What is your role? How do you describe it?
When someone asks what you do or what your business is, do you have your answer? You should!
You should be able to sum up a basic plot of who you are and/or what you do in a few sentences to capture their attention and leave them wanting to know more!
For a business it should be quick basics of what you handle/do/deal with, why you are awesome, and then end it with a question for them. Doing this keeps them engaged! Whether it’s a twitter conversation, DM, email etc, if you end with a question, 9 times out of 10 you will get a response (as long as your initial contact held their attention). This doesn’t mean list it off the 8 million services you have. Hopefully they have already done a little research on you, and if not there is time for them to do so after. You just want to give them a taste. It shouldn’t sound rehearsed, but know your basics, so you can use this in person or online. This is what you do, and no one does it better. Own it and work it!
Make sure you share why you rock at what you do: “And we pride ourselves with providing excellent customer service with a quick turn around,” or “We always work to make our customers happy,” or “There is always someone to answer questions,” etc. And then end it with, “What specifically were you looking for help with?” or “How do you think you’d like to use this service?” or “What would you like to set up a meeting to chat more about it?” Give them a reason to keep talking to you.
For you as a person, keep it simple, usually humor and keeping it light gets you further with people, show them you are down to earth but ready to work . A simple personal detail helps gain trust, and shows that you really are human and not just a computer generated profile: “I’m a wife, mom, caffeine addict” …I think that may be a direct quote of my own. 😉
Last but not least, tell the truth. Don’t overstate your skills and abilities, it will come to light eventually, but in the same token, don’t understate them either. Brag away.
Whether it’s your role in a company, your own business, or you as a person in life in general, being able to sell yourself and what you do is key. Then being able to do it in a few carefully crafted, amazing sentences will gain you a step above the rest.
Ashley Nialetz
Ashley Nialetz is a Social Media Consultant and Virtual Assistant through her company www.FatPugTech.com and recently www.Shuteit.com. She is also a wife, mom of two, caffeine addict, customer service pro and superhero by night. She loves working with other women looking to start their own businesses and offers private mentoring programs. Prior to working in the in the virtual assistant world, she had 10+ years of experience in customer service and administrative management roles.
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