“While some seem to have a knack for this sort of thing, most of us fail miserably at this most basic sales skill – explaining what we do for a living.”
Sean Rosensteel.
How do you describe what you do for a living?
Does your audience look dazed and confused when you describe what an OSS is and what part you play in our industry? I must admit to having some work to do on my elevator pitch. A close friend of mine often tries to understand more about what I do, yet each time he walks away with, “ohh you work with computers.” Is this something you can relate to too?
Part of me wears this like a badge of honour, working in such a fabulous niche industry that few others know anything about, keeping its virtues a closely-guarded secret from all but the learned few (yourself included). Another part of me feels guilty that even close family and friends struggle to associate with something I’m passionate about – ICT and OSS consulting – something I’ve dedicated thousands of hours to in writing a book and publishing this blog and website.
So how do we do a better job of communicating what we do? For a start, I know I need to describe the tangible benefits that people can relate to, not features or job functions. For example, how does this one sound?
“I help to develop the solutions that improve your experience of the telecommunications networks that you undoubtedly use every day.”
Can you improve on it? I’m sure you can!
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