On this week’s episode of The Engaging Marketeer, I want to talk about how people are really, really boring with the way they advertise their business and the way they talk about what they do.
If you keep boring people to death, they are not going to use you, they are not going to refer you, and they are certainly not going to come up and ask how you can help them. You’re boring the crap out of them.
I’ve been to a lot of networking meetings and events where people stand up and talk about what they do, how they do it, and who they’re looking for. I went to one just the other night, and every single person did pretty much the same thing:
“Hi, I’m John, I’m an accountant. I help people with their tax returns. If you’re looking for an accountant to help you with your tax returns, come and speak to me.”
Then the next person stood up:
“Hi, I’m Steve, I’m a financial adviser. I help people with their financial advice. Come and talk to me if you want some help with your financial advice.”
On and on it went, and it was the most boring thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life.
When it was my turn, I didn’t do the same thing. I could have stood up and said:
“Hi, I’m Darren, I’m a web designer. I help people with their websites, SEO, PPC, and social media. I can help you rank on Google, so come and talk to me.”
But obviously, I didn’t do that. That would have been just as boring as everyone else, and nobody would’ve listened. Because, at the end of the day, nobody wants a website.
Nobody wants SEO, social media marketing, or pay-per-click. What they actually want is what comes after all that. People don’t want a website—they want more business, more leads. But even then, do you as a business owner really want more leads? Not really, because more leads mean more work, and quite frankly, we are inherently lazy as a species, and we don’t want to do more work.
So, if I’d stood up and talked about building websites, I would’ve lost everyone’s attention.
Instead, what I actually did was stand up and say:
“I am looking for business owners who want to become filthy rich after selling their businesses for millions.”
Now, that got people’s attention. People were intrigued—they didn’t know what I did or who I was, but they were interested in the idea of becoming filthy rich. That’s what grabbed them.
I then shared four examples of businesses we’ve worked with who sold their companies for millions. One example was a garden centre that, after working with us for several years, made £1.3 million in revenue in their first 12 months through their website. They later sold their business and retired to the good life.
Another example was an underfloor heating company. They worked with us to automate their online leads and sales processes and eventually sold their business to a builder’s merchant for around £17 million. And guess what? Now, they’re doing it all over again with another business.
I also talked about a hot air balloon operator who sold their business to a very big brand founded by Richard Branson. Finally, I shared the story of a serviced office company, which most people hadn’t heard of but certainly recognised the company they sold to: Regus.
By sharing these examples, I wasn’t talking about websites, SEO, or any of the boring technical stuff that nobody cares about. I was talking about the end result—what people really want. And that’s what kept people engaged.
At the end of my talk, I said:
“I’m looking for the next business owner who wants to become filthy rich by scaling their business with automated online sales and leads processes so they can sell it for millions and retire to do whatever they want.”
Only at that point did I mention who I was and the fact that I work at Engage Web, a digital marketing agency. But by then, people were already interested. Because, as I said before, nobody gives a damn about a website.
You can get a website for free with Wix, or you can pay someone down the pub £50 to build you one—it’ll probably be rubbish, but it’ll still be a website. Websites are a commodity these days, so there’s no point going into a networking meeting and saying, “I’m a web designer.” People don’t care.
If you’re an accountant, don’t talk about tax returns. Nobody gives a toss about that either. If you’re a financial adviser, don’t just say, “I give financial advice.” That’s not going to cut it. You need to look at what happens after people work with you. What do they actually want?
Your ideal clients aren’t looking for a website, financial advice, or legal services. They want the result that comes after that. So, when you go to a networking event, you need to stand out by focusing on what really matters to your audience—the outcomes, not the process.
That’s how you ensure people remember what you say, that they want to speak to you afterwards because they think, “Wow, that was different, and that’s exactly what I need.”
So, please, for the love of everything, stop talking about bloody websites, because nobody cares.
Thank you for listening to today’s episode of The Engaging Marketeer. I hope my slightly ranty approach gave you a fresh perspective on how to market your business more effectively. Remember, it’s not about what you do—it’s about what you can help your clients achieve. If you found this useful, leave a review or comment on the YouTube video. I’ll catch you on the next podcast.
About your host:
Darren has worked within digital marketing since the last century, and was the first in-house web designer for video games retailer GAME in the UK, known as Electronics Boutique in the States. After co-founding his own agency, Engage Web, in 2009, Darren has worked with clients around the world, including Australia, Canada and the USA.
iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/engaging-marketeer/id1612454837
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenjamieson/
Engaging Marketeer: https://engagingmarketeer.com
Engage Web: https://www.engageweb.co.uk
