Small Business Savvy | Web Design, Systems, and Marketing

179. Can a Stranger Explain What Your Business Does?

• Kristen Doyle, web design and business strategy

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In this episode, I break down how to explain your business in a clear way, and how that supports smarter decisions and sustainable small business growth.

Here’s a quick test: could someone you just met at a conference turn around and explain your business to their spouse over dinner? If the answer’s no, your messaging is too complicated, and it’s likely costing you sales. In this episode, I break down how to explain your business in a way that’s simple, clear, and compelling. I dive into why confused people don’t buy, the difference between simplifying and dumbing down your website strategy, and the real goal behind your business systems: making it easy for people to work with you. 

Through stories and examples, I’ll show you how to keep it clear, concise, and focused on what really matters to your target audience. You’ll hear a simple fill-in-the-blank formula I use for core messaging that you can adapt for your business. I also walk you through specific action steps you can use to fine-tune your core message this week, so the next person who asks what you do will get the right answer. When your messaging is clear and repeatable, you attract better-fit clients, reduce wasted time, and make it easier for people to say yes.

01:17 – The conference stranger test: Is your message clear enough?

02:43 – Why industry jargon might be hurting your sales

07:35 – The simple messaging formula every business needs

10:54 – How to find (and use) your unique business differentiator

14:13 – Your 3-step action plan to fix your messaging this week

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Show Notes: https://kristendoyle.co/episode179 

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Kristen Doyle:

Here's a quick test for you. Could someone you just met at a conference turn around and explain your business to their spouse over dinner? If the answer is no, then your messaging is way too complicated, and it's probably costing you sales. Today, I'm breaking down why confused people don't buy, how to simplify your messaging without dumbing it down, and a simple formula that I use to make sure the right people immediately know that I'm for them, and I'll show you how to use it for your business too. Plus, I'll give you a three step action plan to fix your messaging this week. It'll only take you a few minutes, and it can make a big difference in your business. I've noticed something about small businesses. Most established business owners have figured out what they're selling. What they haven't figured out is what to focus on to actually grow. That's what we're here for. Welcome to Small Business Savvy. I'm Kristen Doyle, and around here, we talk about business systems, website strategy, simplified marketing, and the strategic decisions that grow your business. If you're ready to stop spinning your wheels and start building smarter, let's go. Here's the big idea that I want you to walk away from this

episode with:

