Describe Your Business in Two Sentences or Less!

 by Kelly McCormick | Feature Contributor

Social media profiles, blogs and elevator pitches are great places to promote your company. But your information must be brief.

Here’s how to describe your business in two sentences or less!

1.    Understand the basics of a SHORT business description.

A pared down business description highlights the SCOPE of what you sell or do and who it’s for.

2.    List EVERYTHING that your business offers.

The first step is to list all of your products and/or services.

I know. It can seem counter productive to list everything when trying to write a short description. But don’t worry. In the next step we’re going to doing some housekeeping.

3.    Identify what you really WANT to sell.

It’s reality check time.

After a while it’s not uncommon to find yourself offering things that no longer excite you, if they ever did.

Yes, you may have the skills to do lots of great stuff. But why include things that you don’t like selling or doing in your business description?

This is the time to ask, “Is all of this really of interest to me?”

Not convinced that you can actually do what you love, and survive? Check out Using the Law of Attraction When Marketing.

There’s more good news.

Businesses that specialize are in the expert category. This means they can charge more. Check out How to Raise Your Prices – And Keep Customers!

Be courageous. Focus on what you really want your business to do.

4.    Use the RULE of three!

There’s another reason you narrowed your products and/or services down to love it or leave it out. You’ve only got seconds to grab attention. Today, more than ever, people skim things.

When making lists, or giving examples, try and limit your information to three powerful points or less. In marketing we refer to it as using the rule of three.

Ideally, your brief description should mention your top three products and/or services.

5.    Attract the RIGHT customer.

A well-crafted description also indicates the right customers for your business.

So do you sell to entrepreneurs, small businesses, active seniors, companies in specific industries, not-for-profit organizations, working moms…?

If you find this question tricky to answer, you can use the 80/20 rule to identify your typical buyer. Yep. There’s another rule. The 80/20 rule states that 80% of business comes from 20% of customers.

By the way, it is possible to have two types of buyers. However, it’s best that they have similarities i.e. entrepreneurs and small businesses. Then your description will reach both customer groups at once.

6.    Put it ALL together.

Once you’ve identified the top things that you want to offer, and the right buyer(s), it’s time to write your description.

Below are a few examples I put together for you.

Description for a Range of Services:

We do everything from creating your social media profiles, to growing and maintaining them!

Description with a Tagline:

ABC Financial has been making money for individuals and families since 1999. We invest your money today so that it grows for tomorrow!

7.    Know when to get HELP.

Even with a roadmap like this, it can be tricky to put your own business description together.

The reality is that most people are too close to their business to be objective.

If this is the case, let someone like me help you. We really can move your business forward faster.

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Kelly McCormick – Business Growth and Marketing Strategist

From her lawn chair in California, Kelly McCormick helps entrepreneurs and companies world-wide to grow their businesses. She loves uncovering opportunities for growth and developing branding, marketing and sales strategies, which make sense and money!

But Kelly doesn’t just talk the talk. She walks the walk. Kelly has owned three successful companies, the first at age 21. Over the years she has shared her wisdom at colleges, and in business and consulting programs. Kelly has also spoken at many national and international conferences, company functions, and on-line events.

Kelly’s to-do list has been big. She is the author of a Top Ten Sales book,OutSell Yourself: Ethical Business and Sales Techniques. Kelly has also written for numerous publications, including writing a monthly on-line column, on Selling to Women, for the former Sales and Marketing Management Magazine.

She’s pretty smart too. Kelly has an education in psychology and sociology. But the icing on the cake is a strong gut sense of what will work to build and market a business.

Kelly has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs and companies to grow successful businesses. It’s the cream in her coffee. She’d love to help your business too! You can check her out at www.OutSellYourself.com.

Connect with Kelly:

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Kelly McCormick