Thread by @boaticus

Who do you help?

“Hi, I’m [your name (omg not your company name)], and I help [type of person in a specific niche] [goal you help them achieve].”

But before you reply, consider this…

Amateurs will share far too many details in this intro statement.

It’ll be jargon-filled word vomit.

And mostly forgettable.

Pros do it differently. They leave a cliffhanger at the end. An open loop of curiosity.

It’s similar to (but not exactly) the Zeigarnik effect.

It’s an amazing tactic when introducing yourself.

Leave the loop, and stop talking about yourself further unless asked.

And, don’t worry: you *will* be asked, if you do this right.

How?

Leave room for the other person to be absolutely compelled to know more.

If you’ve done it right, you’ll hear something like this:

“Whoa, interesting! How do you do that?”

For example…

We did this exact exercise at @danmartell SaaS Growth Summit in Toronto last year, and one person introduced themselves like an absolute pro, like this: (my paraphrase)

“Hi, I’m [Bob], and I help deaf children hear their mother say ‘I love you’ for the first time.”

Whoa

And there can only be one kind of response to that, right?

Whoa. That is AMAZING.
How?
How do you do that?

And after the person you’ve introduced yourself to has had a chance to say: “wow, interesting. How do you do that?”

Then—and only then—do you start elaborating a tiny bit more on how you achieve the wonderful outcome.

But, again, don’t word vomit. Don’t hit them with your industry jargon.

Just tell them a bit more about how.

Just peel back one more layer.

We all do things that are wonderfully complex.

Guess what?

Nobody cares.

(At least, not as much as you do)

Sure, that wonderful service you provide has as many layers as an onion.

But, an introduction isn’t a sales letter.

Just peel back a layer at a time.

If the other person wants to know more, let them ask.

Let them lead you.

So, let’s look at how that intro might play out…

Bob: Hi, I’m Bob, and I help deaf children hear their mother say ‘I love you’ for the first time.

Us: Whoa! That’s amazing! How do you do that?

Bob: Well, I help parents find the right device for their child’s condition.

Us: Wow, how do they find you?

… and so forth …

You get the idea, right?

Of course, conversations will progress organically in a myriad of ways from that point, but what’s important is it should take a few minutes of back and forth before niche-specific jargon (like, “cochlear implants” in this example) gets tossed out.

So now it’s your turn. Who do you help?

Credit goes to @danmartell for inspiring this thread.

If you’re a B2B SaaS founder, you’d be smart to reach out and ask him about his SaaS Summit and SaaS Growth Academy, and his other coaching programs.

So, let’s be clear: taken at face value, this doesn’t seem like a helpful tactic for anything more than introducing yourself to people at a networking event or conference. And…

If you’re like me, you may be thinking, “ok, sure, I’ll keep that trick in my back pocket for the next time I find myself at a meet-and-greet.”

But you’d be wrong. Just like I realized I was wrong.

As I was on the long, boring drive home from the SaaS Summit event I attended in Toronto, I was catching up on audiobooks and podcasts when something Russell Brunson mentioned hit me…

So much of our ability to sell our product, services, or ideas is our ability to find the right combination of Hook, Story, and a compelling Offer.

(@russellbrunson teaches this in his Expert Secrets book, on countless podcasts, and in numerous workshops and live events)

Hook, Story, Offer.
Hook, Story, Offer.
Hook, Story, Offer.

If you’re having trouble growing your business, you’ve probably screwed up one of those key ingredients.

Go back to the drawing board and, starting with your offer, try again.

If you’re not selling what customers want to buy, it’s a bad offer. Simple as that.

If you’ve got proof customers respond to your compelling offer, then take a look at your story.

People identify with stories. It’s why webinars work so well. But, it’s also why this whole movement of makers building in public works so well.

A webinar might tell your story in forty-five minutes.

Watching a maker blog about, tweet about, and live stream about why and hows she’s building the thing is also a way of sharing a compelling story (just over a longer period of time).

You can also do it with social channels.

But the important thing is you’re sharing your stories. Audiences connect with stories in a really powerful way.

It’s the reason we might back a product on Kickstarter, even though if we’d seen that exact item on an endcap in a retail store we’d walk right by.

The launch video and updates on Kickstarter help you connect with the story, but a product on a shelf in a store has no story.

And stories are why this introduction technique works so well.

But let me come back to that…

Let’s talk about the Hook.

A hook is any big idea that compels people to want to know more.

That’s it.

In context of this introduction technique, when you mention who you help and what you help them get, you’re simply sharing a very simple hook.

If Bob says to you: “I help kids hear their mom say ‘I love you’ for the first time.”

That’s a hook.

You want to know more.

Probably.

(Unless you’re dead inside)

Now, once you opt in to hear more by saying: “whoa! How do you do that?!” Bob has the opportunity to share his story with you.

And if during his story, you think to yourself: “I could really use his help with my son’s hearing loss.” maybe you’ll get his contact info.

So, when you’re trying this intro exercise in real life (as I have), you’ll find yourself tweaking your opening line—your hook—slightly each time to fit whatever audience your speaking to.

That’s normal!

You also find that you modify your story each time as well. Elaborating on certain parts for one audience, or skipping whole sections for another audience.

That’s normal, too.

And here’s why this is so much more than a technique for introducing yourself…

That action of adjusting your hook and story to fit your target audience is a skill that applies to every part of your business.

This exercise is exactly what you do as you find an audience, hone product-market-fit, and find ways to market and deliver at scale.

Finding an audience, finding out what value you can give to them, figuring out which stories resonate with them, and learning which hooks matter.

That’s more than just a convo at a networking event.

This stuff applies everywhere in business.

If you’re refining Facebook ads, for example, you’re looking for headlines (hooks) that are relevant to your audience, tuned to what stage they’re at in the buying journey.

But you’re not going to get very far if that ad and that hook don’t also lead to a great story.

Imagine our guy, Bob, if he comes up to you at an event and just screams:

“I’M BOB AND I SELL COCHLEAR IMPLANTS”

You’d say: “that’s nice.” And you’d keep walking.

(Unless, by some random luck, you had woken up that day determined to find a way to buy cochlear implants)

What happens if Bob wants to create Facebook ads? If he creates an ad that says: “BUY A COCHLEAR IMPLANT TODAY”

He’s probably going to waste a lot of money in ads with no conversions.

(Unless, by some random luck, people woke up that day eager to find cochlear implants on Fb)

No, Bob would need to tweak his hook until he finds something interesting enough for someone to stop scrolling and pay attention. And if his story and offer are good enough, he’ll see sales.

Same goes for Bob’s landing pages, webinars, and blog posts

So, I ask you again… who do you help?

Perfect your answer; hone it. Test different hooks in different settings.

And, use that new skill to create hooks, stories, and offers for all the things: Ads, webinars, landing pages, conference talks, podcasts, blog posts, and more.

Hey, oh great and wise @threadreaderapp please unroll this thread.