If a stranger cannot explain what it is that you do, then your messaging is way too complicated. And when your messaging is too complicated, you lose sales. If customers, or like I said earlier, someone you meet at a conference, can't quickly and easily explain your business to someone else, then you are over complicating it. I talked before about how we have to make it really easy for people to take action with us. It's kind of just an underlying theme of owning and running a business, is we have to make it super obvious and super easy for people to work with us. But that doesn't have to mean dumbing it down or oversimplifying. We just need to simplify our messaging just enough that the right people can immediately understand what you offer and whether or not you're right for them. I know a lot of times as business owners, especially if we own a service business or anything like coaching or thought leadership, any business where our expertise is what's important, it can be really easy for us to talk over people's heads. Think about someone like a home inspector. If you're running a business where people are hiring you specifically for your expertise, it's easy to try to use our language to prove that we're the expert. And what that usually looks like is we start using industry language, and maybe we get super detailed about things we say words that people don't understand. And while it might make us feel good about ourselves, it leaves potential customers feeling confused. Maybe they think, Okay, well, she knows a lot, but I don't understand what she knows. And confused people don't buy. They keep scrolling. They look for someone who doesn't confuse them. So for example, I could talk all day about things like HTML and CSS and PHP, and you don't want to hear any of that unless you're one of my web developer friends, because that stuff is typically over the heads of most people. It's something that unless you work in this industry, you don't pay enough attention, and you don't need to, to really understand all of those things. That's why I have web developer and web designer friends that I can talk about all the nerdy ins and outs of building websites. We can talk strategy, we can talk code. That's what those friends are for. But when it comes down to the messaging I put out to my audience, it has to be something that my audience actually wants to hear, first of all, and understands. The real goal of your messaging that you're putting out has to be not to impress people with all of your knowledge, but to help people self select, to help them figure out, yes, this is going to be good for me. And if they can't do that, if they can't understand what the heck it is you're talking about, then they aren't likely to end up working with you. So, like I said, I could talk all day about, you know, all of the nerdy stuff that we talk about in the web designer or developer world, but nobody else wants to talk about that stuff. My customers, my clients, want to talk about what their website can do for them. So when I'm recording podcasts, when I'm writing emails to my list, when I am writing copy for my website, I'm not talking about coding languages and high tech stuff. I'm talking about the things that actually matter to my target audience. And that's what you should be doing too. Because as much as we want to show that we're the experts and that we know our stuff, we have to do it in a way that's clear for the average person who's not an expert. Because news flash, if they're an expert in what you are and they can understand all the high level language, they probably don't need to hire you. So we're looking for the people who do need to and want to hire us, and that means we have to talk directly to those people. Let's talk though about what being clear in your messaging actually means and what it doesn't. Because it doesn't have to mean that you dumb it down. In fact, you absolutely should not dumb it down. It also doesn't have to mean boring. You don't have to write messaging that is so straightforward and obvious and clear that there's no feeling left in it, or that you strip all the personality out. It doesn't have to be any of those things. It just means that someone who is the average person, your target customer or client, can hear or read your messaging, depending on where it is shared, and they will immediately know who you are, what you offer, and if you're the right person for them or not. The test isn't, does this messaging, do these words on writing sound good? It's, could a stranger repeat this at dinner later, or to their friend who they think maybe does need my services? I met someone recently, and her husband owns a business. He needs a website. And she told me that when she found out that I'm a web designer, she said, oh, you should talk to my husband. He really needs a website for his business. Which is great, but the test at the end of the day is, was I clear enough in my messaging, in the way that I explained what I do, that when she goes home and she talks to her husband later that day, does she know how to explain what I do in a way that gets his attention? So there are a couple of different things that she could possibly do when she gets home. She might go home and say something like, I met this girl. She does website stuff. Here's her information. Or she could go home and say, I met this girl. She designs websites specifically for a certain type of person. And here is how she can help you. And that's a completely different conversation. That second conversation tells me that I'm doing my messaging the right way. She should go home knowing enough about my business to actually talk to her husband about it and get him interested in reaching out. Let's talk about the three things that you need in that messaging, in your explanation of what it is that you do. You can use this kind of like a fill in the blank formula. So I do(this thing) for (who, your target audience) so they can(what are they getting out of working with you--get this result, get relief from this problem, create this type of thing they want to make, whatever it is) without (the thing that they are either sick of dealing with, tired of, maybe they just don't want to do). And that last part, the'without' is really where the differentiation lives. It's optional. You can certainly stop before that. A lot of people do, but that last part is a really strong part of that messaging statement that you're creating. So let's talk about an example of this in the real world. I have a part of my business called ClearView Sites. It is a business that creates websites for home inspectors. So my basic version of the messaging could be ClearView Sites builds websites for home inspectors. And that tells you a little bit about what I do, but probably not enough to be interested in hiring me if that was you. A much better way of saying it is, I build websites for home inspectors so they can book more inspections, because that's what they want. I know that home inspectors don't really want a pretty website. They might not even care about their website all that much. What they want is to book more inspections, and I know how to make their website do that for them. An even better version with that differentiator built in would be something more like, I build websites for home inspectors so they can book more inspections without, and it could be any of a number of things, without using a generic template that looks like everyone else's, without having to spend hours and hours on their website, without having to understand marketing. Once you add in that about language you really are creating such a stronger statement and one that will stick with people and grab their attention. The other thing that adding those differentiators at the end of your messaging can do is it can also help to rule out some of the wrong people. So for example, in my main website design business, I would say that I design websites for established small businesses that are past the point of DIYing and want to focus on the strategy to get their websites converting for them. So that immediately disqualifies certain people. I am not for people who want to do it themselves. My target audience is people who are past that DIY point and they want someone else to take care of it for them. It also disqualifies people who are very focused on aesthetics, on how their website looks, and less worried about how it functions, because I specifically call out for people who want to focus on the strategy. And that's a good thing, because what that means is the right people feel like, yes, absolutely, this belongs to me, this is what I want. The wrong people immediately feel like, Oh, well, I don't know if that's quite right for me. Now, if you're going to do that'without' piece and you're not quite sure what to say, then you might need to look at the competition, look at what other people are doing in your industry, and really think about how yours is different. And if you can't come up with anything, then it could be that yours isn't different enough. And if that's the case, then I would really encourage you to find a way to make it different. That way, you stand out from your competition and you reach the right people. You might need to do some digging. You might need to do some, what I like to call business therapy with chat GPT, a little talking back and forth about how you suddenly realize that your business seems like everyone else's, and help me find my unique angle. It's a great thing to talk with your favorite AI tool about. All right, so now that you know what the message needs to include and how to make yours unique, let's talk about where the message needs to show up. The short answer is everywhere. It really needs to be in all the places. But what's really more important than where you're putting this messaging is being consistent with how you talk about your business. If your website says one thing and your Instagram bio says something different, and then your answer verbally to the question, so what do you do, is a totally different third thing, then people can't really build that clear picture of you, of who you are, who you serve, how you can help them. And I know sometimes it can feel like we're saying the same things over and over, but repetition isn't boring. It might feel that way to you, but keep in mind that your audience isn't seeing everything you post everywhere. They're probably seeing one or two things in one or two places, and that repetition is actually how trust gets built. Every place your messaging shows up is another chance for you to reinforce to people, this is who I am, this is what I do, and I am consistent, and you can trust me. It's another chance for that person to finally get it, for it to click for them, and then they maybe are interested in hiring you, purchasing from you, or they pass it along to a friend they think is a good fit for whatever you're offering. On the flip side of all this, let's talk just a little bit about what happens if you don't have your messaging dialed in. When you don't have really clear, easy to repeat messaging, it actually creates more work for you. The more vague your messaging is, the more time you have to spend on discovery calls explaining what you do before you can ever figure out if the person is the right fit for you. You're getting inquiries from people who are a terrible fit, and you have to answer those and process them and deal with them. You are sending out proposals that go nowhere because those people were never the right client for you to begin with, or people hire you and then they're surprised, maybe not in a good way, by what working with you looks like, because they weren't the right fit and maybe didn't quite understand what they were hiring you for. So being really clear up front helps to filter out the people who aren't right before they ever land in your world, and that saves you a ton of work, and it keeps you having happy clients and customers at the end of your process, instead of people who maybe aren't as happy because they thought they were getting something else. All right, let's talk about action steps for this week. I have three short things for you to do. The first one is to write down your one sentence message. Some people call this a core message or an elevator pitch. And the idea behind that is that this is that one sentence that you could say in those few seconds you have in an elevator ride with this person you've just met if they say, So, what do you do? So, write out that sentence for your business using this

