Are You Communicating the 11 Critical Business Messages?

Most everyone knows me as the trainer who teaches the New Paradigm, “brain-based” public speaking methodology. My work, however, extends beyond that because “speaking” extends beyond merely talking to an audience. Behind every speaking endeavor is a business—and that business must stand out. To be successful when presenting, your message must be different from everyone else’s—but your business must be different, too. So, once people have learned from me how to speak unlike everyone else, they come to me to ensure that their businesses are unlike everyone else's. Without that differentiation, they won’t get any audiences to speak to!

So, how does one stand apart from the crowd—on the platform and off? It’s all in your messages. There are 11 business messages that you must communicate. Do you communicate them all? And if you do, are they transmitted successfully? In other words, do other people understand them with crystal clarity? Or are they opaque and cumbersome? (Hint: your conversion rate is your answer.) To stand out—and be sticky (i.e. memorable)—your messages must be brief. What I have found is those business owners who cannot convey their messages clearly do not know clearly themselves what they do. There is a direct correlation between effectively communicating your messages and you understanding them yourself. If you’re not getting sales, you’re not communicating something clearly. If you’re not communicating it clearly, you don’t understand it clearly. Service professionals face this challenge in particular.

In today’s article, we’re addressing the 11 business messages you must nail. Marketing professor at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Scott Testa, has said, “I think 2009 is going to be a bloodbath….very, very ugly. The really smart companies, when things are bad, take the opportunity to really grow their brand.”

Your messages are your brand. If they are lackluster, people view you as lackluster. As we begin 2009—the year of the so-called “bloodbath”--you must take inventory of your “message effectiveness.” You’ll see that this is an exercise not simply in determining if you are “saying the right thing” about your business; it’s about determining how well you even know your business.

Following is a checklist of the 11 messages, with brief details. One will be new to you. I believe it is the most important message you will convey. It is the last on the list, but it is the first message you want to understand yourself, because all others are born from it.

Please note that, unless stated otherwise, you must be able to communicate every one of these messages in a simple, concrete sentence. I have offered 2 examples per message— where appropriate: my own and that of a fictitious web design business.

What You Need to Know and Communicate to Make Sales in 2009

Message 1: What You Do (must include target market)

We do website design for small-size companies.
I am a public speaking and sales trainer for solo-professionals.

Message 2: Differentiation (how your business is different from everyone else’s)

With extensive sales and marketing education, we focus on your website’s ability to convert a hit to a sale.

I teach a new model of public speaking based on the latest research on the brain—what makes audience’s learn fast and remember long.

Message 3: WIIFT (The benefits of working with you over anyone else)
  (This must be both concisely stated and stated in detail with more time)

You get a site that instantly appeals to the eye, and then subliminally directs users to buy your product or service.

With my methodology, you will have complete command of a room, and audiences will love you, tell others about you, and come back for more.

Message 4: How You Do What You Do (Methods of conveyance)
  (This must be both concisely stated and stated in detail with more time)

We perform a 4-part service: 1) extensive market research on your customers; 2), 3), 4).
 
I offer 3 different 1-day trainings, as well as private consulting and teleseminars.

Message 5: Your Story (How you came do to this; your credentials; your “why”)

This is extremely important. The brain gets “hooked” by stories, and research shows that people buy more eagerly and confidently when they know the story behind a business. You will convey this on your website and in your differing sales situations. But more importantly, you must know your story. You must carry it with you as you would carry your heart. Indeed, that’s what your story is.

Message 6: Your Mission

(Be able to write and speak this in a single sentence. Have it displayed in your place of business; conveyed to your employees; and carry it silently or publicly into every business transaction.)

Our mission is to make multi-millionaires out of every client we accept.

My mission is to teach 500,000 new leaders how to communicate their messages with unprecedented impact, so they change the world.