marketing is to attraction attention (positive is better than negative) and begin to build the relationship. When your marketing message is boring and generates a befuddled response, then you cannot move onto the next phase of the sales process – selling. You will remain broke because no one wants to speak with you less alone learn more about what you do.

With the state of the current economy still in the doldrums, this is when your marketing message of answering the question of “What do you do?” must be:

• Bold

• Bodacious

• Brilliant

Bold statements are noticed. These messages show confidence and stand out so that you are the Red Jacket and not one of those boring gray suits.

A bodacious statement is unmistakable. No one is befuddled by your message.

By having your response to “What do you do?” be both bold and bodacious, it will be brilliant and literally shine a path to you. As your brilliance continues to shine, your sales funnel will grow and then your selling skills take over. Now you will no longer be broke in sales and relationships.

P.S. Shout Outs: Three Dog Net in Hobart provides computer technology and repair services. Bucher Technologies in Valparaiso can assist with those every day computer challenges.