formula:

I (what do you do) for(who is it for) so they can (get this result or solve this problem) without (that thing that they don't want to have to deal with or that they're afraid of or that they're frustrated by). So that is your one sentence message. And then once you've written it, your second action step this week is memorize your sentence. Not that you have to say it verbatim every single time, but have it memorized enough so that when someone asks you, what do you do, you are ready with a good answer, instead of stumbling over your words. Once you've done that, then I want you to take your third action step, and that is to test it out loud. Say it out loud to someone who doesn't know your business. Maybe it's a neighbor, a family member you don't talk to as often, friend outside your industry, share your sentence with them and then ask them to tell you back what they think you do. Their answer will tell you if your sentence is strong enough and if it's clear enough and if it's sending the right message to the right people. Let's go back to my example. If I said my sentence out loud to a friend and asked them to tell it back to me, to tell me what I do, and they led with all this stuff about me making beautiful websites, then I clearly haven't gotten the point across, because the big differentiator for me is the strategy behind the website, not how pretty it is. Not that my sites aren't pretty, but for me, the aesthetics come from the strategy, not the other way around. And so if they're focused on the wrong thing, then I need to adapt and adjust my messaging to make it more clear. All right, remember, our messaging is not about us, no matter how much we want it to be, no matter how much we want to look like the expert. It is not about how we like to talk about our business. It is about making it easy for the best customers to find you, to say yes to you, and to bring you more people just like them. So this week, write that sentence, practice it and test it out. If this episode helped you, then I would love for you to share it with another business owner friend who could use some help with their messaging. I'll talk to you soon.