When people ask me what is the single most important thing they can do to market their businesses successfully, I have what looks like a very simple answer.  I tell them that all they really need to get started is a “Sound Bite”!  Sounds simple?  It is…and it isn’t!

What’s A “Sound Bite”?

A “Sound Bite” is really just a simple phrase (ideally seven to nine words) that distills the essence of your value to a particular customer base.  It is the answer to the question: “What do you do?”

In marketing, we say: “Sell the sizzle, not the steak” and what we mean by that is to sell benefits, not features.  The beauty of this concept is that once you’ve got it, you have probably defined your target market, as well as the features and benefits of your product or service, thus defining the value of what you offer to your customers, which is a huge stumbling block for so many small businesses.

What Makes a “Sound Bite”?

A great “Sound Bite”, self-introduction, or practice statement (whatever you call it) is appropriate, credible, intriguing, specific, and brief (under 3.5 seconds).

1. A great self-introduction establishes your credibility and professionalism, clarifies what you do, with whom you work with, and why those people benefit from working with you.  (Some of this can be implied.)
2. It gets the desired/best possible response to your “Sound Bite”: “Oh, really?  Tell me more.”
3. If “so what” or “and?” responses are implied (or received!), you need to refine your statement.

Need An Example?

We’ll use me as an example.  My “Sound Bite” is: “I help REALTORS® attract more clients.”  This simple seven-word statement tells people with whom I work, what I do, and what the benefit to my clients is.  Let me break it down:

WHAT I do= help…attract

WHOM I serve= REALTORS®

BENEFIT(s) my clients reap= more clients

As a Coach, the truth is that I help people to develop systems and tools for marketing themselves with integrity and ease.  But guess what?  PEOPLE DON’T CARE about the process or tools I offer, they care about the results of our work, which is why when people ask me what I do, I tell them “I help REALTORS® attract more clients.”

My clients “need” marketing because what they “want” are more clients.  That’s a very subtle distinction, yet it speaks perfectly to my target audience because it focuses on their results, rather than my process.

Creating your own “Sound Bite”

Boil it down to the essentials: WHAT you do, WHOM you serve, and the BENEFIT(S) your clients reap.  You’ll notice that I didn’t put “HOW to serve” in that formula.  That’s for a good reason.  Explaining “how” is about process (and you); your customers want to know one thing, and that is what’s in it for them. 

Carpe diem,