The 30-second Commercial--As Easy As It Sounds?

By guest blogger Sadie L. Harper of Southern Ambition, Raleigh, NC

I’ve been in the independent business owner world for most of the past 12 years, and I’ve watched
networking groups form and disband. In all the networking groups I’ve attended, I’ve noticed many
members have trouble with their 30 second commercial. The top issues I see are these:

Not clearly identifying yourself, your business, or your role. This is crucial to your brand
identity.

Too much information! Most biz owners list every product or service hoping to resonate with   
someone, somewhere. This just overwhelms your audience with information.

Lack of segmentation. If you are a skincare rep, your client is not ‘everyone who has skin’.            
It is more effective to specify who your ideal customer is, rather than shoot all your arrows into

the sky, praying to hit the target in the distance.

On the flip side, certain elements make for powerful, confident commercials. Clearly

identifying yourself is one; however, there’s more to making a clearly stated commercial in order

to connect with your referral partners.

1.  Specify two or three products or services – either what you are focusing on or your top sellers.

2.  Know what you do and what you do not do, but this is not the place to list every service or product.
 You will inundate your audience with details they will never remember. It is far more powerful to
list a few things, then follow up with a one-on-one. In your 30 second commercial, keep it simple
because simple is confident.

3.  State how your product/service benefits your client. Your business is to help others, right?

This is crucial: to communicate why you do what you do, over and above what you actually do.

The technical term is ‘value proposition’ but it defines how your product or service makes

someone else’s life easier or better or more enjoyable. If there is no benefit, no one will hire

you no matter how good you are.

And finally, clearly state who you want to connect with. To build referral partnerships, others need
to know who to connect you to. For instance, part of my business deals with small business talent
acquisition and retention. Is it more powerful to say “I’m looking for businesses owners” or to say
“I’m looking for overwhelmed entrepreneurs who need to expand”?

Sadie L. Harper offers group and individual workshops and consultations on entrepreneurship and
professionalism. Learn more here.