Can Your Grandma Describe What You Do?
Written by Dave Lorenzo on January 22, 2018 / Communication
The people in your natural network must be able to sell you.
That means your grandma must be able to explain what you do.
Actually, it goes beyond that.
Granny must be able to:
- Tell others what you do.
- Discuss the value you provide.
- Make a connection to you (If someone she knows has a problem you can solve).
Watch this video:
For even more detail, read the transcript:
If your grandma can’t describe what you do, you’re failing at your most important job.
Let’s say your grandmother was playing Canasta with four of her friends, and one of her friends turns to your grandmother and says, “Granny, let me ask you. What does that little Johnny do? He’s such a smart boy. He’s so nice. He’s so handsome. What does he do for a living?”
Would your grandmother be able to explain what you do?
If the answer is anything short of absolutely, my grandmother could take down that lead and pass it to me as a referral, if it’s anything other than that, if your grandmother couldn’t make that referral to you, couldn’t make a connection to that other granny to you, because you may be able to help her with something, if she can’t describe what you do, talk about the value you provide, and ask if that person is interested in meeting with you, if your grandmother can’t do that, you’re not doing your job.
If your grandma cannot explain what you do, you need to make a change. Obviously you can’t change your grandmother but you can change what she (and everyone else) know about you and your business.
That’s the first job you have. You have to be able to describe to your natural network exactly what it is you do, and your natural network, those are the people around you every day. Those are the people around you every day. Your friends, your family, the people who are closest to you, they have to be able to describe what you do, the value you provide, and they have to be able to make a connection for people to you when those people ask that question.
So, whenever anybody says, “Hey, what does Dave Lorenzo do?” whether they say it to my wife, they say it to my kids, my kids know to say, “My daddy helps people make more money and get home on time every night. Does your daddy get home on time every night?” If the kid says no, my kids say, “My daddy needs to meet your daddy,” and they call me or they come to me. They text me now, they have iPads and they text me, and they say, “Daddy, little Susie, her daddy needs to get home on time every night. You need to talk to him.”
The next time I see Susie’s dad, I say, “Hey, I got a funny text from my kid. He says that you don’t get home on time for dinner every night. Your daughter’s complaining about that,” and the guy says, “Ah, ha, ha, ha, ha,” and I said, “It came up because that’s what my kids tell people I do.” Lo and behold, we’re having a sales conversation.
Bottom line, if the people closest to you, your natural network, can’t describe what you do, you’re not doing your job. Job one is to make sure everybody who knows you can describe what you do, can make a connection to you if necessary, and can talk about the value you provide.
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