What do you do?

When I ask people in my neighborhood "What do you do?", I often get back, "I'm in I.T." I used to ask what that meant but the person in I.T. was usually unable to tell me in non-I.T. language. Here is a sample:

"When you say that you are in I.T., could you describe a typical day?"

"My unit supports java."

While I'm pondering the fact that my fellow citizens at work are also quite fond of coffee, the neighbor sees someone who knows what he is talking about on the other side of the room and eases away.

I understand.

I.T. people want to hang with other I.T. people so they can talk their secret language and probably shake their secret hand shakes.

But, if you are in sales, you need for others to understand exactly what you do. They might be able to buy something from you or they might know someone who can buy something from you. That would be good. But, unless they can figure out what you sell, they don't know if they or someone they know buys it.

That means that you need a clear, concise answer to what you do. Clear and concise doesn't mean short and sweet. It means that you have conveyed your primary activity in words that anyone at the cocktail party or networking event would understand. Sounds easy, right. But, it's fraught with difficulties. For instance, my Dad was a technical sales representative for a company that manufactured resist and other coatings. This was not an easy thing to explain because it was technical. As a result, unless someone knew what he meant by "resist" or "coating", they returned a blank stare. You might think that this is an isolated case and what you do is easy to understand but why would you take a chance?

The key to getting the common person to understand what you do is to break down the explanation into three parts:

1) The simple title.
2) An explanation of what the title means.
3) An example.

Let's try it out.

(Part 1) I'm a donut maker. (Part 2) You know, I wake up super early in the morning, report to work at the donut shop, mix up the dough and make donuts. (Part 3) Like that guy in the commercials for Dunkin' Donuts.

Okay, so that's an easy one. Let's try another one:

(Part 1) I am an enterprise software account manager for the financial services industry. (Part 2) My company produces proprietary software that helps banks and other financial companies manage their customer transactions. (Part 3) When you bank online, the software you see that helps you pay your bills. It says the name of your bank on it but my company builds that software for the bank and it is my job to sell it throughout the Southeast.

Let's try me:

(Part 1) I am an advertising sales manager. (Part 2) I recruit, train and manage a team of high performance advertising sales people. (Part 3) The majority of my experience has been in radio advertising sales but I have also sold internet advertising for a company that operated recruitment websites.

How 'bout my Dad:

(Part 1) I am a technical sales representative. (Part 2) I sell complex chemicals that are applied to circuit boards in the manufacturing process. (Part 3) Every electronic instrument in your house - like your TV or computer or remote control - has circuit boards. My company makes products that make circuit boards work properly and I sell those products to manufacturers on the east coast.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that your sales job is easy to understand and doesn't require the three-part explanation. People are easily confused. Remember that you want them to be able to explain to a potential customer who you are and what you do. This example will show you how easy it might be to confuse someone with a one part explanation regarding what you do:

"What do you do, Bill?"

"Well, Mike, I sell advertising for Auto Trader magazine."

"Oh yeah, the little newspaper booklets where people advertise their used cars for sale?"

"Yes, that's it."

"I think my brother used your publication once to sell his car."

"That's great. I'm glad it worked for him."

Now, the two of them split up and a little while later Mike is talking to his wife about all the great people he met at the party.

"I met this great guy named Bill that sells advertising for Auto Trader?"

"That's interesting. How does that work?"

"I'm not sure. I think he sits in a room with a bunch of other people and when folks like you and me want to sell their cars we call in and talk to Bill."

"We'll need to remember that next time we have a car to sell."

The problem with what Mike said to his wife about Bill is that it is wrong. Actually, Bill sells advertising to car dealerships for Auto Trader magazine. He doesn't deal with individuals that need to sell their car and he isn't an inside sales rep. It's too bad that Bill didn't do a better job because Mike's wife's brother operates sixteen used car lots and doesn't currently use Auto Trader. Here's one possible change to what Bill said:

(Part 1) I am an advertising account manager. (Part 2) I call on car dealerships and help them sell their entire inventory of used cars by featuring pictures and descriptions of the cars in Auto Trader magazine. (Part 3) You're familiar with places like Valley Ford and Sunny Chevrolet? I call on the Used Car Sales Managers of those dealerships and all the rest in Orlando and sell them advertising space in our magazines.

By now, you may have figured out that getting this right will also help you craft a more effective voice mail message.

So, let me ask you: What do you do?