My Neighbor Thinks I Sell Billboards

I’m out on blogger vacation this week. The keys to TheKmiecs.com have been turned over to a few, select, awesome guest writers. The following has not been edited by me and is the work and effort of the original author. I appreciate the time and thinking that went into this post and hope you will too. Enjoy!

At first it started as a joke, but then it became a regular occurrence…

Monday:
My neighbor: “Sell any billboards today???”
Me: Chuckle. “You know I don’t sell billboards – I work in advertising.”

Tuesday:
My neighbor: “Sell any billboards today???”
Me: Chuckle. Sigh. “You know I don’t sell billboards – I work in advertising. I’m on the account side. I develop brand strategy….”

Wednesday:
My neighbor: “Sell any billboards today???”
Me: Chuckle. Sigh. Groan. “You know I don’t sell billboards – I work in advertising. I’m on the account side. I develop brand strategy and messaging and work with our designers to produce print, interactive and….”

My parents always said first impressions were everything – so what do you really want to communicate about your job (or yourself) in the first 15 seconds? Whether it’s your neighbor, your grandmother, your current or potential employer – what’s your elevator pitch?

In the agency world, we spend hours each week helping our clients understand, and convey the value of their brand. We strive to develop consistent and concise messaging. We are constantly pulling out one good nugget here, and searching for one great tidbit from there. But sometimes we forget about our personal brand – and how to express it consistently and concisely.

After experiencing what felt like the movie “Groundhog Day” with my neighbor, here are my takeaways -

Be concise – Cover a lot in a few words. But know your audience and be careful not to use industry jargon if it will only confuse them.
Be consistent – We tell our clients to stay on message, so why not follow our own advice?
Be intriguing – If you interest your audience, they’ll want to learn more, and maybe you will get to add another 15 seconds to your pitch.

I don’t sell billboards. I never have sold a billboard. But I have revisited my elevator pitch – “I build brands. And that doesn’t mean I sell billboards.”

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Kathleen Boylan

Well said! In my 25 years of working with a lot of spokespeople on public health, community service and product pitches, I have learned that people who really know what they're doing can break it down in very simple terms. The people who are insecure or ill-informed who hide behind jargon and big words. One of the doctors I work with is an internationally known sub-specialist in genetic engineering. He used to describe his work by saying he is reconfiguring the process of T-cell reception. Now, iIf you ask him what he does, he begins with “I'm trying to save the lives of 30 million people by figuring out how the cells in our body can fight off disease.”
Kathleen Boylan

Well said! In my 25 years of working with a lot of spokespeople on public health, community service and product pitches, I have learned that people who really know what they're doing can break it down in very simple terms. The people who are insecure or ill-informed who hide behind jargon and big words. One of the doctors I work with is an internationally known sub-specialist in genetic engineering. He used to describe his work by saying he is reconfiguring the process of T-cell reception. Now, iIf you ask him what he does, he begins with “I'm trying to save the lives of 30 million people by figuring out how the cells in our body can fight off disease.”