How can I help You?

[slideshare id=8138624&doc=workwithme-110528191234-phpapp02] For most of my adult life it has been very difficult to explain to others what I do for a living. Before setting up CIMA IT Solutions I use to work as a Senior IT Security Consultant for American Systems. Prior to that I worked as an Information Risk Management Associate for KPMG….

How can I help You?

[slideshare id=8138624&doc=workwithme-110528191234-phpapp02]

For most of my adult life it has been very difficult to explain to others what I do for a living. Before setting up CIMA IT Solutions I use to work as a Senior IT Security Consultant for American Systems. Prior to that I worked as an Information Risk Management Associate for KPMG. I guess those two titles are not as a easy as saying i’m a teacher, doctor, lawyer, mechanic, engineer, and the list can continue.

These last few days I have had the luck of having @chrisbrogan and @alexklevine ask me how they could help me get more business ( I am extremely grateful for that).

I went ahead an modified the CIMA IT Solutions corporate site to make the following services a bit more specific and understandable:

To help others assist me in getting more opportunities via my blog I decided to create the Work With Me presentation. I really want the presentation to show how I can work along you or anyone in need of my services.

Being active with the Kitchen Table Companies (Affiliate Link) helped identify things that I need to fix. Thanks to the questions and answers posted, I have received lots of valuable feedback on how I can improve my marketing efforts.

The post on My Virtual Plaza made me realize that other people might not understand what I do. When this happens I miss out on the opportunity of some one referring me to others in need of my services.

It would be of great value if you could go through the presentation and let me know if my presentation helped you understand how I could help others.

Is it easy for you to explain to others what you do for a living? If not how can we help each other get that message through?

Posted in Business, Featured and tagged Business, CIMA IT Solutions, Kitchen Table Companies, KTC

4 Comments

Otir on May 30, 2011 at 3:27 am

I never find it easy to explain what I do for a living to people. What I notice is that we often tend to give too many different details, in an attempt to be really comprehensive and cover all the array of offers we have to help someone, when in reality (if you are in a face-to-face especially) the person you are talking to is already lost in their own projections after their first impression.

So they would catch one phrase and elaborate on it “oh this is what you mean!” they’d exclaim and proceed on either giving you their view of what you do in relation to what they know, in their own world and in their own ideas… most of the time it is losing track of what we are really doing, and it is frustrating.

I have learnt to not attempt and discourage those people and try to explain what I do if they are really mistaking.

I’d definitely go with your idea of simplifying, and then I’d catch where the other person is going, and try to accompany her on that path, to catch the place where I’d sense their true need, and translate it into what I can do to help solve their problem. I tend to use the words they offer, even if they are not always what I would have described myself. It is a way to open the channels: they feel heard and understood, and not imposed a vocabulary or definitions that take them out of their comfort zone.

As for your presentation, I like the visual aspect very much, and I believe that it should be paired with the audio that would go with each slide: is it possible technically for you to do so? By having both the visual and the audio you are more susceptible to reach different learning styles from different people, therefore reach a wider panel of interested people.

Raul Colon on May 30, 2011 at 10:01 pm

Otir,

I really think the visual part is a great suggestion. Maybe creating a video to go with this post explaining what I do. A short one using the slides.

Thank you for stopping by and sharing great feedback!

Joe Sorge on May 30, 2011 at 3:42 am

Raul,

I want to see your customer. I want to read your customers success story working with you.

I want to see myself in that customer and I want to see myself being helped by you.

As much as I want to know what problem you solve for your customer, I also want to know what pain you solve for them.

What I mean is, consider the drill company that thought their customers wanted drills, when the

reality was that the customers wanted holes! Drills were just one tool to make the

holes. What if they thought of themselves as a provider of holes?

If you can find a way to demonstrate the answer to questions like this, I’d have no question about what you do.

I want you to tell me AND show me. Again, I want to see myself in your customer.

Raul Colon on May 30, 2011 at 9:42 pm

Excellent Joe. Thanks for stopping and giving me all the advice you usually provide. It really has been great meeting you through the excellent job you do at Kitchen Table Companies!

Otir on May 30, 2011 at 3:27 am

I never find it easy to explain what I do for a living to people. What I notice is that we often tend to give too many different details, in an attempt to be really comprehensive and cover all the array of offers we have to help someone, when in reality (if you are in a face-to-face especially) the person you are talking to is already lost in their own projections after their first impression.

So they would catch one phrase and elaborate on it “oh this is what you mean!” they’d exclaim and proceed on either giving you their view of what you do in relation to what they know, in their own world and in their own ideas… most of the time it is losing track of what we are really doing, and it is frustrating.

I have learnt to not attempt and discourage those people and try to explain what I do if they are really mistaking.

I’d definitely go with your idea of simplifying, and then I’d catch where the other person is going, and try to accompany her on that path, to catch the place where I’d sense their true need, and translate it into what I can do to help solve their problem. I tend to use the words they offer, even if they are not always what I would have described myself. It is a way to open the channels: they feel heard and understood, and not imposed a vocabulary or definitions that take them out of their comfort zone.

As for your presentation, I like the visual aspect very much, and I believe that it should be paired with the audio that would go with each slide: is it possible technically for you to do so? By having both the visual and the audio you are more susceptible to reach different learning styles from different people, therefore reach a wider panel of interested people.
- Raul Colon on May 30, 2011 at 10:01 pm
  
  Otir,
  
  I really think the visual part is a great suggestion. Maybe creating a video to go with this post explaining what I do. A short one using the slides.
  
  Thank you for stopping by and sharing great feedback!
Joe Sorge on May 30, 2011 at 3:42 am

Raul,

I want to see your customer. I want to read your customers success story working with you.

I want to see myself in that customer and I want to see myself being helped by you.

As much as I want to know what problem you solve for your customer, I also want to know what pain you solve for them.

What I mean is, consider the drill company that thought their customers wanted drills, when the

reality was that the customers wanted holes! Drills were just one tool to make the

holes. What if they thought of themselves as a provider of holes?

If you can find a way to demonstrate the answer to questions like this, I’d have no question about what you do.

I want you to tell me AND show me. Again, I want to see myself in your customer.
- Raul Colon on May 30, 2011 at 9:42 pm
  
  Excellent Joe. Thanks for stopping and giving me all the advice you usually provide. It really has been great meeting you through the excellent job you do at Kitchen Table Companies!