There are many aging in place providers today – remodelers, designers, OTs, PTs, DME suppliers, and others – so it’s easy to blend in and not stand out from the others who offer similar or related products and services.
Both in terms of differentiating ourselves from the other providers for what we are and what we offer, and in building relationships with the public and our strategic partners, we must allow the public to appreciate how we offer stronger and higher quality solutions and alternatives than others they may consider.
Gone are the days – if they ever really existed – when people would just contact anyone to help them, regardless of the depth of their experience in this area or level of knowledge specifically in aging-in-place, safety, accessibility, and similar concerns.
There are many ages of homes, ranges of needs on the part of our potential clientele, and different financial abilities for people to pay for the improvements that they might need that we can choose among for offering our services – according to the parameters of our chosen business model.
Regardless, people that we might serve need to know who we are and what we offer if they are ever going to engage us and allow us to provide the solutions they seek and need.
Therefore, we all should write, learn, and rehearse a 15-20 second commercial – as well as a shorter (just a few seconds) and longer (up to a minute) version of this once this is polished – for ourselves that we can give whenever we are presented the opportunity.
Why? Typically when we meet someone and introduce ourselves at a party, business function, or at the grocery store, gas station, convenience store, coffee shop, diner, home improvement center, or any other non-job situation, we say something like “I’m a designer …” or “I’m a remodeler …” or “I do home renovations …” or “I do home health …” and we expect that this somehow will resonate with the person we’re meeting.
This holds true when we are meeting our potential clients or having that initial conversation with them. We are missing a great opportunity to make a connection and really underscore why someone would want to know more about what we do and ultimately to have use work with them.
How many times have we gone to a business meeting or event and been given the opportunity to introduce ourselves only to respond with our name and company name or title or occupation?
Anyone can do this. It’s not memorable, and it doesn’t help anyone get to understand what or how we do what we do or how we might differ (in a positive way) from others who appear to be similar in nature. So, why not add a little more information that will help us to become a little more impressive to the person or people we’re meeting?
Instead of just reciting our name, rank, and serial number (so-to-speak), why not take the opportunity to add a little more information? Try something like “I enjoy helping seniors and others to remain living in the homes they love without needing to contemplate moving anyplace else by creating safe, comfortable, and more accessible living environments for them.”
By the way, depending on how much feeling you put into it and how fast you normally speak, that sample introduction took less than 15 seconds to deliver.
Let’s let people really sense that we enjoy what we are doing and that we are doing it better than anyone else they might consider. An enthusiastic introduction helps to convey this.