Ask any entrepreneur to give you their elevator pitch and they will light up, assume the position and envelop your ears with a tale of a business, its start, story and success horizon.
A close listen to each entrepreneur's pitch will tell you whether or not they are focusing on what it is they would like to tell you or what you want to hear. The two are almost always different.
As entrepreneurs, we get into business for many reasons. Some get into business because of a big idea, some because of a passion, some because they are terrible employees and can only work for themselves. (I am a mix of all three.)
Whatever the case may be, most entrepreneurs are thrilled to be talking about their business. We are as thrilled to talk about our babies (our businesses) just as much as new moms are thrilled to talk about every last thing about their kid right down to the colour of their poop. That's right, poop.
You probably get where I am going here...no one cares about your kid's poop just like no one cares about your business in the way that you do (except maybe your financiers). All people care about is how your business will help them.
It helps to think of every other person with a wallet behaving like a 14-year-old who is primarily interested in what is in it for them and has little to no ability to hold their attention on any one thing for more than 30 seconds.
So here, you have 30 seconds to tell the teen what they want to hear...not what you want to tell them.
Which works better:
Hey kid -- My soap is patent-proven to produce the richest suds on the market with a scent licensed from (insert famous person here). I expect double-digit revenue growth because of inactivity in this segment for the past decade with demographic increases that have ranked personal hygiene among their top three concerns when purchasing self-care products.
Hey kid -- My soap will help you get a date with a girl. You will smell better after having used it and the bottle has the name of (insert famous person here) so you know it is cool.
Why then, when we market our business, do we focus on what it is that we as the business owner are excited about? We ought to forget about what makes us excited and focus directly on what the buyer needs to know and wants to hear.
What I think about my soap does not matter; it is only what my customer thinks about when making the buying decision for soap, which matters.
What problem are you solving and how do you speak directly to that buyer? That is what matters.
Whenever you communicate talk to your buyer, imagine him/her -- picture them with their friends, family, at work. What does your customer do for fun? What does he/she like/love/hate. Talk directly to that person. Imagine that person and speak as if you are speaking directly with him or her and you will find your message will change, get better. You will actually be speaking to your audience, not at them.
It does not matter what you think, it matters what they think...so stop telling people what you think about your product because they simply don't care.