Written by: Vickie Sullivan | January 14, 2014
Prominence is a Bridge
A client is pitching a speech topic. He’s prominent, so it’s tempting to start with all the cool things he’s done. My advice to him (and you): don’t. Instead, use those fabulous achievements to show how you understand your client’s world.
No matter who you are, buyers care about one thing: what’s in it for them. This means that you can’t use your prominence as a reason why someone should engage you. Use your prominence to build a credibility bridge between your experience and what the clients need to know.
Here’s an example. Before: I am a big-shot exec who built a gazillion-dollar company from nothing. My story will inspire your execs. Hire me to speak to your group. After: Because I built a gazillion-dollar company in five days flat, I know the roller coaster ride here. I know what it’s like to do XXX with XXX. From that space, we can talk to your execs about XXX. See the difference?
It’s tempting to promote what we’ve done to gain credibility. The problem: all experts are credible in something. The next step: using that credibility to connect with clients.
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