Going Narrower Simplifies Everything

Do you have too many good opportunities in front of you, in your radio station? You have to narrow it down to make it easy for people to tune into your frequency. And when you do, it vastly simplifies many of your challenges, like whom you're going to go after and what you'll say to them to see if they're interested.

As the world gets busier and people's mental inboxes get more crowded, what you need to do to stand out from the crowd and connect with your customers will also change.

The simplest way to do this is to go narrower, that is, to further specialize and simplify. Remember, you can try this as a whole company, for a product, for a project, or for a marketing campaign, or even as an individual working to advance your career.

Let's say you're a part-time CFO. Is it easier to write an elevator pitch as “a part-time CFO” or as “a part-time CFO who lives in Los Angeles and works with media companies with $1–$10 million in revenue”?

Or you can serve healthcare, financial services, and technology companies, both small and large. Where's the most money coming from? Writing emails or blog posts that speak to all those businesses would be a lot harder than zeroing in only on large financial services companies.

Maybe you refocus the whole business that way. Maybe you refocus individual case studies, blog posts, web pages, or outbound campaigns that way. But narrow in. How?

It can be by type of target customers. Or where you work. What you offer. What you're fixing. The results you create. Anything that makes it simpler for a prospect to tune in and see why they need you. A few examples are:

• Instead of “North America,” which states or metropolitan areas are you strongest in? “San Francisco,” “Los Angeles,” “Chicago and New York.”
• Instead of “pipeline management,” what standout function do you have? “Proposal conversion,” “demo mastery,” “15-minute executive pipeline reviews.”
• Instead of “author coach,” how about “business author coach” or “e-book author marketing coach.”
• Instead of “employee learning,” how about “salesperson onboarding.”
• Instead of “crowdsourcing,” how about “support ticket translation.”

Hey, broad categories can work, too. We're just saying that if they aren't working, try thinking narrower, then test it to see if it clicks with customers, because a sexy, fancy, or grandiose message that doesn't click with people is useless.

Notice it's not about the steps you take to help them—it's about the results they want and desire. If it's interesting, they will naturally ask you more questions about how you do it.

One Moore Format

Geoff Moore (author of Crossing the Chasm) has another template you can also try:

1. For [target customers]
2. Who are dissatisfied with [the current offerings in the market],
3. My idea/product is a [new idea or product category]
4. That provides [key problem/solution features].
5. Unlike [the competing product],
6. My idea/product is [describe key feature(s)].

You can find more—many more—of other formats and templates online, easily, if nothing yet feels right.

Pro Tip: Add a Pause When Speaking

You know how on your mobile phone when you pull up a Maps app, sometimes you need to hit a button to have it recenter on your position, so it can be ready to map directions? Anything you type in beforehand you'll just have to redo.

People's minds work the same way. When most people introduce themselves, they dump too much information, too fast, on the listener. Their minds need to orient first, before you can throw more “directions” at them.

Do this by adding a simple pause whenever you're speaking in person, on the phone, or in video. Pause after your first sentence, or after about 10 words. Try it out on some strangers—not coworkers—to refine your use of the pause. Give them a second to orient mentally, then keep going.

It gives their minds a chance to get ready to process what you say next, like hitting the “center” button on that Maps phone app. If you don't pause, their minds won't be ready to receive more, and much of your pitch will go in one ear and out the other.

People Like to Buy “Things”: Details Make the Difference

You're figuring out how to describe your stuff in ways that click quickly with customers. You see yourself as a need-to-have, but others don't. Maybe you're being too vague.

For example, choose which of these resonates more:

• “Transportation” or “a BMW 3-series sedan”
• “Sales process consulting” or “an eight-step sales process”
• “Freedom” or “self-managing teams” or “being able to take a two-week vacation, unplugged, and enjoy it”
• “Premium support” or “24/7 access to our support center, via email, phone, or chat.”

People like to buy “things.” Their minds are asking, “What do I get for my investment?”

Whether it's a $10 or a $10,000 purchase, they'll want to know exactly what they get. Spell it out as much as you can as “things,” with concrete details.