I have read a lot of blogs that discuss marketing
your brand. One of the key things suggested is that you have an elevator pitch
for your product, service or business. An elevator pitch is a brief summary of
your products key selling points. By brief, we mean the time it takes to ride
an elevator in your office building.
The key to the pitch, apparently, is to say
as much as you can about your product that will make the person listening want
to hear more. Usually that person is someone you are trying to sell to or
trying to get more funding from.
Another view of the elevator pitch I have
been thinking about is what to say when someone asks “What do you do for work?”
When I worked for an employer, it was really simple to answer that question. I
would just say who worked for, and that was generally enough to satisfy them.
Since I started freelancing, when friends
and associates asked me what I was doing these days, I sort of fumbled my way
through the answer. The problem was I had not really given much thought to
answering the question properly. I also found that the work I do is not unique.
I’m not saying I’m not good at my job, but I’m just not the only one doing this
work. So I realised I’m not in a niche market. If you read any blogs about
starting a blog, one the first things they recommend is to identify a niche
market and corner that market.
So, here is my answer to the question “What
do you do for work?” –
“I am a freelance consultant specialising
in helping small businesses make the most of their network, e-mail and website.
I am able to slot in at any stage of a project or I can manage the whole
project for you if that is preferred.”
How would you answer the question “What do
you do for work?”