How to Confidently Talk About What You Do: The 4As to a Compelling Personal Positioning Statement

Question?

Ever been tongue-tied when asked the question: "So, what do you do?" at online and in-person networking and events?
 
Answer:

As the Brand Therapist, I know this struggle all too well. In this week's therapy session, I share my personal journey of refining my own introduction, from networking events to online profiles, and the realization of how important a clear, concise, and compelling self-introduction is. 

I introduced the  4As that can make your brand position statement super clear to confidently introduce yourself and your brand, both in-person and online. 

It's not just about introducing yourself, it's also about understanding the challenges your audience faces, how you can assist them, and the results they can achieve with your help. 

This simple framework and real-life example will help you easily answer the “So what do you do?” question so you can be relatable, remembered, and referred to all the right people

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Position Yourself to Propel Yourself.

Michelle B Griffin is a thought leadership-focused personal brand and PR strategist and founder of Standout Women Media who positions established women experts and authors into visible industry authorities.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

Hey there, it's the brand therapist, michelle B Griffin, and welcome to your weekly personal brand therapy session. This is the podcast that helps solo experts like you get unstuck and get on your way with a brand that takes your places. I'm super excited you're here. Now let's get going with today's session. Hey everybody, welcome to this week's episode. I'm your host, michelle B Griffin, the brand therapist, and today we are going to talk about something that I know a lot of you struggle with.

Speaker 1: 0:38

It's how do you introduce yourself. You know the question of, so what do you do or tell me about yourself? For most of us, we just want to run and hide and avoid that question at all costs, and I know I do too. As much as I help people find clarity and work in their positioning, it is really hard to do it yourself. Last month, I decided to get out in my area and start attending more networking events. In-person networking is my love. Back in my previous role I had events, hosted events, and I networked and loved doing it actually. But because of COVID and just working remotely, I have not been getting down as much and I realized I was missing the connection and energy of in-person networking and events. So I decided that I was going to make it a point to get out there. Well, guess what? While my online game is amazing, I am always just trying to refine my LinkedIn profile and the way I introduce myself, and it's completely different when you are in-person.

Speaker 1: 1:43

I was not prepared. First of all, I had no business cards. I had no digital business cards and when it was time to do our 30 seconds spiel on what do you do as much as I was pretty clear, I walked away from those events. Although I got a lot of interest in conversation, I wasn't happy because I really felt like I was just so generic and I could do better. And I realized it's a muscle Getting out there, learning how to talk about yourself, doing exactly what you're about. Be very concise is such an art. I saw people who obviously were really expert networkers, who were at it all the time and they were able to really get the attention and anchor in the mind. And then, unfortunately, I saw people, even though it was like 30 seconds or maybe 60 seconds at some of these events. They would just go on and on and on and I could see the rest of us just thrown over. So I realized, yes, I need to get back into my networking game. How do I talk about myself? Today I'm going to share a framework that you're going to be able to plug and play and have some talking points Now, when you have this. It's an exercise to get very clear and very concise and very compelling. Okay, we're going to go through this right now and I want you to grab some paper. You could pause this if you need to. But where are you going to go through the 4As of making your brand position statement super clear? So the next time you're in a networking event or even online, you're going to be really clear, having done this exercise, on who you are, who you help, how you help them and what the outcome is. So let's get into the 4As.

Speaker 1: 3:30

What I like to say is, if you can first write this down and get as clear and specific, you're gonna be so much further ahead than most people who go to these networking events. So the first one is audience. Who is your target audience or customers? You've heard me say this before. We are for team somebody, not everybody.

Speaker 1: 3:53

Now I noticed my first networking event. I think I just said personal branding. I was just a little too broad and I definitely have since then worked on it. But for you, I want you to say who is your target audience. The more specific you can get, that person will know you're for them or they can refer you. That's what a brand is to be top of mind. So identify who your target person is and remember specificity sells. So write that down. Who am I here for? Who's my audience? Now? What is the adversity they face? You hear me talk about all the time. We're here to solve problems, and when people know you're there to solve their problems or their desires, challenges, needs, they are gonna start paying attention. If you can always say what is the challenge or difficulty that they are facing, they're gonna know you're the go-to for that. So adversity and in this case it could be something they desire too it doesn't always have to be a problem, but it is a problem if that's something you want you don't get. So that's why I like to say adversity, the challenges or difficulties they are encountering at this moment, and that you help them with.

Speaker 1: 5:06

And then the next one is assistance. How are you helping them? What is the solution you have, or how do you help them overcome and get what they want? Because essentially that is what you're here to do and they wanna know again you are the person that they can go to. They can have additional conversations, even referring who is that one person that comes top of mind. So assistance is the next one, where you talk about the solution you have to overcome what they are facing or what they need. So make that pretty brief, like we wanna just be top of mind for one thing. I always say we don't go to Google and do five search terms in one search. It's usually that one thing top of mind. So write down how do you assist them. That would be assistance. The next one is achievement. You are helping them achieve a transformation, get something that they need right. So you want to write the things that they want. It's like a transformations or the outcome, all right. So let's talk about real quick, those forays. I'll recap the audience that one person, real specific, as much as you can get that you are here to help.

