Create the killer intro. How to build interest and curiousity

Create the killer introHow to create the killer intro is a bit of an art form, but with 15 minutes we can fix that.

At the bottom of this post, there is a 5 point process to help you develop you own. But first, lets us explore what it means to be interesting.

How to be interesting is about knowing what to say at the right time, it is an enviable skill and can change how you are perceived. Most people having been in business for a while are confident in how they present themselves. But raise the stakes a bit, and speaking can get a lot harder. We have all seen dodgy powerpoint presentations.  Now try to sell something or pitch to the big guns of your industry.

Celebrity Status Makes a Difference

Celebrities are interesting people or are they?  The media seem to think they are important and that in itself puts them on a platform and make us feel different about them. Is there a famous person that you would like to meet, what would you say? “I am a big fan of your work?” lame…

I would quite like to meet Kevin Mcloud; I wonder if he likes the Grand Designs. Or is that another lame question? So what would I say? Depends, if I was talking, I could hold a conversation, if I was selling that would be different.

Communication and Status

A few years back I had a working relationship with a famous name, while it was never said, it was somehow known not to speak about that part of their life. So we spoke about normal things as if that were possible when our lives were so different.

Fame or celebrity status only makes these people different in our heads. If they have put themselves in a position to have a conversation with you, they do not have the problem, you might. A good test if they want to speak. Are they surrounded by big guys with no necks and dark glasses?  Then don’t bother.

If I had asked, could I have leveraged that relationship? What would it have cost? The point is I could not raise my level of interest for them enough to drop the boundaries so we could not move beyond the working relationship. I had nothing to offer.

This is all well and good but what about the real world

What about meeting people in life or business. Are there any stars that would make you take a breath.

I guess it is a bit like the dragons den, could you pitch, Duncan Ballantyne, Deborah Meaden or Peter Jones? Are there any stars in your profession? Is there anyone that you could meet that would change your business. How would you feel, would you be ready?

Having followed some big player in the marketing field for some years, watching and listening to programs and training. I won a 15-minute coaching session with one of my Gurus, and I have to say for the first 30 seconds it felt weird. I said as much, and he laughed. Funny he is still a Skype contact, not that I would call without asking first. Boundary, I am not interesting enough, this call was relatively easy and not a sales situation. Pitching to him would have been very different experience and reality check I was his ideal customer, he was not mine.

Would you drop the ball?

Create the killer intro
The Elevator Pitch

The point is, given the right chance how ready are you to take the opportunity. Do you have an introduction that makes you proud, and the recipient interested enough to follow up with you?

What do you say, is it all about you and what you do, it is technical and a bit jargon? Call it an elevator pitch or what you will, the important point is will it be interesting or memorable? 

“Hi my name is Paul Harvey, I’m an internet strategist, and I develop systems for lead gen.”

or

” My name is Paul Harvey; we offer a total system that allows business owners to identify key leads. It allows them to focus their attention on the customers that matter. We specialise in high ticket products for B2B companies and those in the renewables sector.”

How does that sound any better? Possibly needs work, but can you see how it opens the door to more questions and it clearly identifies who we are looking for.

Now your challenge, can you create the killer intro?

His is a simple process to create an opening introduction, something the leaves the recipient in no doubt what you do and who you help. Who is your ideal client or contact, who do you want to speak to, start there?

1 Make a list.

2 What are their problems, what do they need?

3 Can you create the killer introduction, something that makes you stand out from the crowd?

Create the killer intro with the 5 step intro builder.create the killer into

My name is ____________
1 we ( help / offer / support)
2 to ( subject )
3 and solve (problem )
4 to get( solution)
5 for (Define target market or group.)

 

 

My name is Paul Harvey; (1)we offer a total system that allows (2)business owners to (3)identify key leads. (4)It allows them to focus their attention on the customers that matter. (5)We specialise in high ticket products for B2B companies and those in the renewables sector.”

While this is not a digital process, the work still applies because the result can be used in email or on social media. If you need help with this stuff or any of the nuts and bolts that make marketing happen, just get in touch. Over to you, do it now. 

Remember a strategy call is an opportunity to explore how digital marketing can help your business, use the contact form as it helps to guide the conversation.  Contact Us 

How to build your Audience, Blogs and Social Media

How to build your audience, simple, turn up your audience expects it!

Whatever the content platform from writing your blog to keeping up with social media it is consistency that counts far more than the quality of the content. The search engines and social media platforms are the information pipes of society, and they will reward those that provide the water as in our content to flow in those pipes.

How to build your audience and with your social credit score

Just like your credit score, it improves as you pay the bills on time every month. Consistent writing and posting develop your social capital with the platforms and your audience. That is how to build your audience.

Posting a blog weekly and publishing and daily social media activity change your life. Yes, it will cost you time, but the rewards are worth the investment.

How to build your audience

Over the last year, I have invested time on the social platforms, but I am not the best avatar for this strategy. A bit like the builder with the half build house I am not a shining example as my blog posting can be erratic. I tend to focus my creative efforts on my customers, and I think I wanted to see the results before I committed my time and limited resource.

 Is it Quality or Quantity

Then, of course, we get to the question of quality or quantity. If I am going to commit to daily writing does quality matter? Yes, and No. We are in a busy world and people while interested; they do want to read something of value, and they want to be entertained.

Reality check: As content creators, we don’t just arrive on the scene polished and ready to deliver gems of wisdom. We have to find a voice and subject that resonates with the audience and the only way to discover that is to write a lot and get it out there. In some ways, your audience will find you.

Unknown to Well known in 30 Days

So when I returned to LinkedIn earlier this year, I was both impress and inspired by Kristina Evans. In the space of 30 days, she went from unknown to well know just by writing 3 posts a week and commenting on LinkedIn. Clearly showing up and writing was what mattered.  I reached out to Kristina, and she was kind enough to get on the phone and talk about her journey.

This recording has been around a while, the audio plugin I use on this blog did not work on mobile phones. I resolve the issue by uploading to YouTube, with a few images.

The recording is worth a listen, Kristina explains her journey and gives a few insights into how life changed now she as a following.  Incidentally if written content is a chore video and audio can be a more forgiving medium to express your ideas. You can find my daily videos on the market-that Facebook page.

If you are wondering how digital marketing could support your business book a free consultation on the contact page above, or follow my posts on Facebook and Linkedin

 

When I say “Avatar” what are you thinking?

Avatar the file
Were you thinking of the film?

Were you thinking of your best customer and what it is that makes them stand out from the crowd?

Or were you thinking of blue people from Avatar, the James Cameron film that used a mix of CGI and actors it starred Sigourney Weaver?  For computer gamers, an avatar is the name given to character or profile icon in gameplay or on some social media site.

 

 

An Avatar is Gold  

Tube Station People
An Avatar stands out from the crowd

For marketers like myself, an avatar is the gold standard in market research; it is a creative exploration of the ideal customer, part fiction and part reality.  The point is we are looking for something that makes the ideal client stand out from the crowd.

We are looking for real differences, some that are visible and others that hidden. These are the aspects of personality or history that shape who they are.  What they love or hate, where is their passion, what is it that they secretly desire. What is painful, what makes them happy.

Then Misuse of Pain

band-aid-1135397_1280There are some industries that just use the pain of fear of loss as a driver to make a sale, think of insurance or hair loss. The advertising copy highlights the pain, rubs salt into the wound by describing the loss or creating a dark picture, for it to be relieved by providing a solution or plaster.

To my mind it is cynical and part of the darker side of the marketing industry. It is unnecessary as there are deeper and more positive points of different that can make our customers feel good about themselves and the business which is bringing it to their attention.

The Ten Point Exercise 

There are many processes that can be used to find your avatar, start with your customer list, what do you know about them.

So here is the exercise, these ten questions have been taken from the master of the process Dan Kenedy and his ultimate sales letter.  While highly gifted in his writing copy he was good at finding pain and making it hurt.  Without holding that against him, the 10 point exercise below is a good tool to work through and define your avatar.

If your business is broad you can have a few  Avatars but more than six  can be difficult use.

The point is with a well-developed avatar you focus your advertising on that person, making it clear in the copy that you are talking to them.  While this excludes some people, it makes the subject feel very welcome creating a bond or synergy.

To give an example of how it might help. We are looking for points of difference that allow potential customers to align with your business.

They may be animal or sports lovers; they may be politically motivated; they could be divorced, and over 50, they may follow popular media like soap operas.  They could play golf or like outdoor pursuits.

The first point of contact with any media is the headline; this is the line of text the tells that it is for them. So when they see a headline that says. ” How to find love in your  50s”. That will attract the older person to a dating site.  The most famous headline for golf training was.

“Amazing Secret Discovered by One-Legged Golfer Adds 50 Yards to Your Drives…”

If you play golf, you will want to know how. I suggest you google it.

So here is the list

Dan Kenndy’s “10 SMART MARKET DIAGNOSIS AND PROFILING QUESTIONS” 

1. What keeps them awake at night, indigestion boiling up their esophagus, eyes open, staring at the ceiling?
2. What are they afraid of?

3. What are they angry about? Who are they angry at?

4. What are their top three daily frustrations?

5. What trends are occurring and will occur in their businesses or lives?

6. What do they secretly, ardently desire most?

7. Is there a built-in bias to the way they make decisions? (Example: engineers = exceptionally analytical)

8. Do they have their own language?

9. Who else is selling something similar to them, and how?

10. Who else has tried selling them something similar, and how has that effort failed?

The above process will uncover a story or persona that is the guide for your writing and attracts the right people into your world.