What is the best approach for me to describe what I do?

WHAT WE DO versus WHAT CUSTOMER HIRE US TO DO

NOT what the vendor does. rather..
the customer challenge + customer pain + how the customer benefits

QUICKIE EXAMPLE #1:
You’re selling supply chain software. Most sales reps, if asked “what do you do for a living?” would answer something like:

“I sell for a supply chain software company whose products are the best in the industry and make people more productive.”(BAD)

“Our customers were paying too much for raw materials, on average, they now get raw materials for two thirds what their competitors pay, because our software manages their supply chain.”(GOOD)

“Does your company have a long supply chain?”

QUICKIE EXAMPLE #2: You’re selling sharing services on private aircraft. In this case, most sales reps, if asked “what do you do for a living?” would answer something like:

“I sell rental time on private aircraft so executives can have the convenience of flying privately without owning their own jet.”(BAD)

“Our customers were losing valuable time queing at airport security. We enable our customers to now travel on rented private jets for around the cost of flying first class, but without the hassle of airport security.”(GOOD)
“Do much business traveling?”

QUICKIE EXAMPLE #3: You’re selling Enterprise search solutions to large organisations.

“We provide enterprise search solutions to large corporations to allow them locate their information.”(BAD)

“Our customers typically have large volumes of business critical information hidden away & locked within multiple repositories across their organisation - DBs, SharePoint, Documentum, Shared Drives. These clients were frustrated by their inability to get timely access to business critical information.
We enable them to gain visibility into all the information that may be relevant for a particular task, from a single access point quickly and easily.”(GOOD)

Do you have trouble finding the right information in your company?

Some others - the modified version invites further questions if you notice:

Original: “I sell direct mail and print production services. Our flexibility and production capabilities can help your direct mail marketing projects deliver faster.”
Better: “Our customers get double the response from their direct mail because we create projects that don’t look like junk mail.”

Original: “Our customers have reduced their manufacturing costs using our specialty chemistry. Lower Rejects, reduced energy costs and increased quality are a few of the areas that we can achieved these in.”

Better: “Customers who use our chemicals reduce their manufacturing costs by 25 percent.”

Original: Our best clients were frustrated at their inability to get timely access to information within their systems. So, we help bridge the gap by plugging the holes in their current database environment.

Better: “Companies hire us to fix database problems that otherwise would cost them millions of dollars.”

Original: “Well, a few years back we had a number of clients who just wanted to “get on the web.” Today, they want to kick it up a notch and add social networking elements, do more sophisticated things with eCommerce and find ways to more finely segment and connect with their customer base.

Better: “Companies hire us to help them use the Internet to connect with their own customers, increasing sales by an average of 25 percent.”

Original: “Our leadership and corporate training has enabled mid- to senior-level managers in Fortune 500 and Chinese mainland firms to acquire western-style management skills. We can do the same for your firm.”

Better: “Chinese executives hire us to teach them how to manage non-Asian employees and colleagues. More than half credit their subsequent success to our training.”

Original: “Our company helps organizations primarily in the manufacturing sector staff their open positions on either a full time or project basis. Similarly, we staff the IT, Engineering, and Professional Services sectors, allowing organizations to spend less time and money on recruiting and more time focusing on production.”

Better: “Manufacturers hire us to recruit elite technical talent that they don’t have the contacts to recruit on their own.”

Original: “We provide businesses with Least Cost Routers that cut down phone bills by at least 30% by transferring land line to mobile phone calls into mobile to mobile calls and vice versa.”

Better: “My customers can route calls to either their mobile or their landline depending on which is cheaper. Most save an average of 30 percent.”

Original: “I have my own Health Care Recruiting firm and I specialize in hospital operations, accounting and finance and human resources.”

Better: “Hospitals hire me to find top quality non-medical personnel, like accountants, that they lack the experience and contacts to find on their own.”