Speaker 1: 6:18

The second A is adversity. You wanna be able to describe the challenges or difficulties they have. That means you get them and they know that you get them right. So, adversity, you are so clued in on what they're going through, so that is what you wanna write down. What is that one thing that they want that you help them with? Now, assistance, of course you're gonna be able to solve their problems. What is the way you're helping them? What does that solution look like? And then you will talk about the achievement that you help them get that outcome, the transformation, the success, right. We're always helping people get to another place. So those are the four A's. So, with that being said, let's talk about what that looks like in a real world example, and I'm gonna give you minds.

Speaker 1: 7:04

Many experts have years of professional knowledge but struggle to define what makes them unique. I teach them to clarify and position their expertise into a personal brand with my brand GPS system, so they can stop feeling overlooked and start being recognized and hired as an authority. And they're. Yes, that's pretty much what I do in a nutshell. Now. Will I ever go to a networking event or and robotically talk like that? Absolutely not, but these are the guard rails. So when I say I help experts get out there, get really visible and really define what makes them unique, I help them be thought leaders in their space. I have a system that I do it with, so what I do is add a little bit, but I really I want to caution you if I just and I did this, I'll tell you, I'll be honest truth.

Speaker 1: 7:58

My first networking event, because I was so rusty, I said, hi, I'm Michelle and I do personal branding. And I'll tell you that a lot of people don't get that. Not everyone really knows what that is. That's a vehicle to get to where these people want to go. So now I talk about the problems that these people have. So on my second and third event that I attended, one was actually a speed networking event which I highly suggest to get out there and really hone in your message I learned to quickly adapt and start with the problem these people face. So I would say something like hey, are you tired or really just being behind the scenes and not being really valued for what you do?

Speaker 1: 8:40

I work with business owners. I work with entrepreneurs. I work with women leaders depending on what kind of event it was, to really help them put themselves out there, get out there and really build their brand so that they can get more opportunities and their jobs, their career and their businesses. And then I would maybe talk about my system, but that wasn't, depending on the time and people got that. So I want to say go with these four A's but lead with a problem.

Speaker 1: 9:09

So the safest bet is to just say, hey, do you find that you are, or do you know someone who's really struggling with XYZ? Well, I am a XYZ and I help them do this so that they get this. So to me, that makes so much more of a conversation than just saying, hi, I'm Michelle and I'm a personal brand strategist. Well, a lot of people, I'll be honest, don't really understand what that is. Or if you say, hi, I'm Michelle, an accountant, well, people understand what that is, but there's not much. You can invite them into the conversation when you lead with a problem that they might have or they know someone who may have, that it really just triggers yeah, that's me, or I know someone, or they'll follow it for later. So what do you essentially want to do is anchor in somebody's mind starting with a problem, that specific person, and just getting really tight. That's all you need to say. You want to be intriguing and you want to just plant that scene so that the conversation can flow later. So that is my solo episode on how to get really tight with introducing who you are in person, even on lives.

Speaker 1: 10:26

Once you have this, you could absolutely take this and apply this to your social media banners and bios and all that. Obviously, it'd be a lot shorter, but you now know who you help, how you help them and what they need. So today's actionable takeaway is do this exercise Again. I want you to write the four as who is your audience? Who are you helping that one person? What is number two Is number. So who is your audience? Let's write down your ideal client customer, internal, external that one person you're here for. Number two is adversity what are the challenges or difficulties they're facing? So when they know you get them, they start paying attention. When they know specifically you're for them, that's going to be attention getting. And then assistance you want to know how you can help them. Problems need solutions, so your assistance is that solution. And then achievement what is it that they want to get to? What is a transformation or success? We should all be helping people achieve something greater. So write that down.

Speaker 1: 11:37

The four as of building your very clear brand positioning statement. So when you go to your next event, you can use this and really start conversations, anchor in people's mind and just keep building and nurturing relationships, because I will tell you the energy you get when you make that connection. People get what you do. It's like no other. So I highly encourage you to take this exercise, do it and let me know. Reach out to me and let me know.

Speaker 1: 12:05

Michelle, hey, what do you think of this? Write that sentence out and then you've got those guardrails. You can start being very clear. It will, of course, be refined over time, here and there, but you are going to feel better about that. Always a lucid question. So what do you do? All right, everybody, I'll be back next week with another episode, but keep putting yourself out there. You have a brand to build, a message to share and people to impact. I'll catch you next week. Take care. That's a wrap for today's brand therapy session. Need help with your personal branding journey? Then head on over to the brand therapistsio and grab my free resources to get going today with your brand. And until next time, keep putting yourself out there. You have a brand to build, a message to share and people to impact. Take care, everyone. I'll talk to you soon.