How to introduce yourself – The KISS formula

KISS stands for “keep it simple stupid”.

To make it as a consultant you need people to want to hire you. They need to see value in your offerings. And of course you must deliver.

There’s another piece to this puzzle before all of those.

It’s the magic that happens when you first introduce yourself to someone. They don’t need to necessarily be a potential client. But because everyone knows someone else, they quite possibly could lead you to a potential client.

Many consultants get this first introduction wrong. They either say something like: “I’m a web consultant” or they go long-winded and say something like “I have a background in building websites and I implement CMS systems for my clients…yada yada.”

The first one stinks because you’re not really saying anything. It’s like saying that you’re a sales associate. Great, there’s only 6.8 million of you around.

The second approach is lame because you’re talking as if that person knows the ins and outs of what the heck it is you do. Most don’t.

What you should do is craft a simple sentence that makes it abundantly clear what it is that you do, how you’re different than the rest and what kind of people you help.

For example, “I’m a tax consultant that helps small business owners reduce the amount of taxes they pay. If I don’t reduce their taxes by at least 15%, they don’t pay me.” Is that powerful or what?

BOOM! Right away you know what it is they do, you know who their target market is, and they’ve clearly demonstrated what’s unique about them or their offer.