Let’s face it. If somebody doesn’t understand what the hell you do for a living then two things happen:
1. They immediately discredit you because they don’t understand what you said.
2. They find no value in what you have to offer because they don’t understand what you do.
Now, that my friend is a problem especially if you trying to sell your services or product. If you can’t convey to your prospect or “Joe Smoe” on the street corner what you do, then the potential sale disappears right before your very eyes. Let’s look at it this way: Your job title is the equivalent of your headline. It must capture immediate interest in the people or group that you’re talking to. Let’s use an example to demonstrate…
“Oh, hey John. How are ya? My name is
“I’ve been good. It’s nice to meet you too” says John. “What was it that you said you did for a living?”
Here’s your typical response:
“I’m a Product Launch Manager. What ‘bout you?”
ALERT ALERT ALERT
That’s what the neurons in John’s head are firing off. In addition, he’s wondering to himself, “What the fuck is a Product Launch Manager?” Let’s stay inside John’s head for a sec…
(Inside John’s head)
“Product Lunch? I’m kinda hungry. What did he say he does? Is he a Manager? Does he have a product? I’m confused. What the hell does this dude do for a living? You know, these pants I’m wearing are a little tight in my crotch. Did my daughter have a soccer game tomorrow? Shit, that’s some fine ass over there. What was this guy’s name again? Product
(Outside John’s head)
“Oh, yeah. So
Okay? So the “sale” is over. Your headline as a “Product Launch Manager” is trash. It means nothing to John. It’s just 3 words that make no sense. Now you find yourself trying to explain what you do:
“Yeah, well – You know about Apple? Well they just launched the Ipad and had great success with it. Now there’s a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes and that’s basically what I do. You know – Like when people line up outside of Bestbuy trying to get their hands on one… I set up launches like that to promote and sell more of people’s stuff.”
John stares at me with a blank expression on his face. His eyes have glazed over and is checking out the ass of the hot chick standing behind me that I can’t see.
“I’m sorry. What was that? You bought an Ipad?” John asks.
“No. No. I’m getting hungry. I think I’m gonna get a drink. You want one?”
Alright? You’ve been through this before. You know the routine. Now I’m gonna show you how to make anyone (even a monkey) understand and remember what the hell you do for a living. Grab you’re ninja outfit. Yeah, the one you wore last Halloween. Make some Bruce Lee noises as well. “Hiiiiiiiiii Yaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh Kamakaziiii Motha Fuckahhhhhhhhh!”
Something like that will do.
Welcome to the Ninja Chameleon technique:
Let’s start the above conversation over:
“Oh, hey John. How are ya? My name is
“I’ve been good. It’s nice to meet you too” says John. “What was it that you said you did for a living?”
“Oh. Well I used to be a General Contractor in
Notice that I said “used to be.” This is the seed that I’m planting to 1) Initially reply to John’s question and 2) Keep him curious as to what I’m doing now.
“…But I don’t do that anymore. What about you? What do you do John?”
That’s the money phrase: “But I don’t do that anymore” and is followed by the transitional phrase of directing the question back into John’s court. This is super important. Watch:
“Well” John says, “I’m a real estate agent. I just sold a property that was worth $575,000.00.”
“Wow. That’s awesome John. Good for you man. What type of house was it? How many square feet?”
So what just happened there? I redirected the “What do you do for a living” back to John and had him reply. He did and I immediately asked him 2 very specific questions: 1) What type of house and 2) How many square feet. Why? Cuz I want John to tell me more and more about what he does. I want his brain to dig deeper into what he does by asking him details. I want to keep him talking for as long as possible.
“Thanks
“Cool. Was the carriage house in good shape. You know John: I always wanted to buy a house with carriage house and turn it into a woodshop for myself. That would be awesome.”
Did you see how I keep asking John more questions? I’m taking him deeper into what he does. I’m doing it because I’m sincerely interested but also because I want to delay what I do for al living. Also notice how many times I use his name when I talk to him. “John…” That keeps his attention focused on me and his story.
“Yeah that’s a cool idea. No, the carriage house was in great shape. The buyers loved it. Oh, hey now
“Oh yeah John. Well, like I said I used to do construction. Now, I do marketing. I’m self taught. I’ve learned how to help people like yourself dramatically increase the bottom line to your business. I mean, you must run around like crazy as a realtor. You have to work weekends. You’re always on the go. You want to spend more time with your family. Well, the marketing systems I put into place will help you achieve those goals. It will automate most of the work and streamline it online to help you sell more of those pretty Victorians but more importantly getting more free time in your life.”
Do you think John is going to remember me now? Do you think he values my job title and profession? I think so.
“Oh hey
“Sure John. We can schedule something next week.”
So a lot was going on in that conversation. I used some serious Ninja Chameleon tactics to get John to understand what I do. In addition, I got John to VALUE what I do. I didn’t call myself a “Product Launch Manager.” I actually didn’t even call myself anything! I told him, “Now, I do marketing…” and I immediately explained how my services could benefit his life.
I told you to get your Ninja suit out. This is heavy and advanced shit. You will need to practice. But first, don’t forget that for this to work:
1: You must be sincerely interested in the person that you’re talking to. Period. No questions asked. If you ain’t interested, then don’t even bother.
2: You need to be flexible and call yourself other things other than your job title. I mean, you don’t have to call yourself jack if you do it like the example above. Change your colors like a Chameleon.
3: You need to put yourself in John’s shoes but more importantly you must put yourself in John’s language. He has to understand what you do to value it and want more.
Have you had enough or do you want more?
I got more. Check out this snippet from an interview a fellow Product Launch Manager, Alzay Calhoun did for me. I’m gonna give you another example of how this works:
So that’s it for now. I’ll have more examples in the future.
Practice practice practice and you’ll nail this shit and land more jobs.
If you likey likey this post, I’d love to have you leave a comment and some feedback.
